Phil Chang's List: Joomla

• Automated Joomla website backup
• cron is a time-based scheduling service in Unix/Linux computer operating systems. What this essentially means is that you schedule jobs on your webserver. The job we will be scheduling is the automated Joomla backup.
• The techie way - this is the way that one would the job if you really know exactly what you are doing, what cron are exactly, how to create them via your cpanel or whatever your host runs on. We are assuming that most of you do not fall under this category, otherwise you wouldn't be here
• The Joomla newbie way - this is the way Joomla users who want to create an automated backup job do it. These are users who need to be able to create a cron job, without actually having a clue what a cron job is.
• Create a Cron job which automates your backup

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• Backup
• Always keep a recent backup of your site. Backups are useful in case of data loss, if your security has been compromised by malicious attackers, or simply if you made an error and need to revert the site back to a previous state.
• There are two parts to a complete back up of your Joomla site.

• Database

   

  Instructions on how to backup a database using PhpMyAdmin (common on most web hosts): http://www.phpmyadmin.net/documentation/#faq6_4 

  Alternatively, there are several backup extensions for Joomla 1.5 you could look into, JoomlaPack for a full backup of your site or SQL Dumper that can be used for both creating and restoring Joomla databases, Although if for some reason Joomla becomes impossible to log into, the backup will need to be restored through PhpMyAdmin or another method. both these extensions and more are available at http://extensions.joomla.org/ 

  It is recommended to back up the database at least twice per week or even everyday (and more) if you have an active site.

• File System

   

  Besides the DB, you should also back up your site files. The interval for this depends on how often you or your users make changes to the file system. If users can add photos and media or you make changes to the site other than simple text edits, it should be done often. This is best done with an FTP program and is no different than backing up a standard website. Download all the files and folders that exist in the main directory, and save it to a folder on your local computer. Be sure that the file and directory structure remains the same as it is in the live site. You could then burn a CD or save to an external hard drive if you desire. 

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