A Blogger’s Nightmare|| How To Back Up Your WordPress Blog Content

There are some situations a blogger never wants to be in, but I feel like the biggest nightmare for any blogger is, waking up from sleep and not being able to log into your website.

This happened to me few days ago and I did not even have the chance to get a good night’s rest. I had returned from work and settled in to spend time on my blog, oblivious of what awaited me.

The first attempt to log into my blog was via my phone, but I got the response below:

Make sure you have got the correct URL (my url)

Refresh the page

Search for what you want

I tried again but got the same result. My internet router showed the signal was strong and I did not understand anything. I was calm until I tried to log in via two other devices and still could not gain access.

I restarted all three devices I had at home…. No Joy

I restarted my internet router….. Still no Joy

How can everything go wrong in less than an hour?

At this point, I said to myself… Be calm, someone must have gone through this before so you will get answers. However, all this was happening around 2300 hrs and I really was not ready to bother anyone that late at night.

Prior to this day, another blogger had mentioned she lost all her content and urged other content creators to back up their blog content. I remember I had followed the back up process on WordPress but did not save the link I received in my email. It was still within the seven (7) days mark, so I quickly logged into my mailbox.

In my mind, I had it all sorted. I was going to secure my content via the back up link WordPress had sent to me, but that link did not work either. Trying to be calm was not the easiest thing to do at this point but I needed to still figure things out.

Like everyone else who rushes to google for answers, I went ahead to check ‘symptoms’ and ended up causing myself more harm than good. The hack scare was my biggest worry.

Still pushing, I eventually found a very helpful article on pagecrafter.com. This website has useful tips and I also got introduced to downforeveryoneorjustme.com. Just as the name implies, this site helps you confirm if your website is down for everyone or just you. Luckily, the site confirmed my blog was running for everyone else and that was when I decided I could finally go to bed.

HOW I GAINED ACCESS TO MY BLOG

Sometimes, it is really just the little standard procedure we overlook, that gets us into dicey situations.

By the next morning, I reached out to a number of people who could proffer solution and amongst all, here is what finally worked:

I UPDATED MY PHONE SOFTWARE.

See how easy that sounds, after all my worry the night before, all I had to do was just update my phone software. Most of my blogging activities are done via the WordPress app on my phone and I am also aware that WordPress had done some update on the app as well.

It pretty much makes sense that I should update my phone software whenever I get a prompt but I am that girl that will click ‘Later’ but never go back to reschedule. I was just very relieved after that experience and the guys at pagecrafter.com were nice enough to check back on me twice. You should go on their site sometimes for all website related queries.

Lesson learnt and I learnt it the hard way too. If you have not guessed already, the first thing I did after I gained access to my blog again was to save the back up link sent in by WordPress.

To avoid the state of panic I had to go through, here is how to back up your WordPress Content if you are yet to do so:

• Through the App, Click ‘View Admin’. If you use a computer, type your URL/wp-admin in your search bar and click enter.

• Log into your WordPress Admin page

• Click Dashboard

• Hover around ‘Tools’ and wait for the side pop up. If you use a phone, you need to click on ‘Tools’

• The picture below shows on the pop up. Click ‘Export’

• Here’s what you will find. Click ‘Start Export’ to export for free.

• This next part is important. Read and select carefully.

• Tick All Content and Click ‘Download Export File’

After this is done, you will get an automated response telling you a link will be sent to your email.

Check you mailbox after sometime and find the mail from WordPress.

Open mail and click the link provided. (Link is null after seven days. If you decide to stall just make sure it does not get to day 7)

The link contains your blog content including followers and comments and will be automatically downloaded to your computer hard drive.

And that’s all folks.

This was not a funny experience and having a back up helps you panic less. But imagine if your content is not backed up anywhere, how do you begin to re-write 2 or 3 years worth of content?

I am aware that some hosting companies help with backing up content, you can also save documents depending on where you type but I strongly believe that the more back up platform you have, the less trouble you are likely to run into.

Regarding duration, a lot of experts suggest a back should be done once a month. Here is what I think, if you blog daily or at least four time a week, plan to back up at least once every two weeks.

Backing up once a month equals losing over 20 articles which is still horrible. That is, if you blog daily.

Like the other blogger who lost her blog content and still went ahead to tell others to back up theirs, I am sharing my experience and also showing you how it can be done.

Have you ever lost your blog content?

What apps do you use to back up your blog content?

Have you had to panic over your blog?

What is the most horrible blogging experience you have had?

I will love to read from you