If you’ve ever had a hosting company shut down or shut you down then you know that sinking feeling that you may have just lost countless hours of work. If you have ever been the victim of a heartless hacker you’ve been there too. I have had both happen. I had a hosting company that ‘took the money and ran’ to never return again. That was several years ago. I’ve been hacked a few times too.
Starting over can be a terrible ordeal but if you have recent backups of your site files and databases you can quickly be up and running again. Below are a few options to consider.
FTP client
When you first start your blog it’s very important to keep a copy locally on your computer. Use the exact folder structure on your computer that you do on your site. When you add plugins, new themes or anything else to your site always put it in the correct folder and the FTP it to your server. I recommend weekly FTP backups if you make updates and changes regularly. It’s good to get in the habit of making these backups the same time each week. Set aside half an hour or so dedicated to blog backups each week. I recommend database backups daily but more on that below.
Want more on using FTP? Watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3DudpEMPiY
cPanel® Backup Option:
If you are a technical person cPanel has their own manual that includes backups.
WordPress Plugin:
Austin Matzko offers a very popular WordPress plug-in that can be setup for automatic database backups. I use WordPress Database Backup on all of my blogs. I have them setup to email me daily backups.
Blogger Blogs:
Alex Chitu @ Google Operating System Blog shows an easy way of backing up Blogger blogs using a Firefox extension. How to Backup a Blogger Blog
phpMyAdmin Backup:
Daniel @ Daily Blog Tips shows how to use your phpMyAdmin to export your tables and database in his post “Backup Your Blog Regularly“.
Here’s a tutorial from SiteGround.com Inc.: MySQL Tutorial
Remote Data Backup Service:
Using an online third party backup service may be another option. I had a list of sites for you but then I found this review of online backup services by Gadgetadvisor.com Evaluating Online Backup Services
Related Blogging Tips :
Blogging Tips Weekly Newsletter
logging tips by Pro Bloggers. We are experienced bloggers offering valuable tips delivered to your inbox. Blogging tips that will help you build, maintain, improve and promote your blog.
Real NewsletterBlogging Tips, Video Tips, Social Media Tips & moreNo endless offersSafely delivered by AWeber - You Can Trust UsExclusive Bonus: My latest eBook free: Niche AdSense Blogging Modus Operandi - Where I show you how I earn thousands $ each year from AdSense Niche Blogs.
Mark Errol says:
You’ve shared a highly informative post! This will serve as a big help for me! Thanks a lot for all the links, especially with the FTP client.
Mark Errol recently posted..used fire trucks
Julie Hayes says:
Its very important to have the files and content of your site backed up on your computer. We can never know if we might encounter the same problem that Brian experienced. Its good to be safe.
Julie Hayes recently posted..Business Surveillance Systems
Isabel Singh says:
It is a must to have at least back up files to have it as a copy. As Julie stated. This is for our assurance to have a duplicate copy if the files have been deleted.
Isabel Singh recently posted..riding lawn mowers for sale
Julie Hayes says:
I forgot to mention why it is important for me to have a back up when it comes to website issues. Just recently, I experienced having problem with my computer and all my important files and documents were deleted. This is the reason why we must have it.
Julie Hayes recently posted..used riding lawn mowers
Jarrod from lake conroe real says:
Thanks for sharing this links. It’s really useful however perhaps you can create a follow up post showing the steps on how to back up your blogs using WP plugin.
Noel Agnote
Twitter: addisonskanks
says:
Having a back up of our files for our blog is very important because we know that web is not a safe place.
Anonymous (Read Comment Policy) says:
It is important to keep important files and backups organised. This will make things much easier when you actually need to refer back to the backups.
Paul Salmon from Technically Easy
Twitter: technicallyeasy
says:
Everyone that owns a blog should take the time to properly ensure that it is backed up. I use a WordPress plugin that backs up all my files and database and then sends the files via FTP to a server that is not related to my blog. This is done on a daily basis.
Paul Salmon recently posted..The Storage Server – Not Just For Large Businesses Anymore
Kuldeep
Twitter: cooltricksin
says:
Yes, it’s true that backing up a blog is really necessary to assure maximum safety for our blog’s future and present.
And thanks for sharing these plugins which help to backup our blog.
Kuldeep recently posted..Get More Subscribers To Your Blog: Simple Tips
angel reyes says:
Ftp is very useful for creating blogs. I use ftp client for creating my blogs. It is ftp is also great for backing up your website. Great info!
angel reyes recently posted..Glock Sights