The Simple Solution To Every Bloggers Worst Nightmare
Hi, thanks for stopping by.
The majority of my readers are blog owners so will relate to this.
Backing Up Your WordPress Blog
You’ve created your blog, worked hard and made regular posts to build a following. It just starts coming together when you’re told there’s an upgrade for your blog theme so you upgrade it and your site crashes.
All of your work has gone, never to be found again.
How gutting would that feel?
That’s exactly what happened to my online friend Gary Tannahill. Now Gary isn’t following a mentor, in fact he’s doing it all by trial and error and trying to learn from his mistakes. There’s no doubt that Gary is learning, I’ve been following him since he started.
I suspect that this has probably happened to others reading this but I’m going to use Gary as an example in my fictitious story below.
Gary thought “Ok, I’ll ask Fred the technical assistant to come round and see if he can help get my blog data back for me”. Fred arrives to examine Gary’s PC
and asks, “where’s your back up file?” “What Back Up file?” asks Gary. With a bemused look on his face Fred says “sorry ol’ son the data’s gone for good, you have no option but to start the work again or throw the towel in”. To which Gary said…..well I can’t tell you what he said as there’s to many #@&#’s in it, so to put it politely Gary said “Ok Fred I’ll try and find some of my data with my trial and error method”.
After sitting there for some time with his head in his hands, getting more and more worked up..
…Gary decides he has only the two options that Fred pointed out, give up or start again. Now Gary is no quitter and giving up is not an option so he takes the steps to start all over again, as did the real Gary 
The real Gary has gone right back to the start and has just posted his fourth blog post, which in fact is his 11th or 12th post. Ok Gary has only lost 7 or 8 posts but what about when he gets into his stride and has 50 or 60 posts, not to mention all the links and promotions he’s worked hard to include on his blog.
How would you feel? Gutted right?
Well you don’t need to be concerned any more as I have found the simple solution to this problem and it comes in the form of a…
….WordPress Plugin called WordPress Database Backup You can click that link or search for it via the plugin section of your WordPress blog and install it from there.
Once you have installed and activated it you will see Back Up listed under Tools, down the left of your WP admin panel. Click Back Up and you will be able to adjust the settings to suit your requirements. I have my back up scheduled for every Sunday and sent to me via email automatically. It is then saved on my External HD and should this, or any other blog crashing problems, come my way I’ll simply use the last weeks Back Up.
It really does take the worry and concerns away and hopefully images like this..
…will be a thing of the past.
If you can relate to this problem please pop over to Gary’s Blog and give him some encouragement, he’s a fantastic bloke and I know he’ll appreciate your input.
Since writing this post I received a comment from Jeffrey Morgan pointing out a couple of glitches that may occur during the download process. Jeffrey explained that he had used the process I mention above and that when he came to use the back up zip file he found it was corrupted.
Imagine that for a minute…. 
….yes exactly!
As a result of Jeffreys comment I asked if he would be so kind as to write a blog post detailing the way that he carries out his back ups. Jeffrey has very kindly agreed, in fact he has now written two excellent posts offering alternative methods of Backing Up your WordPress Blog.
Backing Up in your C-Panel and
Please Note: I have followed Jeffreys detailed yet simple instructions and have backed up my complete blog using Filezilla. It took a maximum of 35 minutes, including reading time and was very straight forward to complete.
Jeffrey: I know how busy your are at the moment so on behalf of myself and my readers I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to write the two post for us. I truly appreciate it, “thank you“.
Readers: You now have three options for Backing Up your WordPress Blog so you have no excuses for not doing so. It is vital that you make back ups of everything before disaster strikes. Please show Jeffrey your appreciation and pay him a visit at Bloggers Market
Thanks again Jeffrey.
Until next time,
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Hi Barry, backing up all your important files not only your word press files will save you the horror if you experience a crash. A lot of people don’t back up and if you crash you are back to zero.
