Fetch Softworks

updating old website (4 posts)

• Started 15 years ago by whiskyshots
• Latest reply 15 years ago from Scott McGuire

• whiskyshots Member

  i redid a website for a friend.

  i connect to their site.

  all of their old files show up. do i delete those and THEN upload my new site?

  i tried just uploading them without deleting but that didn't work.

  with my site, i deleted all the old files when i updated it but i wanted to be sure before i go and delete the old files to someone else's website...

  Posted 15 years ago #

• Scott McGuire Administrator

  Hi,

  Generally it's a good idea to remove the old website before uploading a new one, although the danger is that you may be without a website temporarily if the new website doesn't work properly, as may be the case here.

  The reason it's a often a good idea to remove the old website first is that otherwise you will usually be left with a mix of old and new website files on the server.

  This is because Fetch only replaces old files with new files if they have the same exact name; otherwise the old files are left alone. (And when you upload a folder that has the same name as an existing folder, Fetch will merge the contents of the new folder into the existing folder - it will not replace the folder entirely.) And a new website will rarely contain exactly the same files as an older website.

  While we have seen cases where the old website keeps the new website from working, usually when a new website does not work, it is due to a problem with the new website's design or because the new website was uploaded incorrectly (the files were not put in the right place), not because the old website is still there.

  One thing you can do as a backup plan is to use Fetch to download the old website first before deleting it. Then, if you cannot get the new website working, you will still have the old website files that you can upload again and hopefully it will work.

  I hope this helps you decide what to do, and please let us know if you have further questions.

  Thanks,

  Scott McGuire
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 15 years ago #

• whiskyshots Member

  hi thanks for the quick response. how do i use fetch to download the old website as a backup? i'm connected and all the files are there, i just can't figure out what to do next.

  Originally posted by ScottMcGuire:

  Hi,

  Generally it's a good idea to remove the old website before uploading a new one, although the danger is that you may be without a website temporarily if the new website doesn't work properly, as may be the case here.

  The reason it's a often a good idea to remove the old website first is that otherwise you will usually be left with a mix of old and new website files on the server.

  This is because Fetch only replaces old files with new files if they have the same exact name; otherwise the old files are left alone. (And when you upload a folder that has the same name as an existing folder, Fetch will merge the contents of the new folder into the existing folder - it will not replace the folder entirely.) And a new website will rarely contain exactly the same files as an older website.

  While we have seen cases where the old website keeps the new website from working, usually when a new website does not work, it is due to a problem with the new website's design or because the new website was uploaded incorrectly (the files were not put in the right place), not because the old website is still there.

  One thing you can do as a backup plan is to use Fetch to download the old website first before deleting it. Then, if you cannot get the new website working, you will still have the old website files that you can upload again and hopefully it will work.

  I hope this helps you decide what to do, and please let us know if you have further questions.

  Thanks,

  Scott McGuire
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 15 years ago #

• Scott McGuire Administrator

  Hi,

  You can download files from Fetch just by selecting them and dragging them to a folder on your Macintosh.

  So, I'd suggest you create a new folder on your Mac to hold the old site backup, select all the files and folders of the old website in Fetch, and then drag them to that new folder. Fetch will start downloading them and put them in that folder.

  Thanks,

  Scott McGuire
  Fetch Softworks

  Posted 15 years ago #