A very dear friend of mine came to me asking for help because her blog was abruptly removed and her username apparently didn't exist anymore. My instant reaction was, "I hope you have a back-up for your blog."
Well, unfortunately she didn't and was left with nothing, her one year of hard work and more than 300 blog posts went down the drain.
Not too long ago, the only way to backup your blog was through a third party software, but Blogger has a simple feature that lets you have a backup copy in your hard disk, not only for articles but also comments, template and widgets. A simple procedure that anyone can follow without any technical knowledge.
Not only will this help you in extreme cases like abrupt removal of your blog, but also when you wish to change your old template and switch to a new one, or perhaps switch to a new blogging platform. I recommend that you must have a back-up both in your computer and online (just to be on a safer side). In this post we will be discussing how to backup your blog in your computer through blogger itself, we will come up with various online services that will let you secure your hard work.
Backup Articles and Comments
In three simple steps you can back up your blog posts and comments as well.
Step 1
Login to your Blogger account and click 'Settings' in your Dashboard.
Step 2
Now click on 'Export' blog. (Exporting does not mean that your posts will disappear from Blogger)
Step 3
Now, all you need to do is click on 'Download Blog' and save it in your computer. When 'download manager' appears, save the XML file to your computer. And voila...you have successfully created a back up for your blog.
God forbid, if something goes wrong with your blog, you can revive your blog in three simple steps:
Settings - Basic - Import Blog.
Once you recover your blog posts, it will not be published automatically. You will have to click on 'Edit Posts' in 'Posting' section, select all your posts and hit 'Publish Selected' button.
Backup Template
If you are one of those who does not use free templates provided by Blogger, then it is advisable to have a backup for your professional template in three simple steps described below:
Step 1
Login to your Blogger account and click 'Design' in your Dashboard.
Step 2
Now click on 'Edit HTML'.
Step 3
Now all that is left is for you to click on 'Download Full Template' and keep it safely in your computer. In case you wish to upload the template to Blogger, you simply click on 'Upload' (as in the image above) and import it from your computer.
Backup Widgets
When you change your template on Blogger you end up loosing all your widgets content. If you wish to secure them, and eliminate the hassle of incorporating them again right from scratch, then follow three simple steps below:
Step 1
Login to your Blogger and click 'Design' in your Dashboard.
Step 2
When you reach the 'Page Element' page in Design section, you will see a page that looks like the image above which displays all the widgets in your blog.
Step 3
Now in this step you will have to individually copy paste code for each of your widget in a note/text pad. Click on 'Edit' and copy the code that will appear in a new window and save it in your computer.
When you install a template, just add your saved code through 'Add a Gadget' option or directly in your HTML of your template.
I hope that after reading this tutorial you will save a backup for your blog, it takes hardly few minutes and saves you hours of mind boggling efforts of somehow reviving your blog. Save yourself the trouble and create a backup file now. In case you face any trouble, do let me know in the comment section below.
We will soon be coming up with different ways on how you can backup your blog online. To stay up to date with our blog, you can subscribe with us or receive updates directly in your inbox. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
yes, Blogger export function is very useful... I've discovered it some months ago and it made my sleepnights wonderful eheh :D
Nice to know about this.