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      How to Back Up Your WordPress Website (3 Methods)


      You’ve probably put a lot of hard work into your site, and if something were to happen to it, the results could be devastating. Hackers could lock you out of your website, data files could become corrupted, or you could even accidentally delete your site — what’s worse is that the results could be permanent.

      Maintaining regular backups could save you from ever finding yourself in this position. There are several different methods for backing up your WordPress website — most importantly, they can all help prevent the loss of your valuable site files and database.

      The Importance of Backing Up Your WordPress Website

      Let’s start with the basics. A WordPress backup is simply a copy of all your site’s files and database. Backups are used to restore sites that have been compromised through hacking or corrupted files or websites that have been purposely or accidentally deleted.

      How often you should back up your website depends on your niche and size. If you have a site that is constantly updated, such as a high-traffic blog or an e-commerce site, you may want to perform backups daily. Websites with mostly static content are usually fine with less frequent backups.

      It’s highly recommended that you make multiple backups and save them in different places. Just as your site can become compromised or lost, your backups could be destroyed or deleted too. Having several backups helps ensure that you’ll always have a fresh and current backup, even when another is unavailable.

      How to Back Up WordPress (3 Methods)

      There are a few different methods for backing up WordPress sites. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The best approach will be up to you, but it’s wise to know about all three. Let’s take a look!

      1. Back Up WordPress Manually

      Backing up a WordPress site manually is the most difficult method, but it is sometimes necessary. If you’re locked out of your WordPress dashboard due to an error or security issue and need to make a backup, this may be the only way to do it.

      There are two stages to this: backing up your files and backing up your database. To start, you’ll need your Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) credentials. You’ll usually find them within your hosting account’s back end. If you can’t find them, just contact your host — they’ll be able to root them out for you.

      Once you have your SFTP credentials, you’ll want to download and launch a suitable client, such as FileZilla. This option is excellent because it’s free, open-source, and easy to use.

      Once it’s open, enter your credentials in the specified areas:

      FileZilla FTP connection

      After you’ve established a connection with your server, you’ll need a destination folder for your backup. You can create one without leaving FileZilla by right-clicking within the top-left quadrant, selecting Create Directory, and giving it a name.

      Next, drag the WordPress files from your server (found in the top-right quadrant) and drop them in your destination folder. The download may take a while — coffee time! — but once it’s done, you’ll have a backup of your site’s files saved to your computer.

      However, you’ll still need to back up your WordPress database. To do this, you’ll need to utilize the phpMyAdmin tool, which you can find within your host’s back end. Once you’re logged in, select your WordPress database from the sidebar:

      exporting your WordPress database

      Next, navigate to the top of the screen to the Export tab. Select the Quick export method, click on Go, and download the file when prompted. Again, the download may take some time and will save a backup of your database to your computer. That’s it!

      2. Install a WordPress Plugin to Run Automatic Backups

      Using a plugin is much easier and faster than backing up WordPress manually. Some plugins, such as UpdraftPlus, enable you to schedule automatic backups, giving you back much-needed headspace!

      To implement this backup method, you’ll first have to install and activate your chosen plugin. From here, you’ll be able to schedule your backups, determine where the plugin should save them, and select the files you want to back up:

      UpDraft Plus WordPress backup settings

      Many WordPress backup plugins (including UpdraftPlus) enable you to save backups locally or to the cloud. This is a great way to keep backups in multiple locations as an extra precaution.

      However, one downside to using a plugin is that it’s difficult to monitor whether backups are being created. Of course, backing up your site manually can help with this since you’ll be able to easily see if the backup is completed correctly. However, there is one way that can provide the best of both worlds.

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      3. Manage Backups Through Your Hosting Provider

      Some hosting providers, including us at DreamHost, offer a backup feature. How you access, schedule, save, and restore your backups will vary depending on your provider. We provide one-click backups to all customers and automated daily backups to customers with managed WordPress plans.

      Automated backups provide the highest level of convenience possible, running in the background without you having to do a thing. You can (of course) supplement them with on-demand backups outside of your normal schedule — for example, right before pushing changes to your live site.

