Product Reviews Site Owners and Leaders

BlueFur: Web Hosting Review, Bad Conduct, Content Wiped Out: Part 4

The final part of this web hosting review of BlueFur, documenting their bad conduct and how my first website’s content was wiped out because of them, is the tomb stone on the grave of a morose chapter in this web master’s life. The final part of this series, what I learned from my experience with Bluefur.com, was knowledge gained at a heavy cost.

Because of my first website’s suspension by Bluefur.com and its subsequent downtime:

  • My site lost 670 modified pictures (uploaded continuously since the site began) inserted throughout 404 posts. This resulted in lackluster, barebones previously printed posts in the site’s archive. Because the 670 pictures were not available, when Google and other sites linked to those images and posts, unique visitors looking for them (in their associated posts) did not find them, did not stay on the site long (increasing my bounce rate), did not sign up for my RSS Feed, click on ads, other posts or make comments.
  • All of the websites paying for links within the site’s posts canceled.
  • A large percentage of the posts that were edited a few days before the suspension, around 40 Film Reviews, were restored to their previous versions (before they were edited) after the suspension was lifted.
  • The site’s Technorati Rating dropped from around 40 to 36.
  • Numerous opportunities were lost. Since my site was off-line, I could not show certain people that I did in fact run a film website.
  • Time. Instead of writing new content and posts, I had to replace 11+ months of media deleted during the course of my suspension.

I have long ago fought my way back from this nightmare and the clutches BlurFur’s employees.

Fran Kranz The Cabin in the Woods

Fran Kranz The Cabin in the Woods

My first website was an experiment for me into the film world. I used and continue to use it as a means to post film reviews onto the web, make industry connections, et cetera. It has been a rewarding experience. I learned a lot about SEO, running a website, and monetization (written about here: Make Money Online and here: How to Make Money with a Movie Website), far more than I would have by just reading about it and studying it. Beginning on November 30, 2008, I learned another lesson, one that was both nauseating and unimaginable. At its conclusion, an integral part of my website was gutted, torn out, its gapping, cold sore-like wound left open in 404 posts for all the world, unique visitors, and Google Image Searches to see. Do not let this happen to you. Be prudent. Be safe. Beware.

Here is what everyone who reads this post can do should do:

  • Stop what you are doing right now and backup your entire weblog. All of it. It will only take a few minutes.
  • Look in your Terms of Service under Blog Backups (or whatever it is called, Website Backups) with your current web host and familiar yourself with its contents.
  • Choose a website host that can handle your site’s eventual growth without penalties and/or account suspensions. Do due diligence and choose the right website host. I have listed a few under Website Building on the How to Start Movie Website Resources page.
  • Consider a dedicated server for your website. It will cost you much more per month than a basic hosting plan but you will never have to deal with usage problem like I did. The entire server, all its bandwidth, will be all yours.

There are other web hosting companies like BlurFur out there who are only concerned about money and will not hesitate to take advantage of you, a situation or your website to get it. The truly disreputable *phlegmy cough* BlueFur *end phlegmy cough* will lie to you in emails and even go as far as performing a bait and switch, not even trying to hide it. Why?: because they hold all of your content in the palm of their hands. Take back the power. Use some of the percussions above, regularly back-up your website, et cetera.

And to BlueFur, my old friend (as in how Captain Kirk and Khan Noonien Singh were “old friends” in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan), there is nothing left to say. Even Dane Cook is speechless.

Dane Cook Fingering

Dane Cook Fingering

What did you think of this ProMovieBlogger post series?

About the author

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook, ProMovieBlogger, and TrendingAwards.

Connect with ProMovieBlogger

Advertisement

Share via

You cannot copy content of this page

Send this to a friend