Okay, this will be the last time I talk about The Great Blog Disaster of 2011, but I wanted to write out what happened and what I learned about blogging with WordPress in the process. (If you don’t blog with WordPress, this will be a boring post. But if you’re thinking about switching or starting a WP blog, you might be interested.)
<Nerdspeak>A little background about my blog to begin with: I started it in February 2010, before Blogger came out with its more powerful customizable features. I knew I wanted more control over how my site looked than that (and two words: nested comments), so I bought a domain name through GoDaddy.com and used their free hosting plan for a WordPress.org blog.
There were always some strange glitches. For example, even when I selected “send me an email whenever I receive a comment,” I never once got an email successfully through my site. But little things like that one can overlook, and I did for a year. But in September sometime, I could no longer upload images to the site. This sucked, because I try to put as much original content (read: ridiculously Photoshopped nonsense) as possible on the site.
Now here’s where I must ask you not to roll your eyes TOO much. Since I couldn’t do this anymore, and I couldn’t see any way to fix it, I opened my FTP manager (I use FileZilla) and thought I’d replace some of the files. But um… I accidentally *cough* deletedthemall. *cough*
STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES.*
I had not backed up my files, nor had I subscribed to my blog via email (as the brilliant Sara McClung asked the next day). GoDaddy wanted $115 to go back and get the files. I didn’t think that was worth it. Through Archive.org, Google cache**, and Google Reader I was able to see, copy and paste many of my posts and save at least the text. (I’ll be bringing many of those posts back in updated form in the future.) So, all was not completely lost.
But reloading WordPress’ most recent version through FileZilla still wasn’t working properly.
While I was trying to work with GoDaddy, they mentioned that their free hosting service was through Windows servers. After doing some searching, I discovered that WordPress is meant to work with Linux or Mac. Many, many users had reported problems, with most not even able to get GoDaddy’s free hosting service to work in setting up their blogs at all. I also noted that, though GoDaddy had been one of WordPress.org’s recommended host sites in Feb. 2010 when I signed up, they were no longer on the list.
So I decided to leave the free hosting at GoDaddy and pay for more reliable hosting service with the site WordPress recommended most, BlueHost. I also added a $13/annual backup service through BlueHost. (Just in case.) Once I finished all the technical HTML-y things I needed to do to reroute my GoDaddy.com-purchased domain name through BlueHost, WordPress uploaded perfectly. Now I’m getting all those emails about my comments, and there’s no annoying “GoDaddy.com” drop-down ad on my dashboard. (I told you this would be boring for Blogger users.)</Nerdspeak>
So that was a really, really complicated problem that I wouldn’t have discovered without a site meltdown. During the two weeks that the site was down, I got a whole new education about how my blog functions, and found safer ways I can try to find and address problems in the future. Honestly, I’m not happy my blog got erased, but I’m really glad I learned everything I did through the ordeal. Live and learn, right?
What about you? How many of you use WordPress? Do these kinds of problems ever pop up on Blogger? Anyone using both?
* I have a history of doing epically moronic things on impulse. Never was this more obvious than when I called Dr H, explained the situation, and his first response was, “Of course this happened to you. Of course.” Supportive husband is supportive. ** To search Google cache, enter “Cache:www.thewebsiteyouarelookingfor.com” into your Google search bar.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
i am so impressed with your i’ve-come-through-this-stronger attitude.
personally, i would still be in a puddle of tears on the floor.
i use blogger, but my “official” site is through wordpress. right now, that site just sort of sits, while the blog gets all the action. i’ve thought about transfering the blog to WP, so it’s all in one place, but i’ve heard horror stories about moving archives from one blog platform to another.
having been through this, would you advise keeping my blog separate or do you still thing WP is the better platform?
Thanks Erin!!
Well in your case, the website and the blog have a really similar look, and seem to function pretty seamlessly together, so I don’t think that there’s a NEED to change anything. Putting the website and blog in the same place would be easier (one would think), but if you only really change the blog then it might not be worth it?
I haven’t read too much about transferring archives from Blogger to Wordpress, but I’d certainly lurk some forums before attempting it. (And obviously, back everything up!) I know that I personally find Wordpress to be more customizable, but I can get kind of obsessive and spend hours toying with little details about it. If you’re not up for that, I think what you have now works perfect!
thanks! good advice. i think i am going to keep them divided for now. i am definitely not one with the patience for hours of tinkering. ;)
I use WordPress, but I have my own website where it’s installed (and the web host uses Apache). Thanks for sharing your experience, Sarah. Another bright spot: you now have blog re-posts for those days when you can’t think of anything to blog! These might be re-runs for some of your audience, but for those like me who have only lately discovered your little home on the internet, these will be like watching classic Doctor Who stories when you’ve only seen the new series. (Sorry if you never seen Doctor Who–that’s the best analogy I could come up with :-) )
Oh yes, I heard very good things about Apache too! And you are absolutely right, repurposing old posts is going to be awesome!!
