We have been creating websites for clients for over 15 years. As a matter of course we make minor edits and updates for our clients promptly and at no charge as part of their hosting and support contract, while major changes are quoted for individually. User-editable features (such as an Online Shop or our Availability Calendar) or editable text areas can be set up on request, and separate FTP areas can be set up with different user credentials to the main site if you need a storage area on the site for particular types of file. If you feel that must have total control over the content of your site then we recommend that we set you up with a website built in Wordpress.
Occasionally we get a request from a client for FTP access to a non-content-managed website or non-content-managed areas of a site we have created for them.
Sites we create are not built in any WYSIWYG environment, they are coded by hand in HTML and CSS with some javascript and PHP for advanced functionality. Unless the client has several years experience with web design (and we are not talking about a casual familiarity with any old web authoring programme) then this can be a recipe for disaster, as it is very easy for someone who does not understand the underlying code to break the structure of the website. At best this can result in a messy looking page with the layout all over the place, at worst it can result in the entire site being replaced by an error message. In the first instance we can usually fix the problem by replacing the original file, but in the second instance it may take hours or even be impossible to track down what the client has done.
Most of our clients' sites are hosted either on shared servers or on VPS platforms (virtual private servers). In both cases this means that there are other sites on the server. Although the sites are completely separate it is not totally unknown in the industry for an entire server to be compromised by a poorly written script of some sort. There is nothing to stop someone with FTP access uploading PHP files or other scripts which could damage the integrity of the server, threatening not just their own site but other client's sites on the server as well.
For the reasons given above it is our general policy to not give out FTP access unless are reasonably sure that the client knows what they are doing and will use it responsibly.
If you feel that you must have FTP access to the site then it may be given subject to the following conditions:
- Clients are asked to not upload any PHP files, javascript or anything other than graphics files, PDF documents, HTML or CSS without clearing it with us first.
- Your having FTP access and editing the website yourself means that we can no longer take any responsibility for rectifying unintended changes in the content and appearance of the site. While we will try to help where we can any time spent rectifying unintended changes will be billed for at our full hourly rate and free support will be limited to server related issues only.
- If anything occurs that is in any way prejudicial to the correct operation of our server, or if anything is uploaded that could affect the reputation of our company, then we reserve the right to terminate your hosting contract early and refund a proportionate amount at the rate of £10.00 per month remaining. For this reason we recommend that if you do have FTP access the first thing you do is make a backup of your entire site before making any changes.
If having read the above you are still convinced that you require FTP access to your site then please print this form, fill it in, sign it and post it to us. On receipt of the signed disclaimer we will email you the details you need to access your site via FTP. We ask that you keep this data secure and do not reveal it to anyone else. If we feel that for any reason unsuitable material has been uploaded to our server then we reserve the right to terminate FTP access at any point.