Act now while you still can is the message to all. Good informative post Barry.
Thanks for telling us about the Word-press Data base plug-in. I am now going to install it. It will sure make things easier and take a load off.
I have a lot of respect for Gary T. Most would just give up and throw in the towel. Gary is a good example of having determination and never quitting, no matter what.
Terry Conti
Hi Terry,
I totally agree my friend, i had an experiance last year where i thought i had lost everything and was panic stricken. The following day I bought an external hard drive, everything was backed up and is now set to auto back up every sunday.
I have the utmost respect for Gary and have been watching him grow with admiration. Every time i visit his site it has been updated in some way from my last visit, I can only imagine how it must have felt when it crashed on him. Hence the post Terry, so as to save others from a similar experience.
I hope everything your end is going well,
Catch up soon, Barry
Hi Barry,
I, along with many others, recently heard about Randy Smith who has been hijacked and 2/3 years work has been lost – everything – blog, sites,auto responder and so on which he and partner recently set up.
Totally wiped out.
Back up then backup again!
One that many people miss when they think backup is to backup your list, which we all have got with a lot of hard work.
My earlier post explains:
http://dave-whittle.com/how-to-backup-your-aweber-account/
Good post.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Yes I heard about Randys hacking and the way it has wiped his work out. I’ve been following his blog updates on the situation. It’s alarming to think of what he has been going through and not being able to get to his back up files.
Point well taken Dave. I’ve been backing up since a major scare i had last year, now everything is backed up weekly to my external HD.
Thanks for including the link to your Aweber Back up post, i hope that my readers come over and take advantage of it Dave, like you say we have all worked hard to build our lists and should protect them.
Catch up soon my friend,
R&R Barry
Twitter: bloggersmarket
Hi Barry,
I’ll tell you, the longer I go with my work (and you can see my latest comments over at Blggers Market in response to yours) I feel over taxed with Plug-Ins. And when it comes to .BAK I just soon do the zipping and downloading of the home directory and manually dealing with the exporting of the MySQL Database, several times I might add to make sure I get it. Doing it this way prevents a “DSL ISP” failure, and yes I have been torched by this very failure (on a Blog I sold no less). Now when I download zipped files or export a database, as soon as I click the command, I immediately turn my eyes to the modem to make sure it does not glitch during this process.
If you rely on a Plug-In to do this work for you and you have a “DSL ISP” interruption of 1 second, that database and the file system is now corrupt. Argghh!!! And what’s worse you have no idea that a critical failure has taken place. After all you received the E-Mail ….. maybe …… if the “SMTP POP3″ worked!
Jeffrey Morgan recently posted..Providing The Incentive To Your Market – Lesson 32
Hi Jeffrey,
I’ve been back over to your Bloggers Market blog to see your reply to my comment, boy oh boy I take my hat off to you Jeffrey, that’s a heavy work load. Best of luck with it all.
Your experience speaks volumes Jeffrey, The points you have raised are very good and can save us all aggravation. Would you be able to write a post showing us how you carry out your back ups? I know that it may be time consuming, what with your existing work load, but we could all benefit from your experience, pretty please with cherries on top
Your input is extremely valuable Jeffrey, thanks for leaving your comment.
Respect and Regards, Barry
Twitter: bloggersmarket
Hi Barry,
I have your post on back-ups ready! Shoot me an E-Mail Address.
Jeffrey Morgan recently posted..Providing The Incentive To Your Market – Lesson 32
Hi Jeffrey,
I’ll get that sorted today and will include your details and link back to your blog.
Many thanks my friend,
Respect and Regards, Barry
So many people ignore this advise until it is too late. You don’t have to read many blogs to realize the number of people that have lost blogs when updating their theme.
I backup regularly but I still have that feeling of unease whenever one of my blogs themes is updated. I’d really just continue with the tried and true but doubtless there are new features or safety measures – so I grit my teeth and hold my breath and click on that upgrade button.
