Blog backups get easier

• You can now use Google Takeout to back up every part of all your blogs at once. ¶ 
• Takeout lets you schedule backups every two months for a year. ¶ 
• You can still back up your theme as a single file. ¶ 
• The Takeout backup will download more data than you need. Extra steps can manage the size of your backup.

Fixing a longstanding bug, Blogger in Draft can now read Blogger backups downloaded using Google Takeout.

This method, which may someday replace the single-file backup, downloads everything in your blogging account in a single operation.

You should back up your active blogs regularly. Here is how Takeout Backup works.

Changes to Backup and Restore

Google Takeout lets you back up all your blogs at once, and to schedule regular backups for a year.

"Import content" (in Settings) can now read the .atom files that Takeout uses to store blog posts, fixing a longstanding inability to do so.

Blogger in Draft is Google's "beta" channel. I expect this feature will roll out to all of Blogger at some point, probably replacing the current backup.

Meet Google Takeout

Google Takeout is a service from Google that lets you export and download copies of everything in your Google account, in part or in whole.

You can specify Blogger data only, but a full download will also include (for instance) everything in Google Photos and Drive.

It will include data from such applications as Google Maps, Google Calendar, and things you may not even know you had.

Another difference is a short time lag between requesting and getting Takeout data. When Takeout is ready, it will email you a download link.

Takeout backup

The new Blogger backup similarly downloads everything that you have created from your account in Blogger. This can easily comprise gigabites of data.

But there are only two files you need to restore a blog.

The only files you probably need

Takeout will deliver the backup in the form of one or more compressed files. You will have to decompress them to access the contents and find these files.

The files you need

When you do, locate the folder for your blog or blogs in the decompressed Blogs folder. Then, for each blog,

feed.atom is the backup of your posts, pages, and comments. It corresponds to the xml file from the old Backup option on the Settings page.

theme-layouts.xml is the backup of your blog theme (aka template). It appears to be identical to the xml file from the Backup option on the Theme page.

Some of the other files in the backup could be useful and/or interesting to you. However, these are the only two files you need for a restore.

Use the Import options in Settings and Theme, respectively. Blogger retains the ability to import old-style (.xml) backups.

Takeout downloads can be quite large, comprising many files. In another post I will detail how I manage that.

What to expect

Google has released the ability to read that feed.atom file in Blogger in Draft this month. To try it out, access your blog via draft.blogger.com.

You can still back up your blog's content (posts, pages, comments) as an xml file from Settings > Manage blog > Back up content.

The solo Theme backup, including most widgets (but not all of them) is unchanged, at Theme > Backup (on the drop-down menu).

If you are just doing some theme work, you can still use this option to back up just the theme xml.

Content backups include draft posts, so having a backup provides a little bit of recourse if you've deleted a draft post accidentally.

The old-style backups download immediately to the location of your choice on your hard drive.

Takeout needs to assemble your backup and will send a download link to your email account of record when it is ready.

Make sure your contact email is up to date. It is specified in Google Account settings, not in Blogger.

Download and unzip

That download file, when uncompressed, comprises many files related to Blogger on your account. It's up to you to decide what to keep and how to organize it.

You have a week to download a backup from Google before it is no longer available. But you can always get another one.

You can also tell Google to put the backup on Drive or other online file services.

A backup is a snapshot of your blogs at the moment you request the backup. It will not include any posts or edits you make after you request it.

Takeout lets you schedule backups automatically every two months for a year.

Links

• Blogger in Draft
• Google Takeout

Today's image is a modified glyph from fontawesome (CC BY 4.0).