by Edie Melson
I hope by now everyone knows the importance of backing up
your work. If you’ve spent any time at all working on a computer you know all
too well that gut-wrenching feeling when you’ve lost something you’ve written.
Not a pleasant thing.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but the same thing can
happen with your blog. It doesn’t matter where it’s hosted, things can go
wrong. And since backing up your blog is so simple, there’s really NOT an
excuse not to do it.
So today I’m going to share how—and why—to backup your blog.
Backup your Blogger Blog
1. Log into your Blogger dashboard and go to the blog you
want to backup.
2. Click SETTINGS.
3. Under SETTINGS. Click OTHER. (see screenshot #1 below)
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| Screenshot #1 |
4. At the top of the page you’ll see BLOG TOOLS. Click
EXPORT BLOG. (see screenshot #2 below)
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| Screenshot #2 |
5. I save my XML file of my blog in my Dropbox.
You can also backup your Blogger template—and I recommend
you do if you have any kind of customization on it. Here’s how:
1. On the dashboard of your site, click TEMPLATE. (see screenshot #3 below)
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| Screenshot #3 |
2. Now click, DOWNLOAD FULL TEMPLATE. I save this file on my
Dropbox as well. (see screenshot #4 below)
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| Screenshot #4 |
Backup Your
WordPress.com Blog
1. Log into WordPress.com.
2. Click MY BLOGS.
3. Click DASHBOARD of the blog you want to backup.
4. Look for TOOLS and hover your cursor over it. A drop-down
menu will appear. Click EXPORT. (screenshots #5 and #6 below)
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| Screenshot #5 |
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| Screenshot #6 |
5. Again, I save my blog backup in my Dropbox.
Backup Your WordPress.org (self-hosted) Blog
1. Log into your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to TOOLS, then EXPORT.
3. Here you’ll have several choices. You can export all your
content at once (posts AND pages) or you can choose to export them separately.
4. Once again, I would save these to my Dropbox.
As you can see. backing up your blog—no matter what kind
you have—is easy to do. I’d love to know if posts like this one help and what other
things you’d like to see me tackle.
Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
TWEETABLES
Do you know I've been blogging since 2007 and I've never backed up my blog? Thank you very much for the step-by-step instructions. It's been done now.
ReplyDeleteAngie, so glad this helped! Blessings, E
DeleteEdie, thanks tons for this info. I learn so much about blogging (plus!) through you.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: how do I move my XML file of my blog into my Dropbox?
Elaine, I open my Dropbox, create a file called BLOG BACKUP. I open this file, then I download my XML backup of my blog and click on it and drag it into the file I've prepared. I recommend backing up your blog once a week. I keep two files, one 2 weeks old and a second, more recent. When I download a new one, I delete the oldest of the three. I hope this helps. Blessings, E
DeleteEdie, as always, yes, your advice and explanation are an incredible source of helpful information. Thank you so much for your desire and patience to help others.
DeleteThank you, Edie. Done. This was so helpful. The file automatically saved into the downloads folder on my computer. Is it okay to keep it there? How often do you backup your blog? Also, my posts are now appearing on time in the email notices to my subscribers. Thanks for all you do for the blogging community. Priceless info. Hope you had a wonderful Easter. Regards, Starr
ReplyDeleteStarr, keeping it in your downloads folder is fine. Blessings, E
DeleteI'm on self-hosted Wordpress and I recommend a plugin for backup. I run several sites, some of which don't change often. Those I set the plugin to email me a zipped backup weekly. On my personal website/blog, it's a daily email. I have a filter set up in my email account to slide any emails from Wordpress into one folder, so the backups have a place to live, easily accessible.
ReplyDeleteValerie, that's a great idea and a good option to choose. Thanks for sharing, Blessings, E
DeleteThanks, Edie! As always, your tips are so helpful! I recently started backing up my templates, but didn't realize I could back up everything.
ReplyDeleteDaqn, backing up both is a good idea! So glad this was helpful, Blessings, W
DeleteEdie, I am so lost on all of this. I need to enter the 21st century BIG time! Where may one go for classes on such as this and on twitter. I don't even do that as yet. Have no clue how it works or how to set up an account! Thanks so much for all that you do!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a definite learning curve. The best advice is to NOT try to learn everything all at once. You can find good glasses at conferences and writers groups. The best thing is to make sure you can ask questions. You can find info here on this blog, in my book, CONNECTIONS: SOCIAL MEDIA AND NETWORKING TECHNIQUES FOR WRITERS. I also offer private social media coaching. You can contact me by email for further info, ediegmelson@gmail.com
DeleteEdie, I don't even know what all of those things mean within the "select profile" comment box are below this. I just have to enter as "anonymous".
ReplyDeleteGoth the easiest way is through a Google account. If you have a gmail account that's your google account. If you have a blogger site, again, that's your gmail account. If you don't have any of these, just sign up for Google Plus. You don't have to use Google plus, but having a google account is useful a lot of places. Let me know if you have any other questions. Blessings, E
DeleteEdie, this was great! So helpful and easy. Thank you for all your help!
ReplyDeleteCricket, I'm so glad this helped! Blessings, E
DeleteFirst of all, let me just say to the Anonymous poster--You are not alone and don't be embarrassed to ask questions. We're all paddling the same boat. Some have just been paddling a little longer. :) You are in the right place with The Write Conversation. Edie helps us understand a little more every week. Thanks, Edie. And once again, I have learned something new.
ReplyDeleteSally, thank you! And thanks for stating what we all know, we are definitely in the same boat! Blessings, E
DeleteThanks, Edie! Very helpful. You are such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteAnnette, thank you! I just try to share things that help me. Blessings, E
DeleteDone and THANK YOUR for this post!!
ReplyDeleteI will Remember your Great this Information! Nice post,it is really very helpful for me.One of the few articles I’ve read today.I’m saying thanks
ReplyDelete