With the plugins that can do all the tricky side of backing up your blog it really does make sense to use the technology.
Dawn recently posted..Nov 7- Femanol – Does It Work
Hi Dawn,
You’re so right, so many people leave backing up until it’s too late. I had a scare last year when my modem had a glitch and lead me to think i had lost all of my sites with one hosting company. That sleepless night changed my way of thinking and now everything is backed up on a weekly basis.
Yes it does make sense to use the technology that is out there, especially when it can save us from disaster.
Thanks for leaving your comment Dawn, your input is much appreciated.
R&R Barry
Twitter: bryanmch
Hi Barry,
As usual another useful post… mate I have learnt so much reading your blog posts … great value …thank you.
I have my websites backed up but did not realise I could back up the blog too with a plugin.
Going over right now to get it.
Cheers
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
Thank you for the compliments on my blog posts, it’s very much appreciated Bryan, feedback like this is priceless thank you
Have a great Day my friend, safe in the knowledge that your blog is now covered in your back ups.
Catch up soon Bryan,
R&R Barry
Twitter: learn_to_blog
Hi Barry, this is really helpful and a must for everyone who is serious. I actually write my posts in notepad and save them separately but it’s still not the same as being able to just press a button and your blog is back|! Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy, good to see you again.
I hope the holiday went well and you’re now fully refreshed and raring to go on your new ventures.
The plugin is a great little tool that is automated and saves us the concern of having to remember to back up after a post. I never was very good at remembering that myself and now i don’t need to be concerned.
Catch up soon my friend,
R&R Barry
Hi Barry,
Great information as always. That story sound’s kinda familiar
I wonder why. I just hope I don’t look like the guy in the drawing (above) 
Actually it was my wonderful (not) hosting company that crashed my blog, as they couldn’t handle the auto update. I mite switch the blog to my other host before long, as it seems to load kinda slow under the current one. What do you think? Let me know if my pages seem to load slow?
Anyway, I learned from my lesson and now regularly update the blog before I mess with it. I have installed your auto save plug in too. So will see if it emails me the setting after a week.
Keep up the good work buddy
Gary T.
Hi Gary,
I thought you might be able to relate to this story
as do many others my friend 
I went over to your blog to test the loading time Gary, i entered ubuy into my browser and waited for your URL to show then clicked it and timed how long until your blog was fully loaded………..8 seconds!! By my reckoning thats PDQ
I’m now with D9 for all of my websites. After a little scare i had, which you can read all about at: http://barry-wells.com/how-valuable-is-your-work-and-the-time-it-takes/
D9 allow me to have as many website as i want on one account, so obviously only one bill. Their support is the best i have ever had and they have even emailed me and pointed out an error i made with my affiliate link. My previous host rarely emailed full stop!
Give your hosting companies a little test and see which of them impresses you more Gary, also consider the prices, upload allowance, support and how easy are they to get hold of in an emergancy?
I’m glad that you have installed the plugin, did you alter the settings for your automated back up to be sent to you by email?
If it gives you any problems let me know Gary and i’ll do what i can to help.
Also Congratulations on the new look blog. Terry and I were singing your praises yesterday for the way you have bounced back with more determination than ever. It’s good to see Gary, fairplay to you my friend.
Catch up soon,
Respect and Regards, Barry
Hey Barry,
I have this plugin, it leaves a daily backup to a Gmail account I opened especially just for the back-ups, I simply check the account now and again!
Its one of the better plug-ins I have!
Nice heads up post, once again.
Take care Barry….Ed.
Hi Ed,
That’s a great idea; sending the back ups to an online email address. That way you will always have access to them. Great idea Ed, especially for people that don’t have an externel HD, and even those that do could use both methods.
Catch up soon my friend
Barry
Twitter: igorgriffiths
I can certainly relate to this my first blog was doing well and had been given page rank 2 due to its content, this was before I had a mentor or a clue. I was just firing my thoughts at the screen, then it all went wrong and it was all lost. I did manage to recover some of it but the blog was never right after that and I abandoned it and started a new one.
