Cpanel WordPress users has your site stopped displaying correctly? When you login are all your pages and posts GONE?
Don’t despair…not yet anyway…your database is likely just corrupted. It happens. It’s happened to me.
There are too many reasons to list why it happens. Usually the information was only half sent by your ISP or some site glitch occurred and then BAM! messed up database.
But you ask “isn’t my web guy supposed to backup my site”…NO! YOU are supposed to backup your site. Even the most amazing website geeks like myself can’t possibly backup 40 to 50 websites every month. I remind my clients often to do this. Do they? Most don’t and then I get contacted with frantic requests to fix what is broken.
First I’ll show you how to fix your wordpress site (if you can) and then I’ll tell you some good advice about backups:
This advice is directed at those using Cpanel Hosting:
Login to your cpanel (control panel)
Navigate down to the “Database” section:
Click the Icon that says MySQL Databases
That will take you here to the following screen.
Then click REPAIR DB below CHECK DB.
Now navigate to your Dashboard and see if your posts and pages are all back to normal.
Now navigate to your site? All Fixed? You are welcome! Glad I could help!
If it didn’t work then you have big problems ahead of you. Sorry.
NOW ON TO BACKUPS:
VERY IMPORTANT: You must run a backup occasionally.
Kurt’s Backup Rule x 2:
- Have it backed up 2 different ways (server, and site backup)
- Keep it in 2 different locations( online (server), CD or DVD Disk or Hard Drive)
From the Cpanel you can do a simple backup that will save all your post/pages info
Login to the dashboard: http://YourWordpressWebsiteHere/wp-admin
Click TOOLS
Click EXPORT
- export all content (it will save to computer)
This above is the minimum you can do. It will allow you to restore your pages, and posts, comments and a few other content items.
IT WILL NOT allow you to restore your theme, plugins, or any other customizations you done. ONLY a full database backup can do this for you.
There are backup plugins you can use (not sure I like these yet, even if they are automated you still need to make sure they are backing up) One of these was installed on a client site ( that I wasn’t hosting) and he had a problem. His plugins got messed up and wanted to just do an easy restore from the database. 4 hours later we had his site back up(mostly) The database plugin wasn’t doing the weekly backups like it was supposed to. We managed to use a backup from when it first setup. Back in January.
Another Option:
You can login to the cpanel and run all sorts of backups.
To login to the cpanel visit http://cpanel.YourWebsiteAddress.com
User: ?????
Pass: ?????
Navigate to the “FILES” section (3rd box down) and click the BACKUP icon.
Watch the video tutorial listed at the top of the backup page.
You can do a database backup here. Save it to your hard drive. AND then every quarter run a full site backup and save it to your harddrive OR to the server. Note: if you do the full site backup it may fill up your server as it should create a duplicate of your site.
Both of these will enable a full restore of the site if anything catastrophic happens.
- Servers are run by people and people make mistakes.
- Sites and plugins also make mistakes.
It’s rare but don’t rely on either of them. Safeguard your site content and all the hard work you put into it.
Backup Today!
Kurt Feigel
www.centralvirginiastudios.com
Updates:
Some Plugins work with DropBox (a FREE online file storage site) which will allow you to send your backups to another server http://db.tt/DGbTJcCW
I found a great plugin called BackWpup click this link and do the old school download, upload, install method. OR install it under the plugins, add new, feature built into wordpress.
Video Added:
I can setup automated backup on your WordPress site if you’d like. I can even setup remote backup for you that will store your backup files to a DropBox server. Let me know if you’d be interested in this service.
