Wordpress Hack #8: How to Optimize and Backup Your Wordpress Database
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Page 3: How to Backup a Wordpress Database
Backing up your wordpress database could be the single most important thing that you do. The WP-DBManager will allow you to “set it and forget it”, so there’s no excuse since all you have to do is set it up the initial time. You may need that DB backup someday is you choose to move hosts, or your database server dies, or even gets hacked or corrupted. All things beyond you and your web hosts control.
Go to “DB Options” and change the “path to backup” or “maximum backup files” if you need too. By default your database backups will be stored in your /wp-content/backup-db directory. You may choose to store them somewhere else. The default number of backups is 10, and you can make that lesser or greater to your liking as well.
Probably the best feature of this plugin is the fact that you can automatically schedule your backups and you can have them sent to you in email - so you always have a copy on your local PC. In addition - the same section has an option for automatically optimizing your Wordpress database tables, which you can schedule by the day, hour, week, or month.
There are many, many plugins available that you can use to optimize and backup your wordpress database. I prefer the two I showed you today, and the WP-DBManager not only is great for the auto-scheduling options, but Lester Chen is very active in updating his plugins to work with the latest versions of Wordpress. I had no problems using either of these plugins in either Wordpress 2.3.3 or 2.5.
If you have anything to add to make this article better, or a question - please comment now!
This post has multiple pages...
- Maintaining Your Wordpress Database
- Page 2 - How to Maintain a Wordpress Database
- Page 3 - How to Backup a Wordpress Database
- View All
Tags: backup, database, help, optimize, plugin, tutorial, wordpress-hacks
April 25th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Very useful post JT.
Q
Is DB-manager compatible with 2.5? Shows only 2.3 on the site, are you using it now with your 2.5?
The diagnosis part is great! Noobs like me to WorPress don’t think about stuff like that. Very important! And a good plugin.
Do you really see an advantage over backing up the database vs just exporting the information out of WordPress?
I just zip my site every so often and export from WordPress. I also keep a DB backup because I’m paranoid![=)]](http://www.jtpratt.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/4.gif)
but it does seem a little redundant. So far I’ve only used the export/import of wordpress to set things back up. When I’ve toasted the DB. . . yes I have done it already. . . gotta learn some way. Anyway, I’ve just imported again and I’m right back to where I was.
Just an idea for us noobs
Thanks for the DB education!
C
Acupunctures last blog post..The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles
April 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I really enjoy this wordpress hacks series. I’m no programmer and even I can understand and use this.
On a related note (kind of![=[]](http://www.jtpratt.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/11.gif)
I Made My First BANS Sale!!!
Just wanted everyone to know I made my first BANS sale today!
I did the following to make it happen.
1. Used Rochelle’s “The Niche Store Checklist has been Revised” to create the BANS site. http://www.nichestorestrategies.com
2. Used Marks’s “More Free Build a Niche Store templates - Come and Get Em!” to build the site. http://www.thenichestorebuilder.com
3. Used JTPratt’s “Watch Me Build a BANS Niche Site from Scratch!” to fine tune the site. http://www.jtpratt.com
4 Used JTPratt’s “Best Practices for Setting Up a New Wordpress blog in 60 Minutes or less” to set up a blog correctly. http://www.jtpratt.com
Thanks to all the forum posts at BANS and all the people who commented on the sites listed above.
Come take a look http://www.toolboxhero.com and make relevant comments at http://www.toolboxhero.com/blog. The blog is dofollow so go ahead and build some backlinks.
Next, more backlinks, more BANS stores, and implement more ideas from Rochelle. Mark, and JTPratt!!
Thanks again, Paul
Pauls last blog post..Sears Normal Tool Warranty
June 5th, 2008 at 9:04 am
[...] a nice article by JTPratt, his next step was installing WP-DBManager which will provide a new screen in your dashboard with [...]
August 25th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I have to agree that backing up your database is a pain, but very important. I read a post on a forum, that I frequent, today. From someone who got their blog hacked. It’s just much easier to recover from that if things are backed up.
