The Most Important Post You'll Read This Week: Backing Up Your Blog

Thank you for the tip. I hadn't even thought of this .... I've been blogging only for about six weeks, but the thought of losing all the emotions I've put into words even for this short time is terrible. Right, off to back up!

Elizabeth :: http://bebesuisse.blogspot.com/

Also, I'd like to add that if your host cannot help you retrieve any files, etc, then you need a new host. That is simply unacceptable.

for me, backing up WordPress with PHPMyAdmin is a breeze but you can also export with the built-in tools. However, I actually take the passive route and have a database back-up plug-in email me copies of my DB every week.

I don't currently use any other blogging software so I cannot comment on it.

1000 thank yous! This is something I'd never thought about...and, of course, I'd be devastated if something were to happen. Much appreciated...

EleanoreW

www.TheSpinsterliciousLife.com

I would love to know the details on how to us the cpanel backup utility also!

Gayle

www.planetmfiles.com ( http://www.planetmfiles.com )

www.sacatomato.com ( http://www.sacatomato.com )

GREAT post! I've never been sure I was backing up correctly through CPanel. I just downloaded the Backup to Dropbox plugin so that the backup will be easily accessible. You do have to have a Dropbox account already. Hopefully it works with no issues.

I would love step-by-step instructions on how to do this. I'm not totally familiar with my cpanel or tinkering with that end of the site.

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.com/ ). Her novel about blogging is Life from Scratch ( http://www.life-from-scratch.com/ ).

For me, the most confusing part of the whole things is that predators and parasites sit wherever they are and set plans to hack, infect and otherwise inflict harm on their random victims of choice...for what reason? As an energy therapist and intuitive, I try to look at the energy surrounding this "thing" and honestly, it baffles me. It is not dissimilar from the molester, hooded klansmen, school vandals and other cowardly closet criminals. The enrgy is dark, sticky and venomous. Thanks for the practical helpfulness...so greatly appreciated.

MiChelle Jeneen  www.spiritrefreshed.blogspot.com ( http://www.spiritrefreshed.blogspot.com )

If your web hosting service uses cpanel, they offer a great backup utility for WordPress as well as your entire site. Click a button and create a download of your entire site.

What this does? Gives you not only the database for your blog-- but also any plugins, templates and other additions that may have been installed.

Let me know if you would like details about how to do this.

Regina-- Remix ( http://remix.qisoftware.com/ ) | WiredPages ( http://wiredpages.qisoftware.com/ )

Can you lose your blog posts if you are on Blogger? Because it's through their system, not your computer...Does anyone know?

I recently purchased and have been using a plug-in called Backup Buddy after it was highly recommended to me by several people. You can use it to backup and restore your site and to migrate your site to a different server/host if needed. It has been well worth the money since we were able to use it to migrate my site to Hostgator off of GoDaddy and save hours worth of work and without losing anything. The website is http://pluginbuddy.com/purchase/backupbuddy if you are interested in seeing if it will meet your needs.
I feel terrible for anyone who loses their blog/website. That easily could have been me up until I started using this plug-in and backing up on a regular basis.

Hmmm... I have had back-ups emailed weekly. But I recently made changes... This post made me realize I am not getting those emails... which means back-ups are probably not happening. :( Need to fix that.

Jenny Ingram writes at Jenny On The Spot ( http://www.jennyonthespot.com ) and wears glitter everyday. She also digresses over there on the Twitter @jennyonthespot ( http://twitter.com/jennyonthespot ).

Melissa...my readers probably get sick of me saying the same thing, but I'm a stickler for backups.

Up until about a month ago, I used the Wordpress plugin that others are recommending to you, but it stopped working by email and saving to a hard drive. It actually DID save to my server, so you may want to get to your files via FTP to see if the database saved when you tried it (for me, it went there even when I tried to do it by email).

Having said that, I recently bit the bullet and started using VaultPress, which is a Wordpress product and backs up EVERYTHING. Plugins, files, comments, posts, etc. Even when the plugin worked properly, it only backed up the database, not the files. So $15 a month is worth it to me.

Hope that helps!

Katy Widrick

Executive TV Producer & Healthy Living Blogger

kwidrick@gmail.com

http://katywidrick.com

I am on it! That is so scary. My blog is kind of a diary/baby book for my boys, and I would be devastated if it were lost. I know the feeling--after studying abroad in England, I left one page in my journal for the plane ride home. I finished it, and LEFT IT ON THE PLANE. I always hoped that instead of being thrown away, someone found it and read the adventures I had.

Kiki

www.stillhatepickles.blogspot.com ( http://www.stillhatepickles.blogspot.com/ )

www.lifeandloveinthepetridish.com ( http://www.lifeandloveinthepetridish.com/ )

this is something that had (somehow!) never occurred to me before. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Mel. I have backed up. I too would feel massively lost if my blog content disappeared. It's become one of the ways to track and try to make sense of the nonsense of our recurrent pregnancy loss. so thank you.

Mo

I never think to back up my blog, and it would be tragic to lose 3 years f one's online life. And super-thanks to Schmutzie for the instructions - so easy. This will definitely become part of my regular routine. Now we all have to be sure to back up our computers on a regular basis too!

I never think to back up my blog, and it would be tragic to lose 3 years f one's online life. And super-thanks to Schmutzie for the instructions - so easy. This will definitely become part of my regular routine. Now we all have to be sure to back up our computers on a regular basis too!

I actually run all of my backups manually. I will login to the FTP server and download the entire wp-content folder (which has the plugins, your file uploads, and your design all right there.) Then I will go into the backend of the database (using my website's control panel and logging into the phpMyAdmin) and do an export of the MySql database. I do NOT rely on any plugins to handle my backup for me. It's too important.

http://www.tech4mommies.com
http://www.organizedmom.net

I found some great backup utilities for WP blogs. Just google "wordpress backup plugins" to find a bunch of great ones.

That's the plug-in I couldn't get to work. It didn't email me anything nor did it save it to my computer. Any tips on how you installed it to get it to work?

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.com/ ). Her novel about blogging is Life from Scratch ( http://www.life-from-scratch.com/ ).

If you find a good plug-in that works, report back. I installed the plug-in this week that Schmutzie recommended for Wordpress, but I haven't been able to get it to work.

Anyone use a plug-in they love?

Melissa writes Stirrup Queens ( http://stirrup-queens.com ) and Lost and Found ( http://lostandfoundandconnectionsabound.blogspot.com/ ). Her novel about blogging is Life from Scratch ( http://www.life-from-scratch.com/ ).

A few days before this happened to Issa, I happened to install the Wordpress Database Backup plugin because I realized I hadn't backed up in the entire three years of my blog. It works well and it's easy to use. I set it up to backup once a week and it automatically e-mails it to me. It's perfect.

I'm so glad Issa was able to save most of her blog!

Ugh. That made my tummy hurt.

I have used various backups with WordPress, but as I just looked in my email... I apparently have a glitch or something set wrong because I haven't been emailed since February. (I filter those emails straight into a folder and mark read.) Whoops.

Off to fix.

Family Section Editor Jenna Hatfield (@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom )) blogs at Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com ). She is a freelance writer and photographer.