1. First back up your files. You should already have an automated backup strategy in place. Two backup plugins I like to use are WP-dbmanager and WordPress Database Backup. To install one of these plugins, to go Plugins > Add New, search for it, and then install, activate, and run it.

This backs up your database (which includes your posts, pages, comments, and settings). If you want to back up your theme as well, back up the folder under wp-content/themes.

2. After you back up your files,  upgrade WordPress by going to Tools > Upgrade. Click Upgrade Automatically.

If you receive an error trying to upgrade, you can deactivate all your plugins to free up more memory, and then run the upgrade. It should work. Then reactivate your recently active plugins.

However, you can get around this problem in a more permanent way by increasing the memory in your php.ini file. The php.ini file includes settings for how php scripts run on your site. Increasing the memory settings in your php.ini file may also allow your plugins to run without error as well (for example, the Section Widget plugin required a lot of memory from my site and would corrupt the display on the Widgets page until I increased the memory limit in the php.ini file).

If you have cPanel on your web host, you can increase the memory of your php.ini file by doing the following:

1. Under Software / Services, click PHP Config.
2. Click the Install PHP.INI Master File button. This adds a default php.ini.default file in your public_html folder.
3. Select the PHP 5 (Single php.ini) button at the top. This makes is so all your directories use the same php.ini file.
4. Download the php.default.ini file and rename it to php.ini.
5. In the file, change the following values to something like the numbers below:

• max_execution_time = 45
• max_input_time = 120
• memory_limit = 64M

While you’re in there, also increase your upload_max_filesize number a bit (for example, to 25). This will allow you to upload an exported WordPress XML file (as well as larger images and other files) if you ever need to.

Now run the upgrade script again. It should work. If not, contact your web host to see if you have it installed and configured the php.ini file correctly.

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With WordPress 3.0 just around the corner, scheduled to be released before the end of the month, what should you do to prepare?

When the update is available, you’ll see a notification message at the top of your WordPress administrative interface. It will prompt you to back up your database and files before upgrading to 3.0.

Many users have no idea how to back up their databases and files. Because of this, many people are still working with older versions of WordPress that are no longer secure. With this week’s WordPress tip, I’ll teach you how to back up your WordPress database and files.

Backing Up Your WordPress Database

The easiest way to back up your WordPress database is by implementing the WP Database Manager plugin. In your WordPress admin interface, go to Plugins > Add New and search for wp-dbmanager. Install and activate the plugin.

After you install the plugin, you will see a new Database tab at the bottom of your admin sidebar. Through the Backup DB and Manage Backup DB options, you can back up your database. You can also set an automatic backup schedule from the DB Options menu.

As a security measure, this backup plugin asks you to change the location of an htaccess file to another folder. This htaccess file makes the archived databases more secure by restricting outside access. The paths for the file are shown in the notification message at the top. You can move the location of this file through FTP with a client such as Filezilla. After you move the htacess.txt file, rename it to .htaccess.

Sometimes wp-dbmanager doesn’t work (depending on your host configuration). In that case, I recommend the WordPress Database Backup tool from il filosofo. This plugin installs a backup option under the Tools menu. It’s not as robust of a backup plugin, but it gets the job done and seems to work with every version of WordPress and on every host.

Running the Upgrade

After you back up your database, you can upgrade your version of WordPress by going to Tools > Upgrade.  Click Upgrade automatically. If you don’t see this option, you might be using an older version of WordPress. In that case, you’ll have to upgrade your site manually.

Also Back Up Your Plugins

When you back up your site, also upgrade your plugins. The latest version of WordPress provides you with an ability to upgrade your plugins in bulk from the same Tools > Upgrade page. If you don’t see options to upgrade your plugins, upgrade WordPress to the latest version, and then revisit the Tools > Upgrade page. You’ll then see the options to upgrade your plugins.

If You Run into PHP Memory Errors …

Sometimes when you try to upgrade your site, you see a PHP memory limit error that prevents you from upgrading. The easiest way to get around this PHP error is by deactivating all of your plugins before upgrading. You can deactivate and reactivate all of your plugins in bulk from the Plugins > Installed screen. After you deactivate all your plugins, try upgrading again. After the upgrade, reactivate your plugins.

If You See Errors on Your Site After the Upgrade …

What happens if you upgrade your site and you see errors? Most likely the errors appear because you deactivated a plugin that needs to be reactivated, and you just haven’t reactivated it yet.

But there’s also the possibility that one of the plugins on your site isn’t compatible with the latest version of WordPress. If that’s the case, you need to deactivate your plugins one by one until you find the problematic plugin. Alternatively, deactivate all your plugins and then reactivate them one by one until you find the problem.

Do You Need to Back Up Your Files Too?

What about backing up your theme files, not just your database? It’s a good idea to back up your theme files, but honestly, I wouldn’t worry about backing up the theme files and almost never do before upgrading.

If you do want to back up your theme files, FTP into your web host and drill into the wp-content/themes folder. Then download your theme folder.

Getting Help

If you need help backing up your database and upgrading WordPress, let me know. I am available for hire to help you. Many of the hacks and other problems people have with WordPress happen because people are using older versions of WordPress or have outdated plugins.

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• Adobe Technical Communication Suite
• Congree

See the right column for podcast information. All podcasts are in a category called Tech Writer Voices, which has its own podcast feed, the same feed as before (http://feeds.feedburner.com/techwritervoices).

Why Merge the Two Sites?

Maintaining two sites was burdensome. Whenever I published a new post on Tech Writer Voices, I also wrote a post on I’d Rather Be Writing letting others know. Upgrades, plugins, theme tweaks, comment spam, and other blog maintenance were double the work with two sites. I wanted to reduce my workload and centralize the information.

