Cloud Infrastructure Checklist for Small Businesses

Key Points

For small businesses, startups, agencies, online store owners, and software teams planning cloud changes.

• Write down who owns your domain, hosting, cloud account, billing, code, and passwords.
• Know what is backed up, how often, how to restore it, and who gets an alert.
• Give each person only the access they need, with strong passwords and two-step login (a second check, like a code on your phone).
• Track your costs, and write down the steps for every update.

Which Cloud Setup Basics Should You Check First?

Start with your domain and your DNS (the settings that point your domain name to your website). Then check HTTPS (the padlock that keeps data safe between the browser and your site).

Next, check your hosting company, the setup your app runs in, your database, and your storage. Also check your CDN (servers in many places that load your pages faster for visitors), forms, email delivery, and who owns each account.

Your Website Hosting Checklist

• Write down who owns the domain, hosting, cloud account, and billing.
• Also write down who owns the repository (the place where your code is stored) and the passwords for your live site.
• Use HTTPS on every page.
• Remove old parked pages, test sites, or duplicate records that confuse visitors and search engines.
• Keep a separate copy for building and testing, apart from your live site, when the business risk makes it worth it.

What Should You Know About Backups and Alerts?

You should know what is backed up and how often. You should also know how to restore it, and who gets an alert when something breaks.

Cloud systems need 2 things: a clear view of what is happening inside them, and a plan to recover.

Backups, Monitoring, and Security

• Decide what to back up: website files, databases, images and other files, settings, and important business data.
• Turn on uptime checks (automatic tests that your site is working), error logs, visitor stats, form checks, and security alerts where they apply.
• Give each person only the access they need.
• Use strong passwords and two-step login, change passwords from time to time, and share them safely.

How Do You Control Cloud Costs and Updates?

Keep your services simple, and look for services you no longer use. Cloud bills and updates should not be a mystery.

Write down the steps to release an update. Also write down how to go back to the last working version if an update fails.

Cost and Release Control

• Track your repeat costs: tools, domains, plugins, hosting, storage, email, and visitor stats.
• Also track what you pay for each outside API (a way for two apps to talk to each other).
• Use CI/CD (a safe, automatic way to release updates) or a written release checklist to cut mistakes made by hand.
• Before launch, check speed, caching (saved copies that help pages load faster), image sizes, redirects, and whether search engines can read your pages.

Questions About Cloud Setup