Recently, I came across this blog. I’m not even sure how I did…but I fell in LOVE with the design and the other designs she’d done. Everything I saw was just exactly ‘my style’, so I had an idea. I wondered if teaming up with Stef would help us both. We’re both newer blog designers…she only designs for Blogger and (if you know me at all, you know this) I don’t like Blogger. I only want to design for WordPress. So, I approached Stefani and asked her what she thought about the idea…happily she was up for it!!

Here’s a little information about Stefani:

Hi Spilled Milkshake readers! My name is Stefani and I blog over at Miss Jo and Co. I am  a 25 year old kid-at-heart with a baby named Josephine. My husband and I live in Sacramento (until further notice) while he finishes up law school. I blog about my family life, random thoughts, parenting, and whatever else I can think up.

I just started my business doing Blogger blog design and I am having so much fun with it. My ultimate goal is to create a design that the customer are absolutely in love with and I work with them until it happens. When Christina approached me about teaming up to design together, I was all for it! She does a fantastic job at design and I’m excited to team up with her.

To get this fantastic idea off the ground, Stef and I are offering a FREE WordPress Custom Design AND a FREE Blogger Custom Design to 2 lucky winners. All you have to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below for whichever blog platform you use. (Mind you now, when I say WordPress, I mean self-hosted WordPress blogs…WordPress.com does not allow much in the way of customization without paying their $30 upgrade fee.) Good luck!!

**As a special offer, Stef is offering $5 off anything at her Blog Design Shop if you tweet about this giveaway with @missjoandco in the tweet!!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You know that having a back up of your blog is important, but you’re not sure how to do it. I can help! Please note, this is for self-hosted WordPress blogs. If you’re looking for how to back up your WordPress.com blog, please see this.

Having a back up of your blog is essential. Things can and do go wrong, but there’s nothing to worry about if you are keeping regular back ups of your blog. How frequently to back up your blog depends greatly on how frequently you blog. If you blog daily, you’ll want a daily backup. If you only blog a couple of times a week, a weekly backup will do. If you are creating a backup because you are changing templates, moving hosts, or updating WordPress or plug-ins, you’ll want to have a backup created immediately before you make any changes.

In order to backup your WordPress blog, you actually need to create a back up of two different things – your files and your database. It takes them both to run your blog and you’ll need both of them to restore it just as it was.

Your WordPress site consists of the following:

1. WordPress Core Installation
2. WordPress Plugins
3. WordPress Themes
4. Images and Files
5. JavaScript and PHP scripts, and other code files
6. Additional Files and Static Web Pages

All of these are used in various combinations to generate your website. The database contains your posts and a lot of data generated on your site, but it does not include the above elements that all come together to create the look and information on your site. These need to be saved.

Most hosts back up the entire server, including your site, but it takes time to request a copy of your site from their backups, and a speedy recovery is critical. You need to learn how to back up your own site files and restore them. Credit wordpress.org.

How to Back Up Your Files & Database

The easiest way to backup both your files and your database is to use a plugin. You can also do it manually and this article explains to you how to do it better than I could.

Automatic WordPress Backup is one of the ones I use and it works perfectly. It creates a back up of my files and my database, sends it automatically to my Amazon S3 Storage, and restores my site with the click of a mouse. I actually had the opportunity to restore my blog from a backup created by Automatic WordPress Backup a week ago…and it worked without problems. Automatic WordPress Backup hasn’t been updated in a couple of years. It’s very easy to use and works perfectly, but if the lack of updates worries you, read on.

BackWPup is another plugin I use to create backups of my files and database and send to Amazon S3 Storage.

UpdraftPlus Backup is another promising plugin I am using.

Do you have any WordPress backup recommendations?

In a nutshell, permalinks are the structure of the URL address each of your blog posts. It’s short for permanent link. When you migrate your blog to a self-hosted WordPress blog, you have the option to set your permalinks to a more desirable structure or the structure of your Blogger posts to minimize broken links.

Here’s what the default permalink structure looks like:

http://spilledmilkshakedesigns.com/?p=2368

Not very pretty, is it? It certainly isn’t going to inspire your readers click on your links and it isn’t good for SEO since it doesn’t contain any of the post’s keywords.

