This post is for those who maintain their own WordPress site/s (or are employing someone other than myself do it for them).

Recently, I wrote an article about how to backup your WordPress site properly.  If you are not in the habit of backing up regularly, reference that post for more information about backing up and then…

When you have backed up your database, update your WordPress site to the latest version (now 2.8.5).

It is best to run the most recent version of WordPress available to keep your site running at its best.

To do this, look at the top of the page when you are logged in to your WordPress admin/backend.

If you do not have the latest version of WordPress installed, you will see a link at the top of every page to update.

If you have backed up your database, go ahead and update automatically.

If you have any questions or need help with updating your version of WordPress, send me an email or call 530-362-8586.

Here to help you make your finest dreams come true,

-Catherine

1) hosting companies disappear

2) servers crash

3) code gets corrupted

Ok, so I convinced you.  Now if you’re like most people, you’ve got 2 tasks ahead:

To backup your database, use the WP-Database-Backup plugin.  Before I discovered this simple backup plugin, I manually backed up my clients’ databases for them before I upgraded their version of WordPress.  Those of you who have used MySql to backup can imagine how grateful I was to discover a plugin that would do this automatically.  With WP-database-backup, you can schedule an automatic backup with email delivery to yourself or your WordPress manager.

To backup your wp-content folder, use an ftp program like fetch or use your web hosting control panel’s file manager.  Once you’ve copied the wp-content folder to your computer or hard drive, burn your database and your wp-content folder onto a CD-R or DVD disk for storage (remember – hard drives can fail).  Then sleep well at night – you’ve backed yourself up!

By the way…Did you know that most WordPress developers create themes and plugins on their own time and then accept donations from users?  If you find a WordPress plugin useful, please consider donating any amount of money to the developer.  You can usually find a “donate” button on their website.

Want to learn more about how to maintain your WordPress site? Purchase some coaching time with me.

Here to help you make your finest dreams come true,

-Catherine