Got Backup?

Posted in Wordpress How To

When I was in Vegas a few months  ago I was lucky enough to meet a guy,  Jon Griffin, I’ve had my eye on for a while now.   The reason that he came to my attention is that Jon is one of those super geeky people that can explain complex computer problems in a language that mere mortals, like me, can understand.   Jon has agreed to do a guest post here and share some valuable knowledge about backing up so be nice and make  him welcome by adding a comment :)

Over to Jon ….

First of all I want to thank Leanne for allowing me to guest post on this important subject. I now want to ask you a serious question. What would happen if your hosting company went away, now? Or, what would happen if there was a hardware error and all your websites got wiped out? How about a hacker changing all of your pages to who knows what?

All of these things and more have happened, and continue to happen every day. You might get lucky and your host has a backup, but most of them don’t really do this for you unless you pay extra every month. If your host goes out of business (it happens, more than you think). How much is your business worth to you?

I think for many people thinking about backups is kind of like shopping for cemetery spots. It isn’t glamorous, and it is easy to think it won’t happen to me, even though you know it will. I would like to at least get your mind thinking about “the inevitable”, and hopefully you will never have to use it. But, rest assured, if you ever do need access to your data, you will be glad to know you have it backed up all nice and safe!

Types of Backups
There are many different types of data backups. I will discuss some in more detail than others, but I want you to be aware of them so you at least know your options.

Local Backup
The first, and least reliable, method of backing up is simply copying files to the local machine. You could even have some fancy program that dumps the database, and backs up all your directories.

The good news is that this is better than nothing, and if you need a quick file, you can easily and quickly find it and replace it. The bad news is, well, it is local. If the machine dies, the host goes out of business, or any number of things, poof, there goes your data. Needless to say, I don’t recommend local backups unless that is all you can have for some strange reason.

Remote Backup
Remote backups are the most secure form of backups, if they are setup correctly. It is important to understand a few things. Most important is, where are these backups going to reside? If they are on your local machine, is that backed up? If they are “in the cloud” on the internet somewhere, are they secure, and safe?

Your Local Machine
If you choose to store your backup on your local machine, make sure you also back up that machine! There is nothing wrong with storing them locally on your computer, but it is much harder to automate complete backups. If you have to remember to copy the files, you will forget. Some people also use a function of many hosting companies and have the files emailed. Well, once you get files over a certain size, many email providers won’t deliver them. So, unless you have a small site, email isn’t really an option.

Remote Machine In The Cloud
The best solution is to use a service like Amazon S3 to save your backups to. Other options are RackSpace Cloud Files, and soon, Google Storage. These services are on many different machines, and redundant by default. In other words, your data is about as safe as it can be. Even if one of their machines breaks, the way the storage is setup, there are other copies available. You could also use a service like Carbonite if you do happen to store copies on your local machine.

Automatic vs Manual

One of the biggest advantages of remote backup providers is that you can easily automate the entire process. Unlike backing up to your local machine, you can periodically run a program script that will dump your database, backup your files, compress them, and send them all to a service like S3. Your files will be backed up whether you are on vacation, sleeping, partying, or just being lazy. You don’t have to think about it. Like any part of your business, the more you automate, the more time you will have to be strategic and build your business. You won’t have to get bogged down in details and lists of things to do today.

In conclusion, I really hope that you take the time to plan for disaster. The cost is extremely low for the remote backup services, so there really is no excuse to not get this setup. There is free software that can take you through the entire setup, and the only fee you will pay is for the actual storage you use. It is pennies. On Amazon S3 for example, the current price is 15 cents per gigabyte stored per month, and there are some miscellaneous fees, but all in all, my entire bill averages under $3 US per month.

If you like this article, please tell your friends and business associates and check out my site http://jongriffincoaching.com/ for more articles. I have a free remote backup script that uses Amazon S3, and is automatic, at http://jongriffincoaching.com/S3Backup/

Have fun with WP :)