And I love me some Doctor Who, but I’ve only seen the new ones! Which old ones should I watch? (I think they’re all on Netflix streaming right now…)
I’ve actually thought about blogging on “what classic Who should I watch if I’ve only ever seen the new series?” I’m still thinking about that–there are so many good stories, but they’re very different, especially according to era. Probably the best I can do (considering this is an off-topic reply to a reply to a comment) is a brief list giving one story per Doctor:
First Doctor: The Time Meddler. It’s got humor and history, and it’s not a bad story.
Second Doctor: Either Tomb of the Cybermen, or if you’re up for something longer, my favorite, “The War Games.”
Third Doctor: The Time Warrior–first meeting with the Sontarans.
Fourth Doctor: So many to choose from, but I’ll go with Robots of Death.
Fifth Doctor: The Caves of Androzani–his last, but such a good story.
Sixth Doctor: Vengeance on Varos
Seventh Doctor: Battlefield
Eighth Doctor: Unfortunately, there’s only The Movie from 1996. His best stories were in the many novels that were written between 1996 and 2005, published by BBC Books. Of these The Burning by Justin Richards is one of my faves.
Sorry I couldn’t just give you one or two… and the list could have been a whole lot longer. I’ve been a fan since I was little, and while it’s not as rare to find fans of the show these days (especially female fans), I still find it cool-and-awesome when I run into people who say “Oh, I love Doctor Who!” :)
I used WP. I back up my entire database anytime I upgrade. I also subscribe to my posts via rss, so if I ever REALLY needed to, I could go back and see most through google reader. I use Dream Host for my hosting, and it’s worked well for me (I manage multiple websites through it — writing one, personal web design one, etc).
Glad you are up and running again. Fingers crossed you won’t have any issues in the future :-/
Gah! Typo.
I *use WP. As in, still use to this day.
LOL I’m glad you corrected, because I was going to ask “Why did you stop??” Glad to have another good hosting site listed here! And good for you for backing up the whole database! You’re like a Girl Scout of the Interwebz.
I use the GoDaddy-bought domain with WP, too, but I’m glad I haven’t had those problems… yet. So this just cropped up one day, like, a year after using your blog? *shivers*
YES! It was the most bizarre thing. GoDaddy offered to switch my hosting over to a Linux server, but I just decided to switch altogether based on things I read online. (However GoDaddy’s customer service was fantastic, so it had nothing to do with that!)
I use Typepad for my blog — my webdesigner is in charge of hosting and whatnot, but when we built the site, I wanted to stay with Typepad, even though it meant paying a monthly fee (I think I pay annually, for a small discount). Their customer service has been FABULOUS, and it’s been exceedingly reliable, easy to use, customizable, etc. I’ve had practically zero problems with spam. I’ve reached the point where if paying a little extra money gives me more time to spend on writing or hanging with my family, I will GLADLY fork over the (tax-deductible) cash.
SING IT! I’m also on an annual payment (I signed up for 24 months for, as you mentioned, a slight discount) and I decided to go that route because it was just worth it to make sure everything was managed well, backed up, and hosted with a company I trusted. I’m so glad you’ve had a good experience with Typepad!
(Also TAX DEDUCTIBLE WHAT I had not even THOUGHT of that! *notes to self for April*)
As a WordPress user, I read this with interest… thanks for sharing! I subscribe to my own blog through Google Reader so I can retrieve the posts if anything tragic ever happens, but like you, I’d be so sad about all the lost comments. I need to be better about backing everything up.
I’ve always been very happy with WordPress, but the one thing I dislike is the difficulty I’ve had trying to install Google Friend Connect. I’ve spent HOURS trying to download the plug-in and follow tutorials and I STILL can’t get it to work. I notice you have it thought… any tips?
I’m glad you were able to turn such a nightmare into such a learning experience. And, dude, you stayed SO upbeat about it. *majorly impressed*
And that reminds me, I need to take my own advice! *scurries off to subscribe to my own blog*
xoxo
Yeah, I don’t even subscribe to my own blog. Good call.
I’m so glad you were able to get this all figured out! And thank you for sharing what you’ve learned–I’ve been thinking about switching to WordPress for a while, so this is invaluable advice. Thanks!