Of course now I back up my blogs and luckily I did as an autoblogging software that I had been using corrupted one of my sites. Simple, reinstall WordPress and use the backup file, oh great the backup is corrupted!
The question is does anyone ever test their backup files on a test blog installation to see if they will work?
Hi Igor,
That sounds like a nightmare to me Igor. It’s funny you say about the zip file being corrupted, Jeffrey morgan pointed this out in his comment and suggested another way of backing up. I have asked Jeffrey if he would write a guest post detailing the steps he takes to complete his back ups……watch this space it’s coming very very soon.
You’ve left another great tip Igor: Test the back ups on a test blog!
Thanks again Igor,
R&R Barry
Twitter: lavenderuses
Hi Barry
Being a technophobe I have put off doing this as if it involves anything techie I just panic lol I will ask a friend to go into my back office and do this backup thing for me. I know it needs doing and after reading about your friend; realise I have more than 7 posts that would be lost!!! Thanks for sharing.
Patricia Perth Australia
Hi Patricia,
Welcome to my blog and thank you for taking the time to comment.
The installation of this plugin is very easy Patricia, it can all be done from your WP admin panel in a matter of minutes. If your techie friend isn’t available let me know and i’ll see if i can sort a video out showing you how easy it is to complete. If they are available then ask them to let you do it under their guidence as putting the mouse in your hand is the best way to learn.
Best of luck to you Patricia, remember if you get stuck i’m here to help.
R&R Barry
Twitter: johnmcnally54
Essential advice for any computer user Barry. It’s a pity that bloggers don’t think about backups until they actually need it, and then it’s too late.
Like you, I use Acronis to back up my whole computer, including the operating system and progams, onto a separate hard drive. I have already used this to correct my blog when an upgrade failed. I am now running an old version of WordPress, and won’t change unless I have to.
I have installed the plugin you recommend Barry, and it has backed up to my hard drive; I don’t know where it is though.
I have also tried to get an email copy sent to me, but have failed so far. I will keep trying and let you know how I get on.
Thanks for the tips Barry, you are keeping me on the ball.
John
PS. Anyone using Aweber should take Dave’s advice and download their lists. Then back them up.
John McNally recently posted..TOP 1 of BLOGS for TRAFFIC
Hi John,
Yes i use Acronis to back up all of my PC and everything that is on it. I wouldn’t be without John, especially as i know of the hassles you had and how Acronis came to your rescue.
Fancy losing your download John
Could you do a search for it? If you enter wrdp1_wp_ into the search box you should find it ok. Or go back and download it again.
With the email sending it John, go back into the settings and scroll to the bottom section. From there you can set a day and date to start from. I think if you just click the daily, weekly or monthly buttons it automatically sets for the following day, week or month. Reset it to start from today. Last week when i changed some settings it automatically changed the email sending times to 7 days from my editing.
If you need anything John just shout mate and i’ll do what i can.
R&R Barry
Twitter: kathydobson
Thanks for this great info Barry. This is actually a topic that has been sort of bothering me because I have not used a back up…other than what d9 has been able to do for me.
You made this whole process seem so painless! As soon as I get home later I am going to take your advice and download that plug in and activate it. Wow…simple solution to what could be a horrific situation.
Your blog…as usual has supplied me with much needed info. That’s why I come here…I always learn something.
Thanks Barry…I must say it is wonderful to see you working full steam…you are one of my favorite marketers. (give my best to mum)
Kathy
Kathy Dobson recently posted..Are You an Entrepreneur
Hi Kathy,
I hope that you and your parents are all ok.
After writing this post Jeffrey Morgan left a comment saying about some glitches that could happen during the download of the zip file. As a result of Jeffreys comment i have invited him to write a guest post detailing how he carries out his back ups.