      To access your backups as a DreamPress customer, log in to your account and select DreamPress from the WordPress drop-down in the sidebar. From here, find the domain you want to back up and click on the Manage button. You can then select the Backups tab, where all your backups will be listed, and also create or restore them with a single click:

      DreamHost create a backup in Panel

      Finally, letting your host automate backups on your behalf is usually a ‘set-and-forget’ setting. However, for extra security, you may still want to save multiple backups. It’s worth keeping in mind that if your site has a server issue and the backups are stored on the same server as your site (a ‘no-no’), you may run into trouble.

      Back Up Your WordPress Site Today

      Your website is important to you, so it’s vital to protect it from outside threats, simple human errors, or something else. Backing up your WordPress site regularly will ensure that you have a way to get your site back if the worst happens.

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      WordPress Permalinks: How to Manage Your Website’s URL Structure


      In this article, we’ll explain what permalinks are and give you a tour of all the default permalink structures WordPress offers. Then, you’ll learn how to create custom ones in two ways.

      Each page on your website has a unique URL that enables visitors to identify and access it directly. Ideally, you want these URLs to be as easy to read and type as possible. In technical terms, those unique URLs are known as permalinks.

      When you use a Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, it automatically generates URLs for your pages and posts based on the permalink structure you choose. However, it’s important to note that some options are more suitable for readability and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

      What WordPress Permalinks Are

      In a nutshell, WordPress permalinks are the unique URLs the platform sets for each of your posts and pages. Take these two permalinks, for example:

      They both illustrate unique permalink structures. The first uses the blog post’s name as its slug, which is the segment of the URL that identifies a unique page. Instead of its name, the second example uses the post’s unique ID as its slug.

      From a technical standpoint, both URLs work exactly the same. However, it’s easy to see that the first approach is much more user-friendly. Not only is it easier to remember, but it also tells visitors what the page is all about. This is known as a “pretty” (as opposed to “ugly”) permalink.

      More importantly, using keywords that explain what your page is about can help search engines understand its purpose. In other words, they’re better from an SEO perspective. If you’re not using an optimized permalink structure, you’re leaving organic traffic on the table.

      The 6 Types of Permalink Structures in WordPress (And Which One You Should Use)

      Before we jump in, it’s important to note that if you’re building a new WordPress website, you should always set your favorite permalink structure as early as possible. Conventional wisdom suggests locking down your permalink structure within the first six months when your SEO is still in the growth stage.

      If your website has been around for longer than that, you can still change your permalink structure. However, you may impact your search rankings if you don’t implement redirects to your new URLs.

      With that in mind, let’s help you identify the best structure for your WordPress website.

      1. Plain

      We’ve already introduced this permalink structure above. Here’s another example to refresh your memory:

      • examplewebsite.com/?p=121

      As its name implies, this structure is bare-bones. The slug is actually the designed page ID from your database. It doesn’t provide you with any information about the page you’re visiting. In most cases, you’ll want to use a structure that provides users (and search engines) with a bit more to go on.

      2. Day and Name

      As the name implies, this permalink structure uses your post or page’s name and the day of its publication as part of the URL. Here’s an example:

      • examplewebsite.dev/2022/08/25/sample-post/

      The upside of this structure is that it tells your users how old the post is. In some cases, this can help them assess if it’s still relevant without having to hunt for a date in the text. You’ll often find news or magazine sites use this structure — essentially, any website creating time-specific content.

      Dating your posts also has a downside. For example, imagine you have an excellent post that was published two years ago, and it’s considered a definitive source of information on a particular topic. Some readers might simply look at the date and think the advice is no longer relevant, regardless of whether that’s true or not.

      To be clear, it’s always advisable to include the date of publication somewhere within your post, but there’s no compelling reason to add it as part of your URL.

      3. Month and Name

      This permalink structure is almost identical to the one we just covered. The only difference is that it doesn’t include the day of publication as part of your post’s URL:

      • examplewebsite.dev/2022/08/sample-post/

      From a functional standpoint, we’re dealing with the same set of pros and cons as with the Day and Name structure. It can be nice for visitors to ascertain how old your post or page is at a glance, but it can also make some of your content look outdated.

