At this time of the year I do like to remind you of things about your website to be aware of over the break when many of your suppliers etc may be closed.

The things that you should know about your developers, ISP’s and email providers etc.

Following is what we have told you in previous years. Be prepared in case your site has issues. Particularly important if you take bookings through your web site. It needs to be up and running all of the time or you may lose business….

Maybe it is your busy season, or maybe your business closes down like many at this time. Even though you may not close down, your web developer and other key contacts might.

Either way, there are things to plan for during the “silly season” in order to ensure service to your customers is not disrupted.

So here are some things to consider over Xmas:

Do you know what your web developer, hosting company and ISP are doing over Xmas?

Will they have normal services or just skeleton staffing?

Do you know what the arrangements for contacting them are if you have a problem with email, your website or your Internet connections?

What about your IT support person or company – what happens if your system breaks during Xmas and New Year? Will someone be there to fix it?

Will your hosting and ISP accounts etc get paid normally – don’t let one of these lapse because of Xmas disruptions to routines or you may find your web site, email or internet connection stops working.

Will you be checking emails as normal?

If you are going to be extra busy, have you figured out how to ensure that emails and enquiries are not ignored because of lack of time to respond?

If you are going to be away, is someone going to deal with emails and enquiries in your absence? If you are going to be checking them from remote locations, ensure you take all the logins and passwords with you that you might need.

That’s just a few things to get you thinking – there are probably many more things pertinent to your particular business. To ensure things run smoothly over the break, the best advice is of course “be prepared” and anticipate possible issues in advance.