Using Shifter Static Automatic WordPress backups.

A few months back, we introduced automated WordPress backups to Shifter Static. This feature is unique to Shifter Static and is available on all paid tiers starting with Tier 1. While you may have already taken advantage of this feature, we’d like to refresh you on some of the basics. 

Each time you generate a WordPress site using Shifter Static, a “Deploy” is generated. This is the collection of static files your website visitors see when they visit your site. You may have heard us refer to these files in the past as an “Artifact”. This name change is intended to add clarity.

Artifacts are the static files Shifter Static creates. You can download them, delete them, archive them, and so on. It’s just a collection of files. Deploys are what we view in the browser. It gives your site visitors a site they can navigate, share with friends, and bookmark. The name change is designed to separate the actions you can take for each.

We felt this change was necessary for us and based on customer feedback we received. It’s all a part of our effort to make static site generation more accessible to all users while maintaining accurate terminology.

Once a Deploy has been generated, it can be previewed, and then published as the live version of your site. Each of these Deploys contain both your WordPress and static site data. Once you have created a new Deploy, previous versions will be backed up and displayed as a list on your WordPress dashboard. These backups can be downloaded, previewed, published, or deleted.

Setting up automatic backups is easy. Simply navigate to the Setting tab on your Shifter dashboard, and toggle on “Create Backup” You can get  full details for turning on automatic backups from our official support document.

Important Information for Shifter Media CDN users

The automatic backup feature also backs up the data from the Shifter Media CDN, however please note that image files are excluded from automated backups. If you are using Media CDN and need to back up your image files, we recommend using the Export Media Library plugin.

If you run in to trouble, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team along with checking out our official support document. 

Finally

It’s your feedback that drives our development, from how we code to the terms that we use. We look forward to working closely with our customers in the coming future. If you have any questions or would simply like to tell us your thoughts, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Thanks for using Shifter!

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