Two weeks ago I explained the advantages using Google Webmaster Tools to check the health and traffic for your website, in part three of this blog post series, I will talk about a necessity… backing up.
3. Backups
Unfortunately, if you are a web designer or someone who has their own website, chances are, you have done it… looked over the code, made a change and whoops… didn’t save a backup and instead accidentally wrote over valuable code. Typically it only takes one time of writing over code to make you slow down and really value a backup. Another scenario might include, the server that is hosting your website has crashed and your entire website is gone! Ahh! There is nothing more frustrating than losing countless hours of hard work, especially when it’s your fault. While many hosting companies offer automatic backups, it’s still not their responsibility to back up your site, it’s yours. Luckily, there are many backup options for your website and quite frankly, you need one.
If your website is hosted on the popular WordPress Platform, some great (and did I mention FREE) automatic options include:
– WordPress Backup to Dropbox
– Backup WordPress
– Online Backup for WordPress
If your website is hosted with a popular hosting company such as GoDaddy, chances are you have cPanel. If so, there is a manuel backup feature that can be used to provide you with peace of mind. Follow the steps below for a cPanel backup…
1. Login to your cPanel account
2. Navigate to the “Backup” icon (typically under “Files”)
3. Select which kind of backup you would like to proceed with (everything from individual files to full cPanel backup)
4. Choose your version and begin to archive
5. Download your files.
Other options include:
– Manuel Backups (simply access your site via an FTP manager and download files)
– Paying for a backup software service
Which option you choose, is up to you and your needs but as you can tell, backups can be a very valuable tool in the case of an emergency, but you have to have a backup first!
> Read Part 1 of Essential Website Tools – Google Analytics
> Read Part 2 of Essential Website Tools – Google Webmaster Tools
R2F Creative LLC provides graphic design + branding and web design solutions for clients nationwide and locally in Ankeny and Des Moines, Iowa.
