How to Backup Your Site
This guide will show you step-by-step how to make a backup copy of your blog or web site. The overall idea is to make a complete copy of your site, store it in a safe place, and be ready to use it when disaster strikes.
I recommend making a complete copy of your site every time because it is the most fail-safe approach. Although it takes longer and uses more disk space than incremental backups, I think it is worthwhile trade-off because it makes the process simple and reliable. Having a complete copy means your backup should include a copy of the entire database and all of the files.1
I am going to assume that your home computer is a safe place to store your backup copies. That is a good starting point because it is very unlikely that both your web site and home computer will fail at the same time. Still, if you are worried about your home computer, you should figure out a backup plan for it too.
Be ready to use your backup before you actually need to use it. In other words, don't wait until your site is down and before you try to recreate your site. Instead, attempt a dry run right after you create your first backup. That will boost your confidence and make it much easier to handle when you are under the gun.
One last point suggestion before we jump into the details: you should make backups on a regular basis so that you always have a reasonably up-to-date copy. That way, if you need to restore from the backup, you will not have to do much to get your site completely up and running.
Step-by-step backup instructions depend on the software you use and how it is hosted. Just pick the one that matches what you use:
- WordPress hosted at wordpress.com -- this is for you if you use the popular WordPress software by signing into the site.
- WordPress with your own hosting -- this is for you if you installed the WordPress software. If you're not sure which type of wordpress you are using, see "wordpress.com vs wordpress.net".
- Blogger (aka blogspot), a hosted blogging service from Google.
- TypePad, a hosted blogging service from Six Apart.
- Movable Type -- the same software as TypePad, but running on your own host.
- Drupal -- a popular CMS2 that runs on your hosting service.
- Joomla! -- another popular CMS for your hosting service.
- Your own hosted site has general instructions for software that you install and run on a general-purpose web hosting service.
- Your pages has general instructions for blogging and web site services where you simply sign up and start creating your pages or posts, without having to install or configure the software.