The number two tip for every blogger
January 18, 2008 – 10:39 pm
Can you spare a moment?
Busy? Click the "Ask me later" button and I will get back to you in a few minutes.
Want your own free copy of *product*? Sign up below and you'll be taken to your own personal download page.
Backup your blog from time to time!
There it is. Whether you host your blog on your own domain or you use a public blogging service, if you can’t remember the last time you backed up your blog, or you are not sure what I mean by “backup” then read on and don’t skip anything. If you backup your blog regularly, then I say to you … “Well done!”.
For everyone else, read this post and make it a priority to put aside 15 minutes sometime during the next few days to act on this post and save yourself hours, days or even weeks of grief.
How are blogs stored on the internet?
First, here is some background information on how blogs are commonly stored online. If you know the technical stuff then just jump to the heading “So, how do I backup my blog” below.
Each blog post on this and almost every other blog around the world is stored in a database. That database holds some other information that makes each blog unique. That is, things like the name of the blog, the categories and tags, comments and so on. In addition to the database, the pages that you see on this and other blogs are made possible by the interaction of programming and formatting commands stored in many other files.
The database and the other files are stored on your web hosting company’s computer. If something happens to one or more of these files your blog may cease to function, or worse case, cease to exist.
Imagine for a moment if your blog suddenly was not there. Whether by natural disaster, power spike, vandalism or an accident at your web hosting company’s premises, just imagine for a moment what you would do if, one day, your blog stopped working.
Most web hosting companies are great at what they do and they are very aware of the need to look after you and me, their customers, so they backup these files just in case something goes wrong. Some will even provide you with a premium service and send those backup tapes to a safe, off-site location just in case their premises suffer from some catastrophic event.
So, how do I backup my blog?
If you are using a premium web hosting company then there is probably little or no need to worry about backing up your blog. But, at least do this one thing. Check your web host‘s FAQs and see how often they back up your files. Then confirm with them, in writing, that every file in your blog is covered by their backup policy. If backups occur at around the same frequency that you make new posts and they send backup tapes off-site, then sit back, relax and keep on blogging.
If you are with a discount web hosting company, or use a public blogging site, and their backup service is not very frequent, or non-existent, then consider making a backup around once a week. Recovering from a loss of just one weeks worth of posts is not so bad, compared with losing your entire blog.
Select your blogging software/site from the list below and click on the link. It will take you to a help page that will assist you in backing up your blog. There are more services than listed here, so if your blog type is not listed, look for a backup procedure in the FAQ or support forum operated by your service.
Movable Type (see heading “Exporting Your Blog)
What should I do if it all seems too much?
If your web host says that they provide a regular backup service, confirm this in writing (e-mail the support people and ask for written confirmation that your blog database and site files are all backed up according to the schedule) and then keep on blogging.
If you use a discount hosting service then ask a friend to help you perform the backup procedures or consider moving your blog to a premium web host offering regular backups.
There is another option. Keep a copy of all your posts on your computer. But then that raises another question. How often do you backup the files on your own computer?
So, what’s the number one tip for every blogger?
“Blog as often as you have something worthwhile to say”.
Brendan.
Related posts:
- Web hosting What is a web host anyway? Simply put, a web...
- The secret of blogging There is no single secret that I can write about...
- Internet Business Blogger Answers Tough Questions Frank Haywood is offering free advice. Well, almost free. All...
- Blogging is a massive mistake I have just come back from a short break and...
1 Trackback(s)