Sid Softwares last blog post..Best Windows backup software
August 27th, 2008 at 12:02 am
[...] don’t feel bad. It didn’t mean anything to me either when I came across it over at J.T. Pratt’s Blogging Mistakes (currently my favorite blog about blogging). You can follow the link to his excellent explanatory [...]
September 10th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
first off i want to thank you for the marvelous article…it is very clear and even i could “get it”….however, i have done everything you suggested and i am still loading slow….
i have also taken all the text off of you widgets, deleted all on active plug ins…
i have done everything i have read about other than the cashe and i am so unfamiliar with that it sort of scares me…
could you please please help me….i have bugged my hosting company many times….and they said there is nothing else they can do….
so any imput would be very appreciated.
thanks
darlene
September 10th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
@Darlene -
Looks like you have multiple issues. I have had this exact same problem and fixed it. I think you have a plugin conflict and also you have massive code issues.
This is what I would do…
1. Disable all plugins
2. Set the theme to default
3. Take your July 15th post and edit it. Copy the text into Windows notepad. Use Ctrl-A to “select all” and copy, then go back to the post in your Wordpress dashboard. Delete everything. Paste the text you copied from notepad. The problem is you’ve been writing your entries in Microsoft Word, copying the text and pasting it into your posts using the Wordpress visual editor. You have to stop doing that - it’s bloating the bejeezus out of your code.
4. Save the post, reload your home page
At this point everything should be better. If it’s not, download all your plugins to your desktop in folder, then in FTP on your web server delete all the plugins in /wp-content/plugins. Wordpress still looks in your plugin directory - even if they aren’t enabled.
So now, what happens? Your blog should be light years faster. If it’s STILL not you may have a web host problem. There may be too many people on your web server or the MySQL (database server) might be overused. I mean, if you have the default them with no plugins your blog still takes 30 seconds to load, unless you have serious database corruption your web host is to blame. You already optimized your database - so it should be ok.
At this point, I would dump your web host for someone like Hostgator. I use them for about everything, they work great, and you can have unlimited sites and databases for $15/mo or less. The servers are fast, tech support is great, and I’ve never had any issues with anything - EVER.
Post again on your success (or failure) once you’ve tried these steps…
September 10th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
hi there…
thanks for your comments…i have done the plugin thingy…i am afraid to do the default as i didn’t build that part of my website….and don’t know if i could get it back without a lot of tears….and i have really spent them all on this issue….
i do want you to tell me more in detail about my posting behavior….and you are right in what i am doing….and i know for you you probably felt it was in detail…but i need it sort of step by step….how do i write my articles….in notebook and then copy them into wordpress??? how do i get the various styles i like in my writing….do i have to give that up???…
also i finally got a senior service rep and he went to the top and found out that one of data servers (the second one or something) was/is the problem and my issue is suppose to resolved by morning…i made 6 calls to them and asked about the server thingy each time and each time they just repeated that the server load was checked and it was ok….evidiently there are two servers and they didin’t take it that far….
so will lst you know what happens in the morning…and i really, really appreciate your answer and thoroughness in helping me…you are great!!!!!
namaste,
darlene
September 11th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Darlene,
I checked your site also. I don’t think it has anything to do with the plugins or themes.
If you watch your browser working you will see that it is waiting to connect to the domain and once it does it loads the page rather fast. Therefore, the problem. . . in my opinion is your host.
Hostgator is a good host I also like Hawk Host - very good and low cost.
One of my sites responds like yours at times. . . thus it isn’t my plugins or theme. It’s whatever is going on with your host at that time.
Good luck
September 11th, 2008 at 8:46 am
@Darlene: What you need to do is never write posts in anything other than Wordpress from now on. Make sure you are using the “visual” editor (the one with bold, italic, font size, bullets, etc). If you aren’t - edit your profile under “Users” and enable it.
If there are things in Word you want to do that Wordpress visual editor won’t - you should be doing those in web pages anyway. Microsoft Word adds in 50X more code (most of it useless) for every page you write - making the load times slower. Not a ton slower, but slower.
To fix the existing posts you just open up Windows Notepad by going to start->Accessories ->Notepad. Just copy your posts there. Select all, and then copy again, and paste back to your post and save.