Component Specific User Guides
Akeeba Backup Instructions
Before you install any extension or component into your joomla website you should create a backup. This is a restore point just in case anything goes wrong. Anything could be a crappy internet connection that drops out and screws up the upload or perhaps you install a program that isn’t compatible with your system. There are a myriad of potential pitfalls so let’s just assume you are moving ahead incorporating best practises and making a backup before you install anything.
Akeeba can also be used as a mechanism to backup your website just to be safe. Even if your host is performing backups for you, it’s always nice to know that you’ve got a local backup stored offsite just in case.
So, let’s get started.
First, the simple backup tool we like to use at Website To Go is Akeeba. This is a joomla component that is free to install and use and the interface is simple and the restore process is very straight forward.
- install Akeeba
- depending on your version of Joomla, you can download the component from their website or you can use the web install function if you are on a more recent version of Joomla.
- to download the component go to www.joomla.org – then go to Extensions – then search Akeeba. Download the component.
- once downloaded, login to the administrator control panel of your website, go to extension manager and browse for the component you just downloaded and upload it. The component will run through a series of checks to ensure your system is compatible and it can function properly. If you experience any issues there is a knowledge bases at the Akeeba website.
- configure Akeeba
- in the administrator control panel of your website, go to components, akeeba, the standard settings for auto configuration (set up for you automatically) should suffice. Sometimes you might need to change the path where the backup us stored and i recommend storing the backup in jpa format rather than zip. The Akeeba website has great instructions for custom configuration settings.
- make your first backup
- in the Akeeba component admin control panel there are a number of settings. You can set scheduled backups or simple perfomr one on the spot
- download your first backup and store it somewhere safe
Instructions on how to restore a website from an Akeeba backup
