Just a friendly reminder – backup your online business. It is important to save and backup all your hard work. It's surely a terrible thing to put so much effort into what you are working on just to lose it or have something crash.

Some may be seasoned pro's when it comes to backups and things alike. Others are new to the idea of safe guarding their business with the most up-to-date changes made to their site. Then there are those in between the whens and hows of backup.

How often are you backing up files like your WordPress site, computer, pictures, important files, etc? This will depend on how active your are weekly or, like many of us, how much business you do or create each day.

If your are busy on the computer only a few times a week then backing up your files and such can be done perhaps one time a week. However if you are busy with your business on a daily basis it is imperative to update and backup daily.

Why should you save and be backing up files often? Most people probably just think about a computer crashing or perhaps a virus that attacks and your data becomes corrupted. What about if there is a fire, tornado, or your computer is stolen? How about those awful hackers who can do a lot of harm or a child's spill frying your computer to death? Perhaps you lose your USB or even worse your phone (those great pictures are now gone). There are so many reasons to backup and save often.

If you're backing up on a regular basis you won't miss a beat should anything horrible happen to your files. Especially if you are backing up with Mozy. Go check them out!

What should be backed up? This list could go on and on but here are a few ideas:

• Pictures and Videos
• Important files and Documents
• Program files
• Music
• Business files
• Contact info
• Your newly written e-book

It's also very important to backup your WordPress database and the most essential files like plugins, themes, etc. Depending on the size of your site and frequency you post, backup daily or weekly.

Just imagine losing all your hard work after all the sweat, and maybe some tears of growing your site. We have many clients who have come to us to hand over the reigns when it comes to their WordPress site backups.

Here are 5 simple website steps to keep your business safe with backups:

1. Backup often – remember the work you do should be saved often. Put it on the calendar. Do it after any major changes. Make it a habit. Do it again if you think you forgot.
2. Off site backup – make sure to use a trusted company like Mozy or Carbonite to backup your entire computer offline. Then if things crash you just restore in a flash!
3. External storage – use trusted USB flash drives & external hard drives to backup important files, pictures, music, etc especially while on the go. Having a trusted place to put those important pictures and other important things makes all the difference.
4. Cloud backups – Nowadays you can back up via cloud storage. Dropbox and Google drive are great options to have all your business & personal projects synced to the cloud. Another great option is Amazon S3 for your backup needs.
5. BackupBuddy – Don't forget to go Pro! BackupBuddy should be your best friend when it comes to your WordPress site. It's important to backup your WordPress database and the most essential files like plugins, themes, etc. Depending on the size of your site and frequency you post, backup daily or weekly.

IMPORTANT – If you have large amounts of data it is essential to use these steps to keep your website safe and always up and running. It's good practice to keep a local backup (on hand), one off site, and play it safe with an extra backup/copy as a definite bonus.

Have peace of mind Only $5.99/Month! Get Mozy Online Backup.

Do you back up other files that we haven't mentioned?