Dark Sites: The hidden page that could save your company

Imagine getting to work one morning faced with a ransomware attack that’s crippled your entire business; no access to the network, no access to data, all your websites are down, and your customers are getting angry on social media?

This isn’t just a hypothetical scenario, unfortunately, it’s quite common.

This summer (2024), the UK's National Health Service (NHS) faced a major IT outage that affected critical services.

The incident left doctors unable to access patient records, disrupted emergency services, and caused widespread chaos in hospitals across London.

But what if there was a way to maintain a lifeline of communication even when your primary systems fail?

What if you could reassure stakeholders, provide critical updates, and maintain some semblance of control, even in the midst of chaos?

Enter the concept of a 'Dark Site' - a powerful tool in your crisis management arsenal that could make all the difference when disaster strikes.  

What is a Dark Site?

A Dark Site is a pre-built, inactive website, kept in reserve for emergencies.

It’s designed to be activated quickly if your usual communications channels, whether due to a cyber breach, technical meltdown, or even natural disasters, fail.

Think of it as a lifeboat: rarely needed but critical when all else is sinking.

These sites live outside the everyday structure of a company’s web presence, making them less vulnerable to the same risks that might knock out a primary site. In the thick of a crisis, they’re switched on, enabling businesses to communicate vital information with stakeholders: employees, customers, and the public.

And if you’re wondering if Dark Sites are only for when you’ve been hacked…

Remember that time when KFC ran out of chicken and had to close their branches?!  It wasn’t a hack that did that, but what should have been a routine switch of supplier.  Instead, it caused a social media meltdown and KFC launched their own Dark Site, the response was poultry in motion.

Why You Need a Dark Site in Your Crisis Plan

When a crisis hits, the public and your customers expect answers, fast.

Often, the first place they’ll go is your company’s website. And if that site is compromised, the absence of clear, credible communication can escalate an already volatile situation.

Crisis communication is 80% about providing information, according to industry studies. The actions a company takes in those initial moments can sway public opinion and influence how the event is remembered long after the dust settles. A swift response backed by transparent communication can do a lot to reassure people that the situation is under control.

Over 40% of businesses that experience a serious data breach don’t fully recover. In this climate, clear communication isn’t just a courtesy, it’s a survival mechanism.

Dark Sites provide a crucial advantage: they allow companies to offer real-time updates, maintaining a semblance of control amidst uncertainty.

When to activate your Dark Site

Not every crisis calls for a Dark Site, but in certain cases, they can be a game-changer:

Dark Sites are designed to be the single hub for information for everything related to the crisis. They keep things separate from normal business operations, which can help avoid confusion and create a space dedicated solely to addressing the situation.

The decision to activate a Dark Site signals that the crisis has become the company’s top priority. It sends a strong message and a clear way of saying, "We’re focused entirely on this."

The faster you act, the more control you have to shape the narrative of the story. A Dark Site allows companies to offer accurate, up-to-date information to the media and the public, helping to curb speculation and misinformation.

Designing an Effective Dark Site

Simplicity is key when it comes to Dark Sites.

Consider the use case; people on small screens with sketchy 3G internet access, quick, clear, and functional is key. Keep the layout clean, less is more. Focus on crisis details, company response, and any instructions for the public... Basically, you can leave the parallax animations at home!

Pre-loading content is critical. Have press releases, images, and official documents ready to go in multiple languages, ensuring they’re suitable for the scenario. The Dark Site should be deployable within minutes, not hours, of an incident.

Commit to providing regular updates. Transparency is paramount during a crisis, and a silent or outdated Dark Site can undermine trust. Ensure someone is tasked with keeping the content fresh, particularly as new information emerges.

And don’t forget SEO. While the primary function of a Dark Site is to respond to a crisis, that doesn’t mean you should abandon search engine considerations. You’ll want to control what gets indexed to manage the long-term impact on your brand.

Lastly, a Dark Site is only as good as your preparedness. Testing and rehearsing its deployment are vital. A well-designed site won’t do much good if it doesn’t work when the pressures on.

For a recent project where we created a Dark Site for a global client, we engineered a solution that prioritises speed, scalability and accessibility.  Using Next.js to build a lean, responsive UI that adapts seamlessly to any device size, ensuring critical information remains accessible whether viewed on a desktop or a phone.

To simplify content management, we integrated Contentful as our headless CMS. This allows authors to easily publish content without grappling with complex publishing workflows. Contentful’s intuitive interface empowers non-technical users to manage crisis communications efficiently, a crucial factor during high stress situations.

The sites architecture was designed with performance in mind. We deployed the Dark Site to Vercel’s platform, taking advantage of their global Content Delivery Network (CDN). This strategic choice ensures our clients stakeholders worldwide can access the site with minimal latency, even during high traffic situations.

This technical approach meant we were able to rapidly develop the solution and will also ensure we can rapidly deploy the solution thanks to out of the box deployment pipelines between Contentful and Vercel.

Preparing for the unexpected

A Dark Site is not just a backup, it’s a vital tool for protecting your reputation.

Crafting an effective Dark Site requires strategic planning and technical expertise to ensure it can be activated swiftly and efficiently. As situations evolve, businesses that prioritise professional Dark Site development will be better equipped to manage the challenge and maintain stakeholder trust.

The real question is, are you ready to face a crisis without one?

Get in touch to find out.