Today’s question:

Let’s say that I blow up my blog…meaning I take all this time tweaking the theme and plugins and then something goes wrong….How do you fix it if you are not techie? I’ve had problems in the past where I would just get this ‘database error in wpcontent line456???? Now I’m afraid to make changes

The answer is quite simple – BACKUP.

Now for the details.

Before you start making any changes get a copy of all your files. Login via FTP and create a folder on your computer and save all the files you have on the server here. Don’t forget to back up the data base too.

Now you have all the changes that are working fine in one place.

Make your edit to change what you want. Save it. Check the blog.

If it is working fine. If not replace the file you changed with the one you backed up.

If you are just tweaking the css file then you could just copy it into a note pad file before you start and follow the steps above.

Even if you are not planning on tweaking your blog anymore you should have a current backup on your hard drive. I also recommend backing up the data base regularly.

How often depends on how often you post. I try to do this weekly but if you only post once a week you could do it less.

Unfortunately, no matter how good your web host bad things can happen. Someone can hack your site or the server you are on can go kaput. Over the years both have happened to me.

Usually your web host is backing up regularly too but…

Backups when you have a problem are invaluable. If you have all the files and the data base you can restore or at least pay someone to restore what you had easily.

Your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold


Technorati Tags: back up data base, blog, css, edit blog, edit plugin, edit theme, wordpress

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