From searching past posts, I know NOT to ask “why can’t RapidWeaver delete my old files? It should. Let’s request that feature!”…LOL
What I would like to know is if there is a resource or guide of best practices for housekeeping server files, re-publishing a site, etc… (IE. What NOT to touch, what to backup, etc.).
(NOTE: I’m not a dev / coder / etc…just a solo RW user)
Without knowing what you might have on the server it’s difficult to say.
Do you put anything on the server outside of RapidWeaver? Warehoused images, downloadable resources, uploaded items, Google tracking, etc.
Do you use any kind of CMS? Armadillo, goCMS, easyCMS, totalCMS, etc.
You can backup anything, although most hosting company’s do some backing up.
I would say best practice before any housekeeping is “backup everything”.
Now if you haven’t put anything on the server outside of RapidWeaver you can probably delete most everything in the publishing destination after backing everything up. I wouldn’t delete anything that begins with a ..
I only have a few things uploaded directly to the server (as you’ve said, images, etc.).
While I don’t currently use a CMS, I did dabble in Armadillo for a while and there are still some files in there. I’ll eventually go back to it, but it will be safe to delete.
My host does have good backup instructions in the FAQ, so that should be fine.
Armadillo stores its data in a MySQL database. That’s usually not in A directory you have access to.
Sequential file(aka flat file) databases will usually store data in a specific subdirectory that can be deleted by mistake.
You can also create a simple directory on your host account call it something like “old-stuff”, and copy everything over to it before deleting. Once you are sure everything is working okay, then just delete the old-stuff directory.