A more desirable permalink structure would look like this:

http://spilledmilkshakedesigns.com/permalinks-explained

Here’s how to set your permalinks -

Log in to your dashboard. Choose Settings –> Permalinks

On the Permalinks screen, choose your desired Permalinks structure. Post Name is the most recommended. Including the date is how Blogger does it and you’ll need to set it that way if you are migrating to WordPress from Blogger.

If migrating from Blogger, under Custom Structure, please enter this:

/%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%.html

Then Save Changes. Twice. Seriously…save it twice.

First, why would you need to back up your blog?

Well, outside of it just disappearing and losing forever every bit of information that was on it, there are actually some other times when you’ll want to have a current back up of your WordPress.com blog. If you are installing a new template, installing or removing widgets, or mucking in the HTML/CSS of your blog in any way…PLEASE make a back up before you start.

So, you need to make a current back up…

Log in to your dashboard and choose Tools –> Export

On the next screen, choose Export.

Make sure All Content is selected and click Download Export File.

Save the file to your computer, in a place where you can find it again.

That’s it! Easy as pie.

A Note About WordPress.com Backups

If your blog is hosted at WordPress.com, they handle backups and restorations. However, I still recommend making regular manual backups of your blog. As you can see, it only takes a minute and gives you peace of mind.

Here’s from WordPress.com

If a very large meteor were to hit all the WordPress.com servers and destroy them beyond repair, all of your data would still be safe and we could have your blog online within a couple of days (after the meteor situation died down, of course).

But if you want to back up your blog content manually, you are free to do so by using the Tools -> Export option. This is certainly still a good idea, especially if you’ve assigned additional users to your blog. Editors and administrators have the ability to delete any posts or pages, and there is no way to recover material that they remove from your blog.

Spilled Milkshake Designs will purchase and set up custom domain names for your Blogger or WordPress site. The price is for domain registration of one year. Renews yearly for approximately $15.

Custom Domain Names:

• Invite quality links
• Increase Google and Bing page rank
• Increase reader trust
• Boost credibility (to Google and to readers)
• Boost your site’s authority status

Having a custom domain name is so simple, I can’t stress enough how important it is. If you want to be taken seriously as a blogger or business, you’ll need your own domain name. This domain name does not have to be set for a self-hosted WordPress account…you can purchase your domain name and point it to your Blogger or WordPress.com blog instantly making you appear more professional.

A great domain name is at the core of every online business, blog, website, and ecommerce destination. Your domain name is like the title of your book, describing to your visitors what they will find inside. Choosing the right domain is vital. It can tell people anything from what your mission is to where you come from. We offer over 7 different domain extensions, making it possible to get your message across through your domain no matter what you are saying.

Anytime you purchase custom domain names, you are purchasing from a Domain Name Registrar. Do NOT sign up for add-ons, such as hosting (even if free), email accounts, or any other site upgrades. The only potential upgrade you should possibly agree to is private registration. If you have privacy concerns, you may purchase private registration (We offer this at $10/year). Otherwise, do NOT purchase anything other than the domain name. Whether or not you purchase associated .net, .org, .info, etc. is totally up to you. I am generally satisfied with just the .com.

What is Private Registration?

First, why would you need to back up your blog?

Well, outside of it just disappearing and you lose every bit of information that was on it, there are actually some other times when you’ll want to have a current back up of your Blogger blog. If you are installing a new template, installing or removing widgets, or mucking in the HTML of your blog in any way…PLEASE make a back up before you start.

So, you need to make a current back up…

First, log in to your Blogger dashboard.

Click on Settings for your blog.

Choose Other.

Click Export Blog.

Click Download Blog.

Poof, you’re done.

If you are encountering any problems completing this, try using a different web browser. The screen shots you see here were obtained using Chrome and Firefox works the same. Safari does not seem to work like this.

The basic theme of the event is to offer our readers cool prizes worth $75 or more, to help them chase away the Winter Blues! Not to mention they will also have a chance to win a Grand Prize Pack or a Runner Up Prize Pack !

