Re: Site almost disappears from Google
No, I don't provide the CMS and I have little if any control over either the current host's CMS or the previous host's CMS. Both the old and new sites were hosted by two different third parties, each of which automatically generates page files and page names, and each of which has its own, different, page naming conventions. So I can't simply download a site from one host and upload it to the other. The process involves basically building a completely new site on one host, then redirecting the domain from the old host and killing off the old hosting account. Of course we check for broken links on the new site, but there's absolutely no way to simply move the site files from one host to the other.
Point2's system is incredibly powerful in its own right, and it offers an amazing list of features. For example, if a realtor posts a listing of home for sale, the listing can be automatically syndicated to over two dozen other web sites, including CraigsList and Point2Homes.com. But working with it is nothing like working with a standard web host. Building a custom site on top of a Point2 site involves workarounds piled upon workarounds.
I'm not quite as stupid as you imply: I've been building web sites since 1995, however working on top of the Point2 system involves its own very complex set of challenges. I've spent over a year and a half learning to customize these sites and I figure out a new workaround almost every day. I'm also proud to mention that JoeJanus.com, the site in question, was named "Site of the Month" out of over 150,000 Point2 sites this month. Too bad the huge volume of traffic visiting it this week is mostly other realtors! I sure hope Google will re-index it soon!
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