Backups! They will save your life one day.
JUST DO IT!Or if you don't have one, you will wish you did!!
USE REMOVEABLE MEDIA: Copy the files to a removable media of your choice: CD, DVD, USB thumbdrive, external drive, zip drive, etc.
Why? This type of backup will save you if your own hard drive is infected, corrupted, or you have to replace it because it stops working.
EVERYONE SHOULD DO THIS! OFF-SITE STORAGE: Off-site storage simply means make sure you get your data away from the computer that you made that data on. Take it to work, store it with a neighbor/family member, safety deposit box, etc. Separate that data.
Why? If your home or business is broken into and your computer and files are stolen or damaged, could you continue to work on your website files on another machine? If your computer is damaged, you have a fire, take a lightening strike, have a flood, hurricane damage, etc, having your data away from that site will get you back up and running faster. If all your backups are with your original machine, you could lose EVERYTHING, original data AND backups at the same time!
I prefer to use a removeable backup drive and bring it to work. Safe secure off-site and under my own control.
There are off-site ONLINE web services that allow you to send a few choice files, or your whole computer to them for backup in case of disaster. I DO NOT choose to use off-site ONLINE services. And do not recommend them, long term.
But it is a personal decision for you to make and this type service may be perfect for you! Some things to consider about off-site backups:
a) | Transfer rates. Time is a mean task master. To backup my main hard drive onto an off-site server would be HOURS!!! And if I just wanted to do tlx files, images, etc, again, hours! |
b) | Privacy. Backing up your website files, images, etc is not a big deal. But many people start with that and then start to copy the IMPORTANT data from their drive that can have sensitive information. Do you really want YOUR files on someone else's server where other people have the opportunity to copy, steal, delete information? |
c) | MANY of the services that offer storage Crash and Burn, even from big companies that are relatively stable! Recently a really popular photo storage site DIGITALRAILROAD.COM gave users less than 24 hours to get files off the server before it was dismantled. They extended that for another 48 hours but the servers were so flooded, not everyone got their files. Read about yet more examples: Hewlard Packard's HP Upline was highly praised for disaster recovery but had to close its doors as did Yahoo's Briefcase. |
SLAVE/MIRRORED/BACKUP DRIVE:This terrific option allows you to have two drives in your computer. The second is a complete exact copy of everything that you have on the main drive. The idea behind this is simply to be able to use the 2nd drive in the case of 1st drive failure. You might have a separate SECTION/PARTITION of your main drive set aside for backup, or you could have a SEPARATE hard drive installed. This option will allow you to reclaim accidentally deleted files, may allow you to swap hard drives to get back up and running very fast, without having to reinstall ANYTHING!
But do not depend on this as your ONLY option. Either way, I have seen this work wonderfully and fail completely.
- If you have a viral infection that erases/replaces data, you may not be able to use the backup copy,
- your backup copy may be wiped at the same time as the main drive
- if the backup resides on the same piece of hardware, but in a separate partition, when the hard drive dies, it takes your backup with it.
What do you need to back up for your website1) If your website building software creates a special file that stores your website data (CSB has a .tlx file, Xara's Web Designer has a .web file, etc) make sure you make backup of this file. You NEED this file to edit your website files with that piece of software. If you lose that file or it becomes corrupted, you can not edit the site with that software again until you rebuild the file from scratch!!!
>> >> | You may consider making incremental backup copies of your design file, and keeping them on your computer for a short time. If you do something wacky to your file (delete the wrong page, insert code that corrupts a web page, etc) you can quickly go back to the previous version of the file and work again. (CSB tlx design file note: This method also COMPACTS the working file and prunes out old unneeded code, making the file leaner and less likely to corrupt!)
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| LOW TECH way: Use FILE SAVE AS every time you open your file. Save the file with a name that includes the date for easiest reference and the files stay in date order too! Example: open main010109 FILE SAVE AS main010209. The next save as: main010309. Subdirectory examples: vacation070109, photos070109 etc. To keep the order correct, use a 6 (010109) or 8 (01012009) digit number - don't use 1-1-09 Simple. Fast. Easy. The publishing information remains the same and is undisturbed. The previous day's file still exists so you can come back to it if necessary and this process creates an unlimited number of backup copies you can delete or archive the old ones as you see fit, or have a record of how your site has progressed. This technique will also keep you from overwriting your existing file with an older version!!!
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2) Images, music, video, downloadable files, bullets, etc. The things that make your site special.
3) If your website building software edits the HTML pages directly, make sure you have copies of those files!
4) Program and Web Host settings, serial numbers for software, username/password for all FTP locations.
5) The installation program file for your web building software. Save a copy of this file so you can reinstall the software if necessary. Sometimes software manufactures stop offering the downloads, or charge you extra to get it. Having your own copy of the installation file in your backup is recommended highly.
You should back up BOTH directions....1) Back up the files from your computer.
2) Back up the host stuff: files and folders on the web host server. These contain not just your current website files and images. Your server has far more on it than that: settings for the email, directory settings, forms, scripts, settings for any databases, LOTS of things that are outside your website building software! You don't have to do this as often as your own computer but consider doing it!
Why? What happens if the HOST loses your data? They are running a COMPUTER just like yours. They can have a hard drive fail. They sometimes have to replace equipment. OR if your site is HACKED and someone changes the content of your website or removes things from the site. If it is hacked, you could have a virus/trojan or other nasty put on your website (without your knowledge) and your host could dump your site data to protect the server or other accounts on the server. If someone else on the server is hacked and infects the server, your website data can get damaged/corrupted. If you have images, music, downloadable files, anything uploaded outside of CSB, you could LOSE IT. And all hosts consider it YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make a backup of the website. Remember you are not the only one storing information on that computer! You are on SHARED HOSTING....shared computer.
Some hosts say they have good backups...every day or every 12 hours, etc. But take it from someone with experience on this issue...sometimes the backups they make are INCOMPLETE, or older than you expect! Or the host will not allow use of it because it had been hacked and a separate copy is required. So having your own copy of what is at their server is a GREAT thing!
Many hosts have an option within the control panel that create compressed backup files. Sometimes they are zip, sometimes they are gz files. Either way, the file is a form of a ZIP file.
Download the backup file to your own computer. You will need a program to UNZIP it on your computer.
If you have a paid ZIP program (WinZip, etc) they can handle it.
If not, you can give one of the free versions a try. Take a look here:
disabled address: h**p://www.download.com/jZip/3000-2250_4-10730326.html?tag=mncol
or this one: h**p://www.7-zip.org/
After installing one of those, you would be able to extract your backup file to your own computer.
That will give you a full copy of the HTML files, images, sounds, etc that are on the website.
Many people don't worry about this part and only are concerned with their own pc.
Personal choice to take that risk to backup your host files. I prefer having a copy of the server info!
AT MINIMUM you should have a backup made within the last month, or after every MAJOR change to the website. This depends on how often you update your site and how vital the data is. Key here: how far back do you want to go if you have to rebuild? Personal choice based on your sense of safety, how often you update, what type of updates you do...etc.
One last comment about backups. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT BEFORE MAKING ANY MAJOR CHANGE TO A WEBSITE, full backup of what is on the web host should be made! If the change breaks something, overwrites something that you needed, etc, it is easy to put it back.