The amazing and generous sponsors for the event are Spilled Milkshake Designs, Maggie Bags, and Pouchee. Check out 2 lucky entrants will have a chance to win:

Winners Will Receive:

A free Blog Spruce Up from Christina at Spilled Milkshake Designs ($99 Value) for the Grand Prize and the choice of 4 Social Media Icons or 1 Customized Facebook Tab ($19 Value) for the Runner Up Prize.

One Black Butterfly Bag and Black Keychain from Maggie Bags ($123 Combined Value) for the Grand Prize (pictured below).

One Tote of Many Colors in Mardi Gras from Maggie Bags ($55 Value) for the Runner Up Prize (pictured below).

BONUS: Maggie Bags will be offering everyone 25% off their Premiere Line until March 1, 2013!

One Cotton Pouchee Purse Organizer, winner’s choice of color from Pouchee ($26 Value) for the Grand Prize (pictured below).

Ultimate purse organizer! Stay organized & fashionable!

Blogger Sign Up

As I stated before to sign up is completely free! Below is all the information you need:

• The giveaway will run from 1.28.13 at 12:01 a.m. to 2.11.13 at 11:59 p.m. ET
• All bloggers will be required to host a giveaway with a minimum value of $75. The giveaway should be centered around the idea that it will help “chase the winner’s Winter Blues away”
• Click on this link to fill out the signup form and follow the directions on the form.
• Add your blog to the linky below!
• Join the Winter Blues facebook group!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE WINTER BLUES GIVEAWAY EVENT!

Grab a Button for your sidebar:

Copy the code below:

Copy the code below:

Also don’t forget to add your blog to the linky below!

Customized backgrounds carry your branding through to your Twitter profile. With real estate space on both the left and right side, there’s pleny of room to add photos, information, or whatever you’d like! It can also be a plain graphic, allowing your personality to shine though.

 The profile picture can be your photo, your blog button, or another image. This picture will be displayed on your profile page and next to every tweet you send.

The header image is a fantastic new feature provided by Twitter. This 1200×600 image is another piece of prime real estate to describe your blog or business, provide information or specials to your customers, or be creative and let your personality shine through.

To order, please visit Individual Services.

Spilled Milkshake Designs can put your business and products on the web with a customized E-Commerce Store setup! Don’t let your competitors get ahead of you because you’re afraid that managing an e-commerce store is complicated. Using the WordPress CMS, Spilled Milkshake Designs will create a powerful e-commerce store using WooCommerce. Running your own E-Commerce Store also enables you to avoid additional selling fees from sites like Etsy, eBay, and Artfire…increasing YOUR profits. That’s so important in these difficult economic times. And it’s as easy as can be, I promise.

WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with WordPress and Genesis (very important for site security), providing a powerful store with simple maintenance. This site, Spilled Milkshake Designs, is one example of  WooCommerce in action. The WooCommerce system offers multiple payment gateway options including PayPal, Amazon Payments, Authorize.net and so many more, settings for configuring shipping rates, coupon support, email templates, a reports panel to track sales and performance and more. You will also have a powerful marketing tool built in to your new store – a BLOG. Blogging is a fantastic way to be more than just a business to your customers. It allows them to get to know you, the person behind the business. When your customers feel a personal connection, they’ll WANT to purchase from you.

With a WooCommerce Store Setup, you will be able to choose from any Genesis Theme or any WooCommerce Theme which will be further customized to match your vision for your online store. I will create your e-commerce store, upload your products, and provide you with training to make sure you understand how to run your new E-Commerce Store. Training via email or Skype will help you get on the fast track to running your own store in no time.

To get started, please visit Business Services.

Spilled Milkshake Designs is excited to announce another new service…Customized YouTube Backgrounds!

If you have a YouTube Channel, Spilled Milkshake Designs can carry your branding with a Customized YouTube Background. With plenty of real estate space on both the left and right side, there’s tons of room for customizing. Never underestimate the power of consistent, professional branding. More and more bloggers are choosing to Vlog or upload videos showcasing their products or services. Let Spilled Milkshake Designs help you provide a consistent viewing experience for your YouTube followers.

To order, please visit Social Media Services.