Have you ever lost all your computer files because you didn’t back them up?

It’s a sickening feeling when you can’t restore thousands of files collected over several years of work. The same thing can happen to your forum, blog or CMS web site that uses a mySQL database to store information. One of the easiest and most full proof backup methods is to use phpMyAdmin.

How to use phpMyAdmin

Go to cPanel->mySQL databases->phpMyAdmin and choose your database.
Click on the Export link.
Choose Select All to select all the tables.
Select “SQL”->for output format.
Check “save as file”
Select gzipped and hit Go to download the backup file.
Save it to a folder labeled “backupFeb08” so you know when you created the last backup.

Create a backup the first of every month.

How to restore a backup of a mySQL database

Click the SQL tab
On the “SQL” page, unclick “show this query here again”
Browse to the backup of the database on your computer
Click Go.

*****************************************
Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, Search Engine Optimization

Receive fresh, in-depth articles articles on how to design, optimize and promote your web site by subscribing to his “Marketing Tips” newsletter at: http://www.isitebuild.com/