I’ve always believed that the summer months are quieter in the blogging world because many of us are off doing better things and making the most of the weather, provided it’s not too hot and humid. Yet, I have been proved wrong this summer, with my stats for June being significantly higher compared to June 2024, and they remained much the same for July. But how are your stats doing for the year so far?
Including this post, I’ve published 31 posts so far this year, which is significantly fewer than I’ve ever done, except for 2014, my first year of blogging. My blogging tips posts remain popular, although I’m pleased that both my flash fiction posts received much more engagement than previous flash fiction posts.
When was the last time you backed up your blog? Don’t need to back it up? Think again. I’d recommend reading the last post on the following list.
Here’s your opportunity to catch up on my four blog posts from July 2025.
Bill faces a crucial decision at a crossroads, ultimately choosing a hidden path that leads to complicated consequences for him and his wife.
Would you know what to do if your blog vanished without explanation? My post describes how you can prevent the nightmare of losing all your blog’s content.
Imagine turning on your computer, laptop, or phone and discovering that your blog had vanished without a trace. What a horrible nightmare, yes?
In the 12 years I’ve been blogging, it has never happened to me, although there was an occasion when the setup of my blog (and that of many others) changed completely overnight, all due to a bug that affected many WordPress blogs. Fortunately, it was fixed quickly, even though it caused many users a nightmare they never thought would happen.
If you’re a WordPress.com blogger, be assured that if your blog and all its content suddenly vanish, WordPress will have a backup. Regardless of your WordPress plan, WordPress backs up every blog and keeps a copy, just in case it is ever needed. All you need to do is contact WordPress and request the file. They will send you a file containing the most recent backup they made. However, as we will discuss later, backups do not include everything.
But there’s no need to contact WordPress
If you’ve ever had a bad experience contacting WordPress or don’t want to contact them, there is another step you can take to ensure you have a backup of your blog. I’m using an Apple iMac desktop computer for the following guide.
How to backup your WordPress blog.
On the dashboard of your blog, go to Tools – Export.
Choose the items you wish to export (I recommend ‘All content‘) and click the ‘Download Export File‘ button.
Press these buttons to begin the process of backing up your WordPress blog.
You will see a message informing you that your export file is being processed, along with the email address where a download link will be sent once the process is complete.
Access your email account where the link is sent, locate the email, and open it. Click on the ‘Download‘ button within the email.
Click the ‘Download’ button in the email.
The file will be downloaded to your device. Ensure you remember its location and move it to another folder if necessary. I’ve created a file on my computer called ‘WordPress Backups’. Note that the file is only available for download for 7 days.
Remember to delete any previous WordPress backup files to free up memory on the device you are using.
The backup file you have downloaded does not include any media such as images, videos, or photographs. To back up media, follow the above instructions but select ‘Export Media Files‘ from the Tools menu – Tools – Export Media Files.
Do the backup files include everything?
It depends on which WordPress plan you have.
Users on a Free, Personal, or Premium plan can back up content and media. However, themes and plugins are not included in the backup. Therefore, if you ever need to download a backup file and have been using a retired theme that WordPress no longer supports, you will need to choose a new, current theme that is still supported. You’ll also need to download any plugins your blog uses.
Those with Business or Commerce plans have access to Jetpack Vault Backup, which allows them to view and restore backups at any time from their blog’s dashboard. This can be accessed at Jetpack – Backup. These backups include everything, including the theme and any plugins you use.
Click the Backup link to access the Jetpack Vault backup file.
Should I need to worry about backing up my blog?
Given that WordPress backs up your blog, no! However, for total peace of mind, and depending on how often you publish posts, you might consider backing up your blog at least once a month. If you publish posts daily or more frequently, I’d recommend backing up your blog at least once a week. However, after performing a backup, remember to delete the previous backup file.
Most likely, you’ll never need a backup copy of your blog, but I suggest you save a copy of this post in case you ever lose all the content of your blog.
All WordPress blogs also come with an ‘ActivityLog‘ feature where bloggers can reinstall posts they have deleted by mistake. However, this feature is limited by the extent to which you can recover posts, depending on the WordPress Plan you have.
Click the Activity Log button to see the most recent activity on WordPress.
Conclusion:
WordPress automatically backs up WordPress.com blogs, but it doesn’t include everything.
Users can contact WordPress and request a copy of the backup file.
Users can backup their blogs via the dashboard.
For backing up media files, remember to perform a backup by going to Tools – Export Media Files.
What is backed up depends on your WordPress plan.
Business or Commerce plan users have access to Jetpack Vault Backup, which includes everything (themes, plugins, etc.) and can be accessed at any time via the dashboard.
Backup links are only valid for 7 days.
Remember to delete previous backup files to free up space on your device.
While WordPress does back up your blog, regular manual backups (such as monthly or weekly) are recommended for added peace of mind.
The Activity Log feature allows recovery of accidentally deleted posts, with limitations based on your plan.
Keep a copy of this guide for future reference.
Have you ever lost content on your blog? If so, how did you handle it? What has been your experience with WordPress backups? Have you ever had to restore a backup? Are there any specific plugins or tools you recommend for backing up a self-hosted blog? Would you prefer to rely on WordPress’s automatic backups, or do you believe manual backups are essential? Join the discussion and leave your comments and answers.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
The featured image in this blog post is taken from Pixabay. AI checked spelling and grammar mistakes.
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