Let me tell you a story. It’s the story of a man who owns a beautiful little restaurant, held hostage by the guy who built its website.
This man has nothing. Maybe access to the server, but apart from that, nothing.
For years he treated that guy like a friend: he always offered him a meal. Then, after a few years, from one day to the next, the request: a few thousand euros. He was a bit hurt, but he replied: “All right, if I have to give it to you, I’ll give it to you. But you give me the login details.” Meanwhile the website, when you went there, had magically turned completely red.
So he asked me to rebuild it. I went to the restaurant in the morning, so I didn’t get a meal. I told him: “Sir, I’m happy to help, but you have to get these login details back for me, or put me in touch with this person.”
He went and asked for them. The answer: “No, I’ve got nothing to give you.”
At that point you can’t even tell what the problem is. Apparently it’s a website held hostage. But let’s say the man got it wrong and the other guy is trying to help him in good faith. The fact remains that this man hasn’t the faintest idea where his website is. Something of his, that talks about him and his work. And anyway, if he were happy, why would he want it rebuilt? Something doesn’t add up.
So I’ll put the question to you: whose website is it? Is it yours? Can you get into the admin panel?
Because if you have those credentials, you’re free. Maybe you can’t make head or tail of what’s in there, but you can delegate someone to go in and do what needs doing for you. That’s the point.
Too many digital businesses, too many websites are in other people’s hands. Not necessarily dishonest people: that happens, in rare but real cases, because this is still a little-known field. Maybe we’ll come back to that. More often, even for those who do this job, being fully transparent is hard: some things are tough to explain to a client, and to save time you keep everything to yourself.
And here we’re only talking about access. Another issue is whose name it’s all registered in.
They look like small things. Then I think of that restaurant, which can’t promote itself on its own digital channel, and of how much that costs it. In the end they’re not so marginal.
So there you have it: it’s up to you, ladies and gentlemen.