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      4. Numeric

      The Numeric permalink structure shares a lot of similarities with the Plain option. Let’s check out a URL using this setting so you can see it in action:

      • examplewebsite.com/archives/121

      As with Plain permalinks, this setting uses your post’s ID as its slug, and it doesn’t provide users with any additional information. In this case, you also get a short permalink, but it comes with no other advantages, so it shouldn’t be your top option.

      5. Post Name

      Out of all the default WordPress permalink structures, this one is our favorite. It identifies your posts and pages according to their name, which makes for clean and memorable URLs, such as:

      • examplewebsite.com/your-best-post

      The great thing is that you can name your post and pages any way you want and even customize the slugs if those titles get too long. As a rule of thumb, your slug should remain between three to five words long. That way, it’s still short enough for your visitors to remember, and search engines will also be able to easily identify what the post is about.

      6. Custom Structure

      If you’re not sold on any of the structures we’ve talked about so far, WordPress also enables you to build your own. For example, if you’re running a blog, you can set up individual categories for your roundups and reviews and include them in your links.

      Here’s an example:

      • examplewebsite.com/top-lists/x-best-puppies-2018

      In practice, WordPress provides you with ten structure tags that you can use to build custom permalinks. If you want to know what they are and how to use them, keep reading — we’ll cover all the basics in the next section.

      2 Ways to Create Custom Permalinks

      As we mentioned a minute ago, WordPress offers you a built-in method to create custom permalinks. However, you can also use plugins to achieve similar results if you want a bit more control over the procedure. Let’s talk about both methods.

      1. Use WordPress’ Custom Structure Tags

      WordPress enables you to use ten types of structure tags to create custom permalinks. Let’s take a minute to get to know them, then we’ll see them in practice:

      • Date Tags: This category includes %year%, %monthnum%, %day%, %hour%, %minute%, and %second%, and they work exactly as you expect them to. Adding any of these tags to your permalink structure will include those numbers within your URL.
      • Post ID and Name: These tags are %post_id% and %postname%, respectively. The former displays the unique ID for any of your posts or pages, while the second shows their full title.
      • Category and Author: You can add these options using the %category% and %author% tags, respectively.

      To use any of these tags, you need to access your dashboard and go to the Settings > Permalinks tab. Once you’re in, you can choose any permalink structure you want out of the ones we talked about earlier.

      If you want to create your own, select the Custom Structure option at the bottom of the list:

      WordPress custom permalinks structure

      Now, all you have to do is mix and match the structure tags we talked about earlier.

      For example, /%category/%post-name/ would result in this URL:

      • http://www.examplewebsite.com/top-lists/x-best-puppies-2017.

      You can use as many tags as you want for your custom permalink structure. However, we recommend keeping things short. We also recommend that you avoid using dates, so that your content remains evergreen.

      When you’re ready, remember to save your changes, and that’s it!

      2. Use the Custom Permalinks Plugin

      If you’ve been using WordPress for a while, you’ll know there are plugins for nearly every scenario you can imagine. Customizing permalinks is no exception. One option is the Permalink Manager plugin:

      Permalink Manager Lite WordPress plugin

      This tool enables you to customize your post and page’s permalink structure and change the URLs of any individual posts on a single screen.

      To get started, install the plugin, activate it, then navigate to the Tools > Permalink Manager tab. Inside, you’ll find a list of all your posts and the option to tweak their permalinks:

      Permalink Manager Lite plugin for custom permalinks

      The URL Editor tab section also includes tabs for your Pages and Media, which work just the same as the Posts section. When you’re done checking out these options, move over to the Permastructures tab. Here, you can set unique permalink structures for your posts, pages, and media:

      WordPress default Permalinks structure

      As you can see, the plugin also uses WordPress’ default structure tags to help you build new permalinks. All you have to do is put them in the order you want and save your changes:

      structured tags for custom post types

      If you’re not happy with your new structures, you can always use the Restore to Default Permastructure button below each field. That’s pretty much all you need to know to start using the plugin.

