Sometimes getting to the truth even about something as simple as a web site builder is almost impossible. Not that a website builder is simple by any means, but compared to the big questions concerning life and death, it is simple because there is an answer if you can find someone who will tell the truth.
And therein lies the problem.
About two months ago, I got an email from by website provider saying that with the demise of the Adobe Flash Player, my website will no longer be active, and they are switching me to a new website builder. The original builder, although wieldy to work with, was actually pretty simple to understand. This one, I just stared at in total non-comprehension. I’m not an IT person by any means, but over the years, I’ve learned how to do a lot of things, but this one has me flummoxed because it is so different.
So I called the company, and the person who responded said I didn’t have to do anything, that the tools would do most of the work, and that an actual person would work on the site and get it going for me.
A week later, I got another email from the company, reminding me about the upcoming change, and that I had to take action. So again, I called the company, and the person who answered iterated what the first person had said, and added that an entire division had been added to take care of the conversion.
Well, today, I got another email telling me I have to switch my account over, and that experts are standing by in case I have questions, which is entirely different from their actually doing the work. So I called again, and apparently, those first two guys were wrong. I do have to set up the website myself.
Now, instead of two months to figure out what the heck I’m doing, I have less than two weeks during Christmas season to update the site. Eek.
This guy said that the old website wouldn’t simply disappear at the end of the month, and since I don’t have anything that used the Adobe Flash player, I should be okay, but “should” isn’t much of a guarantee. He also said I have a very old web builder, that it was old when he started working there six years ago (as if six years is ancient history, which in tech terms, I suppose it is.)
The good news is that I will have many more pages at my disposal, the site will be mobile friendly, and it will follow Google’s security guidelines.
Once I get over my snit about being strung along for so many weeks, it might be fun to play around with a new site. At least I hope so.
Now I just have to figure out what pages I want, what I need to put on those pages, what I want to highlight on the front page, and how best to showcase my books.
Wish me luck. Or better yet, offer suggestions of what you like to see in a website!
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator
Bertram's Blog 
December 17, 2020 at 3:30 pm
Pat as a IT technicien I try to explain to you.
There is two Adobe Flash Player versions
1. Silent version : A silent install is the installation of a software program that requires no user interaction. It is a convenient way to streamline the installation process of a desktop application. … In a silent install, these items are selected automatically and the installer runs from start to finish without requiring any user input.
And Normal version I suppose which you have.
Please for more details please ask your webmaster (I have an idea that the person is your friend).
He can explain to you and help you.
Otherwise uninstall using adobe programme and reinstall
https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html
Solution: Download and run the uninstaller
Download the uninstaller for Flash Player.
Exit all browsers and other programs that use Flash.
Please before do anything with your computer ask some one with whom you can have enough confidence.
Good luck
December 17, 2020 at 5:32 pm
This is purely speculation, but worth every penny you paid for it…
My guess is the nag emails you got have more to do with what the lawyers think they need than what the tech types want. If your site goes dark, you can’t sue for $ bazillions, because they nagged you ad nauseum before.
I remember before Y2K (!) being asked to certify that everything in the known universe and a little bit beyond would function normally on 1/1/00. I obviously couldn’t do that, but lawyers think differently.
December 17, 2020 at 5:53 pm
I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re probably right. After all, that’s what food expiration dates are. Often, the food is good for months, even years after the date (they really want us to believe that sea salt, which has been around for millions of years will expire in just a few months?). To me, that expiration date, although sometimes is a good indication of how long the food will be acceptable is more of an expiration of a person’s ability to sue over that product.
December 25, 2020 at 8:25 am
Good Luck!! I hope everything works out to your liking. I know NOTHING about web sites ( my IT person is my daughter).