I would have consolidated the sites from the beginning, but I originally envisioned Tech Writer Voices as a communal podcast site for all tech writers, a venue for all chapters to publish podcasts. That didn’t happen. People who record podcasts usually want to publish them on their own sites. Keith Hoffman, Heidi Hansen, and Mark Lewis contributed some recorded content, but not many others.

I casually surveyed some blog readers to see if they’d be opposed to the idea of consolidating. Not many responded, but those who did respond liked the idea. Kai convinced me most when he said,

As an avid reader/listener of both your sites, I find them complementary in style and content and would appreciate having one source for all my Tom Johnson/Tech Writer needs.

Steps for Merging the Sites

Merging the sites wasn’t technically hard, but it’s not a 5-minute procedure either. Here are the steps I followed for merging the two sites:

1. Backed up the databases on both sites in case something went wrong.
2. Transferred the audio files from my techwritervoices/podcasts and stc-suncoast.org/podcasts directories to a new directory: idratherbewriting.com/podcasts. This seemed like it would be easy, but Filezilla was corrupt and all the audio files I transferred were unplayable. I downloaded SmartFTP and used that instead — it worked fine, except the computer seemed to go into hibernation mode after transferring 6 podcasts each night. I had 2 GB of audio files to transfer.
3. Removed all the categories except one on techwritervoices.com, and then changed the category’s name to “Tech Writer Voices.” This is so I’d later be able to isolate the imported posts from techwritervoices.com into their own feed.
4. Exported the content from Tech Writer Voices into an XML file through the Manage > Export function.
5. Used Find and Replace on the XML file in Dreamweaver to change all instances of techwritervoices to idratherbewriting. This fixed links that had techwritervoices in the URLs.
6. Uploaded the XML file of posts and comments into I’d Rather Be Writing using the Manage > Import functionality.
7. Downloaded images from Tech Writer Voices manually (right-click, Save Image As), and manually uploaded them into each post that I imported into I’d Rather Be Writing.
8. Changed the audio player code from <mp3> </mp3> to <audio: > using the Search and Replace in SQL database code as posted by Lorelle. I didn’t like the MP3-O-Matic player –with large files, it didn’t seem to respond until the audio was loaded. Until it loaded, it looked like it wasn’t working. I used the Audio Player from One Pixel Out instead. It looks more active/dynamic and seems to load audio faster.
9. Used the same Search and Replace in SQL database code to change all links on the blog that had “techwritervoices.com” in the URL to “idratherbewriting.com”. (For all those posts on I’d Rather Be Writing where I announced a new post on Techwritervoices.com, I had to change the URLs).
10. Removed posts (not many) on I’d Rather Be Writing that announced new posts on Tech Writer Voices.
11. Removed the Search feature in the top right of the Limau-Orange theme and replaced it with a Podcast logo. This was easier than I thought, except that I was still using Filezilla and it borked images too, so it had me confused why the images looked corrupt. I wanted to add the logo Tech Writer Voices subtitle somewhere, but it didn’t quite fit and it competed with the I’d Rather Be Writing logo. Switching FTP tools fixed it.
12. Added a Google AJAX search widget in the upper-left to replace the lost search. It retrieves accurate results, but displays them in the side column. Unfortunately you can only click one result per search.
13. Grabbed the URL for the new Tech Writer Voices category, created a category specific feed (http://idratherbewriting.com/wp-rss2.php?cat=246) and edited the source feed details in Feedburner. The podcast feed remains the same (feeds.feedburner.com/techwritervoices), but instead of pulling from techwritervoices.com/feed, it pulls from the category specific feed. This turned out to be incredibly convenient, because now I won’t lose the 640 subscribers to the podcast. For details on changing the original source feed in FeedBurner, click the thumbnail image below. It shows how you can easily point a different source feed for the Feedburner feed. For details on creating category specific feeds, see #6 on a previous post I wrote or this post by Lorelle.
    
14. Created new subscribtion options on the blog. Now you can subscribe to All Content or Podcasts Only, either by RSS or e-mail.
15. Rearranged the widgets in the right column to add an RSS feed for the podcast, showing the last 10 podcasts as well as a link to archives.
16. Installed the Custom Query String plugin to define the number of posts shown for the Tech Writer Voices category. I wanted any view of the Tech Writer Voices category to show all the available podcasts, rather than just the last 10. Other categories display only the last 10 posts (according to the reading options I set in Options > Reading). I like the ability to scan down and see all episodes. (I had no idea this plugin existed, but was able to find some help from Kafkaesque in the WordPress support forums.)
17. I already mentioned in a previous post how I got rid of PodPress and manually added download links and durations for each episode. Podpress was just too buggy with WordPress. Despite the coolness of the plugin, it’s not worth the hassle.
18. Added a Streampad audio player to give the site more of a podcast look and feel. It makes it easy to realize the site offers audio content you can play from your computer. I totally stumbled across the player by chance; the orange on the player just happened to match my orange theme.
19. Transferred the techwritervoices.com domain from Globat (an original podcast host that I disowned long ago, but never fully transferred the domain) to Blue Host. Then set techwritervoices.com as a parked domain that points to idratherbewriting.com. Transferring domains is a pain because you have to obtain an authorization code from the losing registrar. Seems easy, until you try it. Also, I was hesitant to leave the Lunar Pages account, which was free until 2009 because of podcast sponsorship. But maybe I’ll use them for a backup. They’re a good host, but all of my blog content was already on Blue Host, and I didn’t want to transfer it.
20. Wrote this post announcing the change.

That’s about it. What do you think of the merged sites? Any suggestions for improvement?