      Set Up Your WordPress Permalinks

      A lot of people don’t pay any attention to the structure of their website’s URLs, which is a mistake. It may seem like a small detail, but using the right permalink structure can improve SEO rankings and make your website more user-friendly.

      As a general rule of thumb, you want to avoid URLs that include long strings of numbers or unwieldy phrases. The best approach is often to use your post names as your default permalink structure and shorten them manually when necessary. If that’s not a good fit for your website, you can always create custom permalink structures using WordPress tags or a plugin.

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      WordPress Settings Overview: 6 Settings Screens to Familiarize Yourself With


      In this post, we’ll walk you through each of the six WordPress settings screens. We’ll explain what each panel does and how to customize it to suit your needs.

      Once you complete your first successful WordPress installation, you may find yourself wondering what your next steps should be. Even though WordPress is an easy-to-grasp, beginner-friendly platform, the wealth of screens waiting for you in the dashboard could send your head into a spin.

      In our opinion, the best place to start is with your Settings panel, and fortunately, it’s a breeze to navigate. There are six different pages that encompass practically everything you’ll need to tweak how your site works and acts with visitors.

      What Are WordPress Settings?

      WordPress Settings menu in sidebar

      The Settings area of your WordPress dashboard acts as a central location for the tools you need to define, customize, and control the various sections of your site. There are six default pages to traverse, although some plugins will often add further options.

      Within each page are options to micromanage the way readers interact with posts (such as via commenting), general site-wide time and date settings, and even some essential tweaks related to usability and your search engine ranking. As you can imagine, these settings affect the very fabric of your site, and it’s one good way to provide a unique experience for visitors.

      WordPress Settings Overview

      Let’s take a look at the six default pages in more depth. It’s worth noting that while the settings you change here are global on the whole, some plugins will offer further customization via WordPress’ other various screens.

      With that in mind, let’s begin with your general WordPress settings.

      1. General Settings

      WordPress General settings

      First up is the General screen, which lets you customize the basic, top-level elements of your site. The screen is loosely sectioned according to each setting’s focus.

      Site Title & Tagline

      For example, at the top, you can set your Site Title and Tagline. The former will obviously show up in the title bar of your browser and search engines once your site is published. The latter is usually displayed underneath your site’s title and is a short explanation of what your site is about. Both elements provide an excellent opportunity for improving your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

      WordPress & Site Address

      Moving on, your WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) are usually the same and are simply your site’s URL. The Email Address field should contain the primary email that you wish to receive admin-specific emails to.

      User Options

      Next are some basic user registration options. The Membership checkbox toggles whether anyone can register on your site, while the New User Default Role drop-down menu sets a default role for any new site subscribers. We recommend you keep this to Subscriber initially, as this offers the least amount of site access.

      Time & Date

      The next grouping is centered around times and dates. You can select a timezone, along with a time and date format (all of which should be based on either your business or visitor location). The Week Starts On drop-down enables you to set a specific day as your start of the week.

      Site Language

      Finally, the Site Language menu lets you set a default language for your WordPress dashboard. Note that this isn’t related to your on-screen, front-end content in any way.

      Once you’ve made your updates, click on Save Changes. You should see your changes apply immediately. However, before you go any further, you’ll want to customize the other pages in the Settings section.

      2. Writing Settings

      WordPress Writing Settings

      The Writing screen is focused on default formatting options for your posts and pages’ editor screens. This is more strictly apportioned into four sections, unlike the General screen.

      Post Settings

      The three initial options relate directly to post formatting, with the two checkboxes under Formatting letting you automatically handle emoticons and XHTML. We recommend leaving these at their defaults, especially the second option. The two drop-downs here let you set a default category and format for posts, and in the case of the latter, will update based on any new categories you create.

      Moving on, the Press This section is an underused aspect of WordPress that lets you bookmark and edit snippets of web pages before publishing them to your site. It’s a great feature for blogging but may not suit every niche.

      Post Via Email

      Next, the Post via email section enables you to write and publish blog posts via email. We recommend you use your dashboard whenever possible, although it’s a handy alternative if you lack access and need to get a post out immediately. Finally, the Update Services section lets you decide how to notify people of new content on your blog.

