I never thought I’d be facing the digital equivalent of a fatal bus crash, but there I was, last fall, staring at the wreckage of my beloved travel blog, chickybus. A blank webpage with nothing on it except the word ‘suspended’ and the name of the webhost.
It began when I tried (and failed) to negotiate a better monthly hosting rate (after the introductory price skyrocketed) and a credit card issue on my end.. One day, the blog was suspended. I paid for one more month and it was reinstated. Didn’t seem like a big deal.
Then, I got very busy with my teaching job and wasn’t paying close attention. The one month flew by. When I final realized the blog had been suspended again (for nonpayment), I called the webhost. Sure enough, that was the case and there was no way for them to help me. Why? They had no backups. I was sort of stunned because I’d used Bluehost for many years prior and I recalled that there was usually some backup somewhere.
Sadly, I had no viable backups either. Truth be told, I wasn’t blogging much. C bus was more of an archive at that point and so, I’d let certain tasks slide. I take responsibility for that.
The blog was gone…
Anyway, after multiple phone calls to the webhost, the realization hit me. The blog was gone. For real.
My heart sank as I imagined that years of travel stories, photos, and memories would be lost forever.
Desperate for a solution, I initially turned to the WayBackMachine and various ‘downloader’ software options. I was tempted to try these routes, but conversations with a few web developers left me hesitant and unsure if they could truly salvage my site. One I spoke with told me I needed an old backup. I managed to find some from 2015, but there were some corrupted databases. At that point, I was ready to give up.
I’d heard about Archivarix, which also works with the WayBackMachine, and knew it was a different sort of softward. I felt a glimmer of hope, but I still wasn’t confident in my ability to use it effectively.
A web developer named Hamid saved the day!
Some Googling led me to Fiverr and Pakistani web developer named Hamid, who said he knew how to use Archivarix. From the moment we connected, I had a good feeling about him and what he could do. Sure enough, his expertise and determination were exactly what I needed to breathe life back into the bus.
What Hamid accomplished was nothing short of miraculous. Instead of relying on non-existent backups, he used caches from the WayBackMachine and put them together via the Archivarix software to reconstruct my blog as ‘static pages.’ There were a few things wrong right away (with type sizes), but Hamid was able to clean those up with some custom CSS files he altered.
Not quite a Frankenstein, but certainly ‘vintage’ pages with quirks
Anyway, the restored/resurrected ChickyBus may not be an exact replica of its former self, but it’s alive and ready to hit the road again. However, there are some quirks and issues that you will see if if you view those pages:
– Multiple designs: You might see one header and then, on another page, a completely different one
– A few missing photos (I’ll be adding them in at a later date)
– Some broken links (will fix later)
– It may not be obvious how to return to the homepage of the new blog (just click on the name chickybus at the top of the page)
Ready to drive the bus once again
Despite these imperfections, I’m thrilled to have a functioning site and can’t wait to get back behind the wheel, sharing my travel adventures with the world once more.
This experience has taught me valuable lessons about the importance of regular backups and that where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m grateful to Hamid and to whoever developed the Archivarix software.
As I prepare to drive my the chickybs out of the digital garage, I’m filled with gratitude and excitement. The open road awaits, and I’m ready to create new memories to share with my readers, appreciating more than ever the journey that brought me back online.
Link love
Fiver profile for Hamid, the web developer.
Archivarix, the software used to ‘archive’ the vintage site
WayBackMachine, which allows you to see web pages from the past (archived by a number of organizations)