TekDig» A Complete Guide to Site Backup – TekDig

A Complete Guide to Site Backup

Dave — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:53:34 +0000

I just published a guide to how to backup your web site, whether you are using a hosted blogging service or run your own CMS software.
I included the most popular blogging software: WordPress (both hosted and software), MovableType, TypePad, Blogger, Drupal, Joomla!, plus some general instructions in case you are using something else.

Please take a look here: How to Backup Your Site and feel free to leave comments if you have any questions.

Ideas for backing up hosted pages and posts

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:00:12 +0000

My last few posts have been about how to make a backup copy of the pages you create using a hosted service:

But obviously, those are not the only options for creating a blog without installing and managing your own server. So, if you're not using one of those services, then I have a few ideas for how to make a backups on other services. Check it out, and let me know what you think by leaving a comment!

Next up, I plan to write a few "how to" guides for making backups of sites that use CMS software installed on a web server: WordPress, Movable Type, Drupal, Joomla!, etc.

Creating a backup of your typepad blog

Dave — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:00:29 +0000

Everyone knows that making regular backup copies of your blog is a good idea, but it can be hard to find the best way to do that. If you host your blog at typepad.com, then you should take a look at my instructions for making a backup copy of your typepad blog.The process takes just a minute or two, and it will give you a safe copy of your blog content that you can use if anything bad happens to your blog. If you're investing hours in writing blog entries, then it is worth a couple minutes each week to make a backup.

Creating a backup of your wordpress.com blog

Dave — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:19:17 +0000

If you host your blog at wordpress.com, then you should check out my instructions for creating a backup copy of your posts. That article is the second in a series about how to make your own backup copies of your blog or web site.Most people don't worry about making backups, and the people that do worry don't bother to actually do anything. After all, backups are time consuming and you hardly ever need them. Worst of all, it can be hard to figure out a good strategy, so you can end up investing the time and then fail to get a payback when you really need it. I can't help you with the time commitment, but I can give you a good strategy for reliable backups. I hope that will remove one of the barriers to getting started.

If you use blogger.com rather than wordpress.com, then you will find how to backup blogger is more helpful.

How to backup your blogger blog

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:29:00 +0000

If you ask people about backing up their blog, most will say that it is a good idea. But if they are honest, they will have to admit they don't make a habit of it. After all, it is a hassle to do, and it hardly ever helps. But when you need it, you really need it. So, I'm going to explain an easy way to make blogger backups in just a few easy steps.

A backup is simply a copy of blog that you save away in a safe place in case something bad happens to the posts you created on the blogger site. Why should you bother? Even though blogger is reliable, there are no guarantees. Lots of things could happen that would make you want to have your own copy of your blog: You could accidentally delete your posts. Or someone could hack your blog. Or you could get your account suspended. Or the blogger service could change in some way that makes you want to get out in a hurry. Maybe you just want to have a copy so you sleep better at night.

Whatever your reason, backing up is a good idea. The step-by-step instructions will give you a backup copy in just a few steps.¹ That one file contains formatting information, all of your published posts, and all your drafts. You can use the "Import Blog" option back in step 2 to restore posts. I will explain how that works in some other post.

So, you finished your first backup. Now what? I recommend you store that file in a safe place. Probably the best thing you can do is to create a separate directory (folder) to store all of the backup files you create.

Also, you should decide how often you should backup. Ideally, you would make a backup after each new post. But that can old fast, so do it after a few posts, or every Friday, or the first Sunday of each month. That way, you're only risking your most recent work. Imagine the worst-case scenario, where you loose your entire blog 5 minutes before you make a new backup. Everything since your last backup is lost. If you've only made one or two posts, that's not so bad. But if you have made a hundred posts, or it has been so long you have no idea what's changed, then you're probably waiting too long.

One last encouragement: take a couple minutes to figure this out now, make a habit of it, and you'll thank me later. Or, even better, you'll never have to thank me, because you'll never need to recover from a disaster. And that's ok too.

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Update: I had the instructions here in this post, but decided to move it to the "how-to backup" along with all the others.