Essential Easily Ugrade: threatens existing Website? Should they help more?

I’m replacing a friends current business website with a RW6 version. But his Easily hosting package is too old for us to gain access via Forklift, it has to be upgraded (so Easily have told me). Easily have also warned me that the old website could be lost during the upgrade, this isn’t certain, should Easily be doing more to protect my friend’s business? They’ve advised having a backup, but we don’t even have that. I’ve only got my new RW version ready to replace it. (I’ve asked for more general advice about the replacement site in another post btw.)

Thanks for any advice,

Andrew

Ask them how to backup the old site. Setup a new subdomain on his account and upload the new site to that for testing. You should be able to create a subdomain for free. You could then delete it after testing.

I find it very strange that forklift won’t work with his provider. What doe the provider say is the reason? Ask him what is software he suggests. Did you try Cyberduck? It is free…

Good luck

Is the site actually too ‘old’ or was it made using some sort of online website builder provided by Easily that doesn’t allow FTP access?

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I got that information straight from Easily, who had provided me with a new PW etc. I rang them back on the helpline when there was an error message upon attempting to connect via Forklift. They suggested the upgrade and warned me that the old site might be lost, over the phone at that point…

If Easily is being unhelpful - and that sounds the case - why not host the new site somewhere else? Then you can set up 301 re-directs from the existing site, still hosted on Easily, to the relevant pages on the new site, hosted on something more modern, more helpful and more Rapidweaver friendly.

Rob

I’ll make on comment on the “backups” - that is standard comments. Hosts typically warn people to have backups. Many hosts provide backups, some charge for it. I simply USE FTP and download my entire site (hidden files and all) to local machine. I archive some of these backups. Should your site ever be hacked or lost it is much easier and faster to just re-upload your site via FTP rather than re-upload from RapidWeaver. This will ensure your htaccess file and such is the same as well as any files you may have uploaded outside of rapidweaver. (Video downloads, eBook Downloads, etc.) (I “host” my own downloads not using them a Resources in RW. I just simply link to the uploaded files.)