The Test of Time: Why Good Content Can Disappear Online

If you've ever gone through your bookmarks, you've probably discovered some useful content no longer exists. Either the site which published the content no longer exists or the site which hosted the content is gone.

Remember Livejournal and Geocities? Content on these sites disappeared and most publishers didn't bother to find a new home for their content. Hosting platforms come and go all the time; if the owner doesn't make money, they eventually fold.

Other publishers maintain their own websites, but independent websites and blogs can disappear too. People can forget to renew their domain or they choose to not renew it because the site isn't making money. Sometimes people just don't have the time to maintain their website or they lose interest. You'll find many people set up affiliate websites and then realize how much work they are and they quit.

Technology moves fast and publishers who set up their website a decade ago may not want to update it. The site may not be responsive and it may load slowly. It may also rely heavily on Java applets, which modern browsers no longer support. If a publisher is only earning pennies, they won't waste their time maintaining an out-dated site.

There's always the Wayback Machine, which keeps some content available longer, but if you find a piece of content you will need in the future, save it as a file on your computer or in the cloud.

Maintaining a website with exceptional content is time consuming. When you have the chance to make a small donation to the publisher, do so, however, most publishers rely on advertising and/or affiliate links to generate revenue. If a site is especially helpful to you, link to it on your social media or your own site. This helps the publisher rank better in the search results so they will get more traffic and make more money. This will encourage the webmaster to maintain the site. For more information click here https://jeffhuang.com/designed_to_last/.