In a previous post - http://thewebup.modulus.co.nz/2013/08/02/always-stay-in-touch-with-your-web-developer/ - I discussed the importance of staying in touch with your Web Developer. More often than not people lose the contact details or forget who actually built their site. Now, depending on your Website it may not be easy to get your hands on the source code files, especially if it has dynamic content like a content management system, or any content that is managed via an administration site. But if you have really let the Website get away on you, then perhaps it is mainly static content that is saved as actual files on a Web Server that hosts your Website. Either way, there are many ways to get your Website, or at least much of it’s content downloaded to your computer so you can hand it over to someone else to work on.
Why am I telling you this?
I had an email from a client enquiring about a content managed Website for their client. They wanted the same site layout and content as they currently have, but just wanted to be able to manage the content on it and send newsletters to clients etc… A specialty of mine 
However, they were concerned they might not be able to get the original Website files for whatever reason. Before they even came to me with this, knowing the job details I had already downloaded their client’s site, and to my surprise it was 99% static html files. Within 15 seconds I had the site down locally on my development computer and was viewing it in a browser. No problem I said 
Knowledge is key here, not skill. What I use is a great little tool called Black Widow - https://softbytelabs.com/en/BlackWidow/. It is free to try and while it will always function with all the features available, it pays to get a license so you can get support and upgrades etc…
So next time you lose your site content, use this tool to ge tit back. Most of the time you can at least get the main layout and content back. Then you can do what you want with it. Redesign, change content or give it more power with a content management system.
Related articles
- Always stay in touch with your Web Developer (thewebup.modulus.co.nz)
- Why Choose A Content Management System For Your Site (nexcess.net)
- Difference between static and dynamic websites (dotprogramming.blogspot.com)