He has written the post and i have updated my blog with it.
http://barry-wells.com/backing-up-wordpress-quickly-by-jeffrey-morgan/
So now we have a choice to make, please pop over and read his post as i wouldn’t want anyone to rely on a back up that may be corrupt.
Thanks very much for the compliments Kathy, you nearly made me blush
Thanks also for the well wishes for my mum. Like wise my friend, you take care.
Respect and Regards, Barry
Twitter: alanashwood
Hi Barry, and a Very Happy New Year
Love the post here, some useful advice, though I can’t play with Filezilla as I use Macs. However, I will have a go with the plug in, and take a chance with that. If not it’s over to C Panel.
This reminded me of an incident a couple of months ago.
Got up, brushed my hair, combed my teeth, made the first coffee and sat down to write the latest literary masterpiece post – but . . .
Message came up “There is nothing to be found here”. All my work had disappeared, gone, vanished. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!
As I don’t have a dog, kicked the wife and tried to fathom what the heck had happened. Searches in WP didn’t help. I found a few people had experienced the same, but didn’t get any helpful replies, and also asked my hosting service Just Host, to investigate. They are usually pretty helpful.
However I noticed that the WP Dashboard showed 14 posts and 16 drafts, I just couldn’t get into them, not a sausage.
Then I had a thought – I switched off all my plug ins, and hey presto, there they were!!!!
Spent the next 15 minutes switching the plug ins back on until I found the culprit, and everything was as it should be.
You can guess how relieved I was. I even offered to put a splint on my wife’s leg, coz she kept falling over at the sink.
Maybe this will help someone else?
Cheers
Alan
PS. Can’t get My CommentLuv to work, tried everything but to no avail.
Hi Alan, Happy New Year to you too my friend, sorry for the delay in my replying to your comment but it was my birthday on the 2nd and the 3rd was taken over by my hang over
Filezilla do a Mac version Alan, you can find it at:
http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
Just scroll down the page slightly and you’ll see it.
I did carry out a back up of my data base in C-Panel and found it a little scary so be sure to print out the instructions and read through them a few times first Alan.
It sounds like you had a lucky escape when your posts vanished. Out of interest Alan what plugin was it that caused the issue?
Sorry to hear about you having problems with Comment Luv, have you tried their help desk?
http://comluv.com/help-desk/
I’ve just been over to your site Alan and found comment luv working ok, i’ll return there shortley and leave a comment for your Clickbank post (a very good topic to cover).
I hope the wife’s leg is better now
catch up soon Alan,
R&R Barry
Twitter: adriennesmith40
Hey Barry,
So here I am over here to comment on this post because we obviously weren’t connected last year so I missed this one. So glad you did the 7 link challenge and included this post in the mix.
I also have this plug-in and I’m truly blessed that I’ve yet to have any problems but one thing I did learn about this one is that it doesn’t back up your images or your theme. So Jeffrey’s recommendation of backing up your entire blog through your CPanel I can see would be extremely helpful.
Backing up your blog is a must for all bloggers so that when or if that time ever does come, we’ll be prepared. Now, off to read Jeffrey’s post.
Thanks Barry!
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..Do You REALLY Want To Know How To Build A Successful Business?
Hi Adrienne,
I thought this post best fitted the helpful category as it lead to other helpful posts from a helpful person, not only that but there’s 3 posts to this one
I actually stopped using the plugin after reading Jeffreys posts as i found the C-Panel back up works best for me, or should I say I understand the C-Panel back up a little easier
You’re so right Adrienne, Backing up our blogs is essential and everyone needs to do it on a regular basis. I’ve seen so many people have to start their blogs again that it’s driven the message home to me, It must be heart breaking for them
I also keep a copy of all the blog posts that I write, but that’s for more than one reason
Thanks Adrienne, see you over at Jeffrey’s post.
Barry
Barry recently posted..Will I Take The 7 link challenge? Yes Of Course I Will