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Oops! I Deleted My Webpage!Did you accidentally delete, or overwrite you webpage, and want to recover what was there? There are several ways of going about it.PreventionWhen you FTP (upload) a file to your website, it will overwrite any file with the same name. So, before you FTP a new file, it's a good idea to keep a backup of the original file. If the new version of the page doesn't work as expected, you can compare it to the old version to troubleshoot, or you can just replace it with the original version of the page.
Make backupsIt's always a good idea to download a backup of your site, perhaps once a month (more if you frequently make changes). Just download & keep a copy on your computer, or burn it to a disk. It will be there if you ever need it.Before I make significant changes to a page, I save a copy under another name, perhaps incorporating the date (if it's index.html, maybe save it as index121409.html or index1.html). That way I always have a copy of the page as it existed prior to the changes, in case I ever want to refer to it, go back or run into a problem. See the bottom of this page for suggestions as to how to back up your website, and computer. Get a quality, paid, webhostFree webhosts most often do not make backups, so if there's a server crash or your page is accidentally deleted, they won't be able to help. For this reason, it's a good idea to use a paid webhost who will back up your site weekly, or even daily. There are lots of good ones out there, with accounts available for just a few dollars a month. Isn't your site's safety and security worth the price of a coffee or two?(Another advantage - Search engines often pay more attention to sites hosted on paid hosts. Free-hosted sites may be ranked lower, less often visited, or just plain ignored by the search engines. Additionally, free sites are not often archived by Archive.org.) Recovering a Deleted FileDidn't make a backup of your page? All may not be lost; there are several ways to get a deleted page back.Ask your webhostMost webhosts make automatically make daily, weekly, or monthly backups. Get in touch with yours and ask if it's possible to recover your lost file from one of their backups.Some hosts charge a fee for retrieval of your files, but most of them offer this service free of charge.
Copy your page from Google, Bing, or Yahoo's cacheThe major search engines keeps ("caches") copies of each page in their index. Once you find your webpage in their cache, scroll down past any Google, Yahoo or Bing code, then find, cut & paste whatever it was you deleted & want back (a few lines of code, or a whole page). Then you can upload the recovered page to your website.It's important to do this as soon as possible, because the search engines don't keep pages in cache for a very long time - usually just a week or two, maybe a little more or even less. Sometimes images aren't available in the cached page. On Google, use this search syntax:
On Bing, use this syntax:
For Yahoo, use the following search syntax. http://www.askcache.com/webcp?url=http://www.example.com For Gigablast.com, use this search syntax: Check the Internet Archive's Wayback MachineSince 1996, the Internet Archive (Archive.org) has been regularly downloading websites & webpages, in order to keep a document of the internet as it existed in the past. They don't usually download every page of a website, sometimes images are missing, and many websites aren't available at all, but you may be able to find the page in question there.Pages are typically available at Archive.org about six months after they're first collected.
To find your page at Archive.org, go to the Wayback Machine at http://web.archive.org/collections/web.html, then type your domain name (not an individual page) then see if you can find a recent version of your page there, in IA's archive. Archive.org, may, in some circumstances, be able to provide you (the site owner) with a copy of your pages which they have archived. Please see their FAQ page for more information. In the UK, check WebArchive.org.ukWebArchive has been archiving UK websites since 2004. Visit www.webarchive.org.uk and use the search form.Easy ways to back up your website or computerYou should always have a backup of your website, preferably in multiple places. First, you'll need a copy of your website. Then, you'll want to save it on your own computer, and also in a second place, for extra security. Do this often.How to back up your websiteHere are several ways you can get a copy of your website:
How to back up files on your computer
Questions?Good luck with your site! Please let me know if you'd like to use my services, or if you have any questions. I'm always glad to help & would be delighted to hear from you. And, if you would like me to try to recover your page for you, I would be glad to do that as well, for a low fee.
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. This is especially great, because it's small, inexpensive, and you can take it with you when you travel so all your files are acessible wherever you are.
. They're inexpensive and simple, too.