      Note that while these options are a good start, you can customize your writing options further within the Posts screen on your dashboard.

      3. Reading Settings

      WordPress Reading Settings

      The Reading screen relates to how visitors will initially view your site. By default, your home page will list your latest blog posts, although this can obviously be changed.

      Homepage Display Settings

      You can tweak this using the homepage displays option. Blogs, for example, will likely want the latest posts to be front and center. If you’d like users to land on a specific home page, select the Static Page option, then choose both a Front and Posts page from the drop-downs.

      Blog Settings

      The next two options let you set how many of your most recent posts are shown at any one time on your blog and within any RSS feeds, and below those, the For each article in a feed show box lets you show either the full text of your post or a simple summary.

      Search Engine Visibility

      Finally, Search Engine Visibility simply requests that search engines don’t index your site in its rankings. They don’t have to comply, but they usually do. Our recommendation here is to leave this checked until you’re ready to publish your site.

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      4. Discussion Settings

      WordPress Discussion Settings

      A primary benefit of WordPress is how it enables your readers to interact with your content. This section lets you manage engagement on your site. Let’s discuss the customizations you can make:

      Default Article Settings

      You have three settings to choose from here, and we’d recommend disabling the first two because, while sending and receiving notifications from other blogs sounds good, trackbacks are a controversial subject.

      Other Comment Settings

      This enables you to control site-wide, comment-specific actions. The options you choose here are totally subjective, although displaying newer comments first makes sense, in our opinion.

      Email Me Whenever

      If you want a notification email when someone makes a comment, or if a comment is in your moderation queue, make that selection here.

      Before a Comment Appears

      While you could simply let all comments through without moderation, we recommend you apply some form of filtering, in order to keep your comments sections free from online trolls.

      Comment Moderation

      Because spam is so ubiquitous across the internet, you can use this area to set criteria for holding spammy comments based on the number of links it contains. The default is fine for most cases.

      Comment Blacklist

      Since it is nearly impossible to allow comments without being hit by spammers, you can use this section to blacklist them. You can add known IP addresses, URLs, names, or email addresses here to prevent them from showing up on your site or in your notifications.

      Avatars

      Finally, the Avatars section relates to a comment author’s displayed image. This is another subjective section, although enabling avatars may create a more personable comments section.

      5. Media Settings

      WordPress Media Settings

      Image Sizes

      This section is much simpler compared to the others. In short, here you’ll define the sizes of your images once you upload them to your site. You’ll notice these are selectable when uploading images, and you can also create your own custom sizes, although you’ll need a bit of coding experience.

      The default sizes are Thumbnail, Medium, and Large. Alternatively, you’ll be able to type in a custom size by editing an image on a post or page.

      Upload Settings

      The final setting for this screen is a checkbox for uploading files. By selecting it, you can tell WordPress to organize your media based on the month and year.

      6. Permalinks Settings

      WordPress Permalinks Settings

      This final screen is one of the most powerful ones in your Settings pages. Permalinks are essentially the format of your individual pages’ URLs. While that may not seem like a big deal, it can be detrimental to your site’s SEO if you get the format wrong.

      The default option when installing WordPress is Plain. This appends a string of numbers to your URL, relating to its database ID. In our opinion (and many others), it looks ugly. What’s more, it’s not good for SEO.

      As for the other options, you can set multiple permutations of the date and post name, a slightly prettier-looking numeric permalink, or simply use Post name. Our advice here is to stick to the Post name format for all but incredibly content-heavy and time-specific (such as news) websites.

      In those cases, a date-based format will potentially be more appropriate. Even so, you’ll want to optimize the permalink further on a post-by-post basis.

      Although you could set a custom permalink structure, there’s no need to unless you’ve got a very specific reason for doing so. The options provided by WordPress should cover the needs of most sites.

      Confidently Configure Your WordPress Settings 

      Even as a first-time user of WordPress, there is no need to feel overwhelmed when it comes to configuring and customizing its settings. In fact, understanding how the six different pages impact your site can help you take control of the platform. With this WordPress settings tutorial, you should now be able to optimize your WordPress website to best meet your needs.

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