To celebrate the release of WordPress 3.1 we have placed a new servers online with all of the latest goodies. As with all of our servers it’s Microsoft Windows based and features MySQL and PHP versions supported by current and announced versions for WordPress yet to be released.
Existing clients can upgrade their site to the latest release of WordPress and as always we are happy to assist. Contact us for details.
After several months of testing we have been so impressed with Hyper Cache that it’s now installed with every WordPress account we setup (free of charge). Why do you want to use Hyper Cache? Let’s list a few:
Hyper Cache requires zero maintenance. Once it’s installed it simply works and you’ll be delighted with your site’s performance. If you do wish to tweak its settings based on your unique requirements they available under Settings within your Dashboard.
WordPress 3.0.4 has been released which addresses a severe security issue. This release resolves a high-level risk and all users of WordPress should upgrade as soon as possible. As always we can help with this process.
The other day I ran across someone who wasn’t familiar with this phrase. I asked them to double check on something so it wouldn’t be an issue later on (a much larger one) and used the phrase as a nice way of saying I don’t doubt you rather I’d simply like to be certain.
They asked me to repeat the phrase stating they had never heard it before. Since they were much younger I figured they hadn’t been in enough pickles to hear or learn the value of the phrase. Which brings me to the topic of this post.
I wonder if bloggers realize how their data is stored and the possible risks of losing it all? For background let’s look at a few details.
All of the above are static files such that they aren’t continually updated except when you upgrade to a newer version of WordPress, modify existing templates for Plugins and Widgets or customize the look and feel of WordPress by changing its templates.
Because of this you should ensure you have an available backup of all of the site’s files before making any of these changes. Other wise if you run into any issues you just might not be able to go back to where you were or even worse your blog may stop working entirely.
If the above doesn’t scare you even a little let’s take a minute and look at your blog’s posts. They are stored in a database (MySQL) and the database is in constant motion. Exactly what’s stored in the database?
In fact the database is so busy in most cases it’s in a locked open condition. Which simply means the data in the database is only available to MySQL. All other means of accessing the data is locked out including most backup utilities.
This prevents a continual backing up of your data which results in your putting the majority of our blog’s work in the greatest jeopardy. All of your posts!
Hopefully by now you realize how an ounce of prevention relates to your blog. More than likely your hosting company can help should any number of issues arise as they will maintain backups. However you can see from the above regardless of the number of backups available based on many different conditions they may or may not be helpful.
As an example you attempt to upgrade to the newest version of WordPress one morning only to find your existing Theme and several of your Plugins no longer function. Well at the same time you are working on resolving the issues your server is being backed up which removes the ability to return your blog back to its prior state by using their most recent backup. Do they keep older backups and what do they charge for restoration? DId the upgrade alter my database structure? All of a sudden the pound of cure becomes very heavy.
With a few precautions you can’t guarantee you won’t run any issues although you can pretty much guarantee no matter what happens you’ll be able to recover reasonable easily and quickly. We recommend the following for an ounce of prevention.
If you add the above to your blogging routine I think you’ll find it time well spent. Even if you never have to use this ounce of prevention it’s almost a cure just knowing it’s available.