Backup your files. Backup your site. Backup a WordPress site. We’ve heard it all before, right? In my old </html> days, I could backup a web page with a simple copy and paste. If only it were still that simple! Web sites aren’t about poetry and family pictures anymore. If you’re going to run a business, and be competitive, an online presence is essential. Just like any other business venture, you need insurance.
Reasons to backup your wordpress site
As much as I love to pretend I’m the super-hacker on TV, I do most of my hacking out of the recycle bin. It’s not anything to be ashamed of, though, because accidental file deletion is one of the biggest reasons to have a backup on hand.
WordPress is constantly publishing new updates, and a lot of them don’t install like they’re supposed to. Sometimes the data can get lost. When this happens, a backup is the fastest, safest way to recover your site.
Consistent backups are the key to a safe website. If a hacker manages to get by your security, having a current backup will get you back to speed in no time. Sifting through the data piece by piece to rebuild your site is a pain, trust me, and you want to avoid it at all costs. No matter how thorough you are, you’ll always miss something.
Most people don’t like to think about this, but it does happen—what if your hosting company goes belly-up ? Or hosting server (yes – the hardware) crashes surprisingly?
How to backup a wordpress site
The simplest (and cheapest) way to backup your site is to do it yourself. It’s easiest via FTP, but there are other options available. FTP is little bit more technical and if you are not familiar with it, go for the second option.
One of the most popular options is the use of plugins—miniature programs built into WordPress that automatically copy your files for you. There are some basic plugins available for free, but the good ones will cost some.
One options that’s been gaining popularity lately is hiring out all of this stuff to a service. Most often there’s a monthly fee, and services range from simple backups to security. Some of them will even move your website for you if you change hosts for some reason. Our MyWPStaff service is one of them.
Conclusion
In the end, no matter how you do it, you’d better be backing up your site! There are lots of ways to do it, and in the end you have to pick what’s best for you. Weigh your budget against your time. If you start with online publishing, the DIY is the way to consider. But if you have other business tasks to do, you can save time and leave backup tasks to somebody else.