Hostgator Problem Solving

This can happen to anyone and does.

In the morning the website is up and running fine. In the afternoon you go to log in and you get a database error message.

Your site is down.

Luckily you backed up your data the day before after your last post so you don’t have to worry. Think again.

So you get on the phone and call your Host, in my case Hostgator.

I explain my situation to the Hostgator rep and he does some checking on his end. We end up loading in my back up and I notice that none of my images are loading on the site.

My embedded videos are there, the text data and banners are all showing. The sidebars all look good. It’s just the images that don’t load.

We decide at this point to fill in a ticket so that a back up database can be taken from the Sunday global back up Hostgator does on Sundays.

My rep is real patient as I fill in the ticket form with his assistance since I would have blown it if I had done it on my own.

I get email confirmation of my ticket submission with the notice that they will work as quickly as possible to implement it.

Thirty minutes later, I get confirmation that my back up has been loaded on the site. It’ll cost me $15. No problem.

When I go to the site I notice the problem hasn’t been solved. My images are still not there.

That tells me the database may not be where the problem is because on Sunday my site wars running fine and a back up would reflect that.

I call Hostgator and get Eric on the phone.

I lay out the issue to Eric and he reopens the ticket and starts to think it through.

Now these call centers don’t like to see a lot of time running on a call but at no time was there pressure to close it out and submit a new ticket.

He goes on the site and sees for himself what is going on and notes the missing images. LInks from the images are working, it is the image itself that is not loading.

So he does a couple of things. He checks the folder and files for the images and finds that they are there waiting to be referenced for loading.

He goes back and checks the integrity of the database and finds it to be in order. The database code has no errors and references the images for loading.

He then has to get authorization to go beyond his normal operating parameters and check the server status to see if it was connecting database with image files properly.

It is a hunch and it pays off.

Some forty minutes into the call, my site was back up and in full working order.

I want to thank Eric and Hostgator for the can do attitude. There are no problems only solutions if you have the right mindset and take the time to think out of the box.

Lessons learned.

Back up your site. That takes care of one important variable in the mix and makes it easier to eliminate that from the list of potential problems and find a solution.

Work with your rep. I was put on hold for three or four stretches of time. I considered that a plus. I was getting closer to a fix.

Take notes. You learn a lot from these experiences. I know what I’ll suggest if this happens again and I don’t get a rep as experienced as Eric.

And thank your Host. Thank you Hostgator, for giving your reps the time and space to work on solutions. Not all companies do that.

So there you have it. A day in the life of an affiliate marketer.

Stay with it ,stay well and may your travels be prosperous.