Blog Layout Tips & Tricks #4: How To Import And Export Your Blog

Exporting your blog can save you a lot of heartache. For those unfortunate enough to have 'hacked' blogs (very rare but very upsetting) or those who simply made a few simple mistakes when editing, it's the best way to get your blog back to 'normal'. Risk not exporting your blog and you could lose all the hard work you've put in to it over the years. I should say before I start that exporting a blog is not the same thing as saving a template. Saving your template (which I can also do a post on if you like) will save the appearance of your blog. The background, tabs and gadget customisations ect. Exporting your blog will save your posts and comments, arguably the most important thing about a blog. Also note exporting your blog will not save your followers. Personally, I export my blog every 3-5 months as a 'just in case'. I also use it (rather handily) for my test blogs I mentioned in a previous post. If you upload your template and import your blog on to the test blog URL, it gives the illusion that the two blogs are exactly the same. This way you can try out drastic changes but not have them disrupt the readers of your 'real' blog. It can save you so much time, believe me! 

It's really really simple and quick to do, which is why it seems so silly when people don't export their blog and regret it later. Go to Settings > Other > Scroll right to the top > Blog Tools > Export Blog > Save. The posts and comments on your blog will be stored as a file on your hard drive where you can access it at any time. In the event that you lose all the posts on your blog, you can 'upload' your posts back on to the blog using the Import button see can see in Blog Tools. As a default setting, Blogger will not automatically publish imported posts. Simply go to Posts > Select All > Publish. Exporting your blog will not delete anything from your blog. It will go completely unchanged. Importing a blog will display the posts that were live on your blog the moment you exported it. Because of this it is important to frequently export your blog if you post often or you risk losing a number of posts. Remember you can follow AIFA on Bloglovin' and Twitter!