Have You Got What It Takes?

Making sure you have everything needed to rebuild a website in the event of a disaster is one of the most useful "calm seas" things to do.

Good practice is to maintain a schedule of all the necessary software, components, services, hardware and configurations required for the complete process of operating your website. This should also include details of all contracts, licences, agreements, contracts and rights required - and details of who to contact with queries or to update any details.

Licensing conditions are important. It might be that there is a limit on the number of server, simultaneous users or domain names that a component like an in-line HTML editor in your content management system (CMS) might be allowed to run in.

There's been a flurry of activity since Google launched its Chrome web browser on Tuesday and it reminded me that the browser used by web site administrators is as much part of the CMS as the application software, database and web servers. The licensing conditions of any component can have a dramatic effect on the system. In the case of Chrome, it might have meant that anything you publish could have been re-purposed elsewhere by Google.

Here are some good discussions on the subject:

• Tap the Hive
• Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO

I'm pleased Google acted promptly and have now changed their terms of service. But beware of licensing conditions - you might not have what it takes.