Some time ago I was discussing backing up blogs. However, an integral part of a blog that I did not discuss is the blog’s database. Basically, if you forget to back up your blogs database, then you are going to lose a number of important elements of your blog, including your blog posts, comments, and data generated by different plug-ins. So in a sense, your database is more important then your blogs template files, as they are more easy to substitute.
To back up your database use the MySQL database administrative tool provided by your webhost, or in case of WordPress blogs use an appropriate plug-in such as “WordPress Database Backup”. This plug-in is a personal favorite of mine, as it is easy to install and has very neat features. Backup options include saving to server, downloading to your computer, and emailing the database to your email. Perhaps the most useful feature is scheduled backup that allows you to set-up the plug-in in a way that it will automatically perform scheduled backups and email your backup to a chosen email. Setting for a daily schedule will ensure that no important data will be lost, however, the weekly schedule might be more reasonable.
If you value the content of your blog, you should take some measures to ensure that your database will not be lost. It is a good idea to both manually and automatically backup your database. This way you will be sure that you will not lose any important data.