Has anyone ever deleted their entire hosting account?

“Doh…!”

Well, yes, I have…

As of 30 minutes ago, I had no blog to speak of any more, no site whatsoever, and it’s all down to the itchy trigger finger. I hit delete to remove an installation of WordPress MU (Multi User version), and became a little impatient. Hit it three times in the end.

First delete, whilst carried out in a slow and laid back manner, carried out the intended removal of said WordPress MU installation. Delete number 2, proceeded in the same laid back manner to delete the folder representing that particular domain. Delete 3, and here’s the biggy, proceeded in a laid back manner to delete the entire contents of my ‘public-html’ folder.

Picture the scene…

My wife next to me on the couch, watching YouTube videos of “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”, a UK panel quiz hosted by the talented Simon Amstell. I glance across to see Preston of the Ordinary Boys walking out on the show in disgust, and with him, my files have disappeared from my hosting account. Goodbye files, hello strange sickening feeling…

What should you do in the same situation?

You should, following in my own foot steps, firstly panic internally. Picture the swimming duck - slow, serene movement above the surface, and kicking its little legs like there’s no tomorrow under the surface. You should then attempt to find your hosting account equivalent of the ‘undo’ button - except, you won’t find one. There isn’t one. You should then make contact with your hosting company (I talked to John at BlueHost)  who will proceed in a calm voice to reassure you that there was probably a backup only yesterday. 20 minutes later, you’re back in business with a fully functioning hosting account.

Moral?

Backup. Backup. Backup. And only hit delete once…