So What Happened?

Hopefully, when you started your blog you decided to implement a backup solution.  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).

Lesson.1

Test your backup

So how did I back up my site?

WordPress admin portal:

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 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

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.

Hosting provider’s 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.

Lesson.3

When selecting a hosting provider make sure they have a backup solution and pay for it if necessary

So how did I recover my site?

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 am being extra vigilant to back up my site and ensure that all plugins I use have been tested with my version of WordPress.

A valuable Lesson

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 backup solutions, on multiple platforms available.  So, if one platform is unavailable it is still possible to restore your site from an alternative one.

Lesson.4

Taking an offline copy

I have also now decided to take an offline copy of my backup file (from Backup Guard) and save it to Google Drive, that way I can import the offline file as and when required.

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 a backup simplifies the process, making it easier to transfer your content without losing any data.

By maintaining regular 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.