A Web Site is not a Finished Product, Every Site Must be Maintained

Web Presence Requires Regular Maintenance

Any site that is not being maintained, is at risk for defacement or worse.

Even static HTML pages require periodic site maintenance, a plan for domain name registrations, a plan for backup and restore.

Powerful options for site maintenance are built in to the combination of eZ Publish and Media Temple DV servers.

SSH - Tail the eZ Error Log

Periodically ssh direct to DV service and for each domain hosting eZ Publish on the service..

tail -n50 /var/www/vhosts/<domain.com>/httpdocs/var/log/error.log

About once a month should work for low volume sites in the absence of any complaints. Or any time a site gets mysteriously sluggish, this is the first place to check.

Plesk - Check Access and Error Logs

Each domain on a DV server performs access and error logging.

The logs are automatically archived and available from a plesk login for the domain by clicking the "Log Manager" icon for the domain.

The error log has an obvious purpose.

The access logs may be reviewed for insight into the geographic location of web visitors and the timing of their visits.

Plesk - Site Backups

Also within the plesk interface is the whole site backup mechanism.

Click the "Backup" icon, and with a few more clicks, the entire site may be packaged into a single archive.

Archives may be stored on the DV server as a point in time snapshot that can be quickly restored with a few clicks. Periodically, these snapshot backups should be downloaded locally for archiving and disaster preparedness.

Restore backups from this same "Backup" interface. It is also just a few clicks worth of work if restoring from a backup stored in the plesk interface.

To restore a backup from disaster archives, the location of the backup files on a DV server is /var/lib/psa/dumps/1/5 with the last number, the 5, dependent upon how many domains are hosted on the particular server. If a backup has been made for the domain, there should be a reasonably descriptive file stored in that folder which allows simple verification of the correct path.

eZ Admin - Check File Consistency

If suspicion arises that the site may be under the control of external forces, verify the integrity of the original distribution files.

From the eZ admin interface, Setup tab->Upgrade Check->Check File Consistency

Only files that have intentionally been changed should be in the list that is returned.

If files have been changed without your knowledge or permission, your site may have been hacked by forces outside your control.

By including this check in monthly maintenance, a baseline reference is established for later comparisons as required.

eZ Admin - Check For Broken Links

Often listed as the most common usability problem on the web, broken links aggravate visitors and are an indicator that the site is poorly managed or out of date.

Simple sites, eZ admin->Setup->Url Management, verify each link one at a time by clicking it to be sure it resolves. More complex sites or more automated ways, details are covered on this site under eZ - Wow http://webportalmaster.com/index.php/eng/eZ/Wow/URL-Management

eZ Admin - Check Search Statistics

Marketing types should be involved in this maintenance procedure. Admin->Setup->Search Statistics, pretty much self explanatory from there.

If nobody is searching for anything on the site, the marketing types may need to get out of the office and get to contacting the people that should be using the site! Just be sure that when visitors arrive, they are greeted with the best, most relevant content. And that the content is provided in as consumable and consumer friendly a manner as possible. That is what brings visitors back, and builds site usage over time.

A big advertising budget and heavy marketing can temporarily blip the site, but only relevant, user friendly sites will attract a loyal audience and hold interest over time.