Backuping up your website can often be useful and life-saving. Before upgrading it is advisable to do this, but it is useful, in that case, if you’re taking your PC to the service.
If you hit the limestone, you will be grateful if you have completed any of the steps below.
The golden rule of backup
Always have at least one backup that you access yourself independently of your hosting server and website developer. Therefore, get control over all the keys to your website and do not pay for it without receiving them.
The most important keys:
1. Admin access to the WordPress control panel
2. FTP access to the WordPress folder system
3. Access to a database that stores the contents of your website
4. A password for Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics (the easiest thing is to link them to your Google account at first)
5. If you have mail service, it is the key to your service (such as your MailChimp account) that stores email lists.
Not all service providers give access to all interfaces, and if there is a good reason to do so, accept it. If a developer runs many websites from one site and every owner accesses the server, it will cause chaos sooner or later. Therefore, you are also protected if you do not receive access to everything.
It is important to be aware of these things and thoroughly discuss with your developer what keys you were given and how you can restore the website.
The required minimum
The minimum is to back up your website’s database at any time. It contains all the articles, pages, text you’ve ever written. And – just as important – all the URLs and links you’ve ever created. Links are especially important because Google finds your articles and products based on them.
A business website or blog can be easily renewed only from the database, so you can overcome the web page without losing your position on Google. You may lose your design, but since WordPress can create a good-quality appearance in just a few hours, it won’t be a disaster. You can also go to website rentals if you can export the database at any time.
In the case of a webshop (eCommerce website), however, there is no compromise, because it takes a long time to rebuild a webshop and cost a lot. If you have a webshop, you need to have your first-level access to everything and just back up your control across the page.
How do you save the database?
Let’s start with the simpler task of saving the database.
The database can be saved in WordPress in 20 seconds. In Control Panel, select Tools >> Export, and there >> Select to export. After selecting all content, click on the Export File Download button. Instantly download a file with the .sql extension and just send it to yourself by email.
How do you back up the entire page?
And what if you want to save the whole page? You can choose from many free extensions. We suggest the Updraft Plus extension. We suggest this because it gets great ratings in the official directory of WordPress. Cut into it.
Log in to the control panel of your website.
If you are here, go to Extensions;
If it’s ready, turn on and activate the plugin.
The plugin is now active on your website.
How often do you back up?
The answer to the question depends on the nature of your website. As a blogger, you post daily articles on the page and then save it daily. But if you have a corporate website that has never been upgraded or blogged, then it’s enough to make a backup once a month.
I suggest you save only at the minimum necessary intervals because the plugin uses resources and runs into the database. The main thing is to set the File Backup Schedule and Database Backup Schedule in the same way. So if you make a File backup every two weeks, make a Database backup in every two weeks.
There is one more thing to do: choose where you want the plugin to make your backup. You have many possibilities. I will continue to use Dropbox because it is available to everyone, is free, and according to my experience, it works seamlessly with the extension. The plugin provides backups for you.
If you don’t already have a Dropbox folder, sign up for free. If you already have it, but you use it and it is full, I suggest you register a new one that you only use for that purpose.
But of course, you can choose another option.
In Dropbox, you can find a series of compressed files with a tar.gaz extension in the Updraft Plus folder. These include a backup of your website. If you get into trouble, you can restore your website at any time.
Independent backup: less vulnerability
Reducing your vulnerability on the Internet is very important. Anyone can disappear anytime. A server can burn, wipe out an earthquake or the UFOs can take your website with you. An international terrorist organisation can blast your blog with viruses or the government can attack it if you do not meet the expectations of the system. And many other terrible things can happen.
