The Cayman Host

Data loss can be an absolute nightmare for anyone who owns valuable computer files, no matter whether you are a webmaster or email user, sudden loss of all your files can occur in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s down to you, the user, other times outside influences such as hackers and virus or malware applications can see your data literally vanishing into thin air.

Making regular backups of files really is essential and this chore should certainly be a matter of routine for all webmasters.

A backup refers to a copy of existing files on a separate storage device to preserve data in case the original has been damaged or deleted. Don’t rely on your hosting company to backup your data, they may well do so but you must have a duplicate of all your files stored safely in another place, independent of your host. No matter how reliable your hosting company has always been, they can suffer server failures just like anyone else, so, for your own peace of mind backup everything and store it either on your own PC’s hard drive, or an external drive, preferably both if you can.

Never underestimate the importance of having a backup. There is no excuse nowadays as the task really is a simple one and there are a variety of options.

1. Back Up With cPanel
Every time you log in to your hosting account, you are usually greeted by your control panel, the place that contains all the tools you need to manage your website. C-Panel is one of the most commonly used control panels for Linux based hosting and if you are a cPanel user, backups could not be easier.

To perform a full backup using cPanel, you just have to find and click the Backup icon on the main interface. (sample below)

This offers you options to generate various backups including your databases. Backup everything, including those vital database files. It’s simple. Then download the generated files to your PC, or other storage medium.

I have made a very quick video showing how to back up with cPanel where you will see how, with just a few clicks, I backup a main home directory, two MySQL databases and an email database, and save the files to the desktop on my pc. Where you store your backups is your choice of course and I recommend at least two separate locations.

Additional Resources: Mohamed Bhimji has also provided an ebook in PDF format covering the full process. You can download a free copy below.

cPanel Backup Guide PDF

2. Backing Up Using Online Storage
Your server is already an online storage medium of course, but if you want more security for your files, you could get another. You may already have another hosting plan where you could store data or you could just sign up to a free online storage service instead. Some of these may not offer enough space for larger backups however.

3. Backing Up Databases Using phpMyAdmin
Databases are the most common repository of important records. If you are running MySQL, but don’t have cPanel, you can back up your databases using phpMyAdmin, a common database management tool. It is very simple - log in to your phpMyAdmin account and click the Export option which will take you to a list of your databases. Select them all and save - you will be prompted to provide a name for the backup file and the desired location. Click OK and your backup database(s) will be created.

Wherever you decide to backup and save your data remember to do it on a regular basis - the more often you update your website or blog the more frequently you should backup. I prefer to store backups in two separate locations which gives double the security and peace of mind.

If you haven’t backed up in a while, make time to do it today.

Technorati Tags: CPanel Backups, Website Backups, Database backup, Backup tools, Backup methods, Making a backup of your website, Blog backups

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Lunar Pages have today announced the launch of their Dedicated Hosting and UK Web Hosting sites. With dedicated server hosting on both Windows and Linux servers and starting at just $99 per month Lunar Pages are worth adding to anyone’s shortlist.

The UK site retains the familiar look of the original and offers UK shared web hosting starting at 3.99 GBP monthly. If you are a UK resident and prefer to host with someone in your own country, Lunar Pages UK web hosting has arrived.

Of course, there is still the main site for Lunar Pages Shared Hosting plans which start at $6.95.

Technorati Tags: Dedicated Server Hosting, Lunar Pages UK, UK web hosting, Lunar Pages Hosting, Lunar Pages

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We are pleased to announce further new partnerships with hosting companies who will shortly be added to the main Cayman Host Web Hosting Directory.

Our latest new addition are Jumpline.com who are currently offering a full three months free web hosting for new customers and a pretty good free deal it is too. If you’re starting out or looking to move hosts, you can check out the full details of the free offer by clicking on the link. 2GB of space and 30GB of transfer should cover most webmasters and you will see that there are plenty of features to keep you happy including excellent 24/7 support.

Please see the main directory for the complete list of hosts now represented.

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If you are selling anything online and need or want to accept credit card payments, you will appreciate the need to offer your customers the security of an SSL certificate so that they can be sure their sensitive financial information can be transmitted securely.

Network Solutions have recently announced a very special offer on their SSL certificates, giving merchants a 10% discount on all purchases through until 13 September 2007. If this is something you are intending to implement on your sites, now is the time to take advantage of an even more keenly priced service. Just click on the link below, there is no need for a separate coupon code, you will automatically be given the reduced price deal for your SSL solution.

10% off any SSL Cert/Seal purchase. Coupon code: AFF0000045. Offer valid from 8/13/07 - 9/13/07

Technorati Tags: SSL certificates, Secure Online Purchase, SSL, SSL Seals, Online Security, Accept Credit Card Payments

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This brief article outlines the importance of using robots.txt files and good sitemaps to help search engines index your website or blog properly.

Having built your website you are probably waiting for that flood of visitors to start arriving but this won’t happen overnight. There is a great deal you can do to improve your chances of good search engine rankings but the whole field of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be very complicated and is rarely an exact science. The information is out there if you are prepared to do your research but for many people, time is the biggest limiting factor when it comes to SEO and there is a lot of information to wade through.

There are however a couple of very simple steps that anyone can take to help the Search engines find and index your site correctly. Both will take only a couple of minutes to implement and will repay you well if you take the trouble to complete them.

Firstly, you should ensure that you have a robots.txt file in the root of your domain (the place where your site’s homepage resides) and that it is valid and functioning correctly. The simplest way to do this is to go to one of the many online robots.txt generator and validator sites, where all you will have to do is type in your website address and a couple of options and they will generate the appropriate file for you. We recommend Yellowpipe Robots.txt Generator which will also enable you to choose to banish the robots you don’t want visiting your site, such as known email harvesting bots. There are plenty of other online services available if you search for them. This method ensures an error free robots.txt file which you can then upload to your server. It’s that simple and the search engine spiders will then be aware of exactly where to visit on your site.

The next task on your list is to set up sitemaps, which have become steadily more important in recent times. You may well already have a Google sitemap on your site and if you do, it will probably be called sitemap.xml. Sitemaps also reside in the root of your domain and make it much easier for engines to find and index your content.

There are plenty of ways to set up a Google sitemap and it’s probably the most important one, but it won’t hurt you to have more sitemaps either. The easiest way for you to do this is to use the excellent services at AutoMapIt Automatic Sitemap Service who will not only create six sitemaps automatically for you, but upload them to your server too if you wish. If you prefer to upload the files yourself, you can do so. This is a free service, although you can upgrade at very reasonable cost and benefit from some even more valuable services. Setting up the free sitemap generation is simple and quick and will give you a far greater chance of being fully and properly indexed. Certainly worth a few minutes of your time.

As we said at the outset, these are very basic SEO steps, but nonetheless a good starting point for any webmaster.

Technorati Tags: Free sitemap generator, Sitemaps, Google sitemap, Robots.txt validator, Robots.txt generator, SEO, Building sitemaps, How to build sitemaps, Making a sitemap, Webmaster tools

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