Closing down your website when you know the end is near

14 February 2025

David M. Webb, a retired investment banker based in Hong Kong, writes about closing his website, aptly named webb-site, which he launched in 1998, on account of terminal illness:

I hope to reach 60 in August and all I want for my birthday is another one, but before I become more dysfunctional, I need to make plans for the orderly conclusion of this pro bono, loss-making work rather than leave managing it as a burden for my family. One of the few benefits of knowing that you’re dying is being able to plan the end on your own terms.

Despite being online for about the same amount of time, I’d never heard of Webb, or his website, until I read his valedictory post yesterday. What a terrible time it must be though, for him, and his family, with his illness.

His post raises some soul searching matters though. I’ve not (really) given any thought to what happens to this website after I am gone. I did get as far as seeing if my web host offered advance paid long term hosting packages, so my website survives me for at least some period of time. This was after I saw some writing on the subject about eight or nine months ago maybe.

But I just picture myself keeping on keeping on here, and hope any preservation plans will be easy to implement when they become necessary. Webb says he does not intend that his website remain online after his death. This seems a shame, especially for one that’s been around for some twenty-seven years. Instead, Webb hopes his website, and work, will live on through the Internet Archive.

Maybe that will be the case for many website owners.