So What Happened?

Hopefully, when you started your blog you decided to implement a blog backup solution or solutions (see Lesson 4 below).  I thought I would share my learnings from seeing my blog (livingthetech.com) go offline and return 500 errors.  Initially, there was mild panic as there were over 60 articles and 12 months of work that had gone into the blog.  But being a good IT professional I had made sure my site was backed up, but I had never tested it (first rookie error).

Simple Steps to Create a Blog Backup Plan

Lesson 1: Test your backup

As I could not access my site’s WordPress admin portal, I would not use the backup I had saved for the site, so in this case, it was pretty much useless.  I was initially using a backup product called Backup Guard and religiously backing up my site whenever I published a new article or changed my blog layout.

Lesson 2: Save an offline copy

Make sure you save an offline copy of your backup so that if your WordPress admin portal is not accessible you still have a copy of your blog to import. I have also now decided to take an offline copy of my backup file (from Backup Guard) and save it to Google Drive, so that I can import the offline file as and when required. I do the same thing with my current blog backup solution.

Hosting provider’s blog backup solution

Luckily (well not really, as I made sure I had another backup solution) I also had a copy of all my site files in my hosting provider’s backup solution, in this case, Site Backup Pro.  I actually paid an extra $2.99 per month for this service, money well spent as it turned out.  Here I could restore any file or database as required. When selecting a hosting provider, make sure they have a backup solution and pay for it if necessary

More recently, as I have moved hosting platform to WPMU DEV, I am using their backup solution called Hosting Backups to backup my blog every day and test restoration monthly.

Lesson 3: Automated Backups Are Not Optional

Relying on manual backups or your hosting provider’s occasional snapshots is a recipe for disaster. Set up daily, automated backups using reliable plugins or third-party services and verify they’re working.

Lesson 4: Don’t Trust Just One Tool

As you can see, I took a multi-level approach to my blog backup. Even the best backup plugins can fail due to updates, bugs, or misconfigurations. Use a layered approach, like combining a plugin (e.g. UpdraftPlus) with your hosting provider’s backups and a manual monthly export.

Blog Crash Recovery: Lessons Learned from a Real Outage

So, how did I recover my blog? I first used Site Backup Pro to recover all my files and databases, as I was unsure what had caused my site to crash and return 500 errors.  I also then had to update the WordPress version and some plugins.  I still don’t know what caused my site to crash in the first place, so I am being extra vigilant to back up my site and ensure that all plugins I use have been tested with my version of WordPress.

This experience was a really valuable lesson for me as a blogger and website owner, to protect my content and site by ensuring I have multiple blog backup solutions available on multiple platforms.  So, if one platform is unavailable, it is still possible to restore your site from an alternative one.

Want to improve your blog SEO? Introduction to SEO: Why It’s Essential for Increasing Blog Traffic

Why back up your blog?

Backing up your blog is essential for several important reasons:

1. Data Protection: A backup ensures that your content, images, and other data are safe in case of accidental deletion, hacking, or technical issues. Without a backup, you risk losing valuable content that may be difficult or impossible to recover.
2. Website Security: Blogs are often targets for cyberattacks, malware, and hacking attempts. If your blog gets compromised, a backup allows you to quickly restore it to a previous, secure state without losing your data.
3. Technical Failures: Hosting servers or databases can experience outages or failures. If your hosting provider experiences a problem, having a backup ensures that your blog can be restored and continue running smoothly.
4. Content Preservation: Over time, you may accumulate a significant amount of content. Backing up your blog regularly ensures that years of posts, comments, and updates are protected from accidental loss or technical malfunctions.
5. Smooth Site Migration: If you ever need to move your blog to a different hosting provider or platform, having blog backups simplifies the process, making it easier to transfer your content without losing any data.

By maintaining regular blog backups, you ensure that your blog remains secure, protected, and recoverable in the face of unexpected issues.

For more blogging tips and tricks, click here. If you have any blogging restoration stories, please share them in the comments below.