One of the things that I always tell blog newbies about is the importance of backups. Having a backup is one thing and having a regular backup is another. This is especially true for database backups. Since data in your database is dynamic and continually changes, your backup may not always be up to date so you need to do backups regularly.
For those in need of a backup option, there’s this service called BackupMyBlog. I don’t think I need to tell you what it’s for since the name says it all. How does it work? Here’s more information about this new service.
What is BackupMyBlog?
BackupMyBlog is a beta service that backs up the contents of your blogs database every day. When the times comes for you to do a restore, all you have to do is just download the backup from BackupMyBlog and restore it to your own server.
What are the requirements to run BackupMyBlog?
- Your blog needs to be hosted on a public server.
- Your blog needs to use MySQL as its database backend.
- Your blog server needs to support PHP version 4.3.0 or later.
- You need to have rights to install a PHP script on your blog server.
How to set it up?
All you have to do is install the BackupMyBlog client which is a php script unto your web server. The client then communicates with the BackupMyBlog backup servers and ships the contents of your database on a daily basis. Once the backup is completed, you will be sent a notification email.
How about security and privacy?
BackupMyBlog assures that the client does not and cannot change any information in your database. The database username and password are stored locally and are not transmitted or even known by the BackupMyBlog backup servers. Also, each backup session is secured with a large random session key that the client uses to validate that the request comes from a BackupMyBlog backup server.
How to restore the backup?
All you need to do is login to BackupMyBlog and select the backup that you want to restore from the Manage Account tab. There are two ways to perform the restore. The first and recommended way uses an interactive PHP script that you download to your blog server and run. The second way is to download a raw SQL file containing the statements needed to recreate and restore the data.
My Take:
BackupMyBlog is an easy way to backup your database on a regular basis. It’s also hassle free since you don’t have to manage the backed up files yourself. BackupMyBlog is free for the meantime but I’m not sure if they’ll continue to offer free services once it’s out of the testing phase.
Personally, I prefer to use the WP Database Backup plugin which works very well with the wp-cron function. I’ve been using this to backup my database on a daily basis and have it sent to my email address.
Check out BackupMyBlog.
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April 18th, 2007 at 9:20 am
@chie – I see. Let me know if you need help with Wordpress, plugins, themes and stuff. Have fun and thanks for the compliment! :)
April 17th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Jaypee- oo naman! I’m still new at wordpress though.. still tinkering with it (which is why I found your entries particularly helpful! teehee)
April 17th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
@chie – So are you gonna try BackupMyBlog?
April 17th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Ah.. very useful indeed :)
April 11th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
@Maria – You’re welcome! :D
April 11th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Coool! Thanks!! :)
April 11th, 2007 at 8:30 am
@jhay – Same here. I want to have my backup files with me all time instead of relying on a site and have to get it from them everytime I need to do a restore. :)
April 10th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
I’m sticking with the wp-dbase backup plugin. With the recent wave of downtimes affecting the server my blog is hosted on, I’ve grown a bit paranoid with installing third-party scripts on my hosting account.
When the BMB servers go hay-wired, it might affect my blog too.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
@dimaks – Hope that happens soon. You’re welcome! :D
April 10th, 2007 at 9:50 am
I might need this when its time to transfer to my own domain (i wish hehe).. someday. Thanks man!
April 10th, 2007 at 8:36 am
@ash – You definitely should use it regularly. Just configure it to do a daily backup and have it sent to your email address. Once it’s set, all you have to do is sit and wait. You’re welcome! :D
April 10th, 2007 at 12:31 am
i also use wp database backup. No, it was installed but I just used it 2 times?
anyway, after reading this, i’ll use it again… thanks for the reminder. :)
April 10th, 2007 at 12:00 am
@David – I also read your review of BMB and I think yours is better. Anyways, thanks for the compliment and for dropping by! :)
April 9th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Nice review. I’m a big fan of BMB too!
April 9th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
@fruityoaty – Yeah, that’s true. Most people realize the importance of having backups when it’s too late or when it’s already useless. Thank God for rollback! Hehe :D
@insinto – Kuya, make sure you do regular backups. You’re welcome! :)
@christian – Yup, it’s free, effective, convenient and reliable. I also have it sent to my Gmail account. :)
April 9th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
wow… nice one… try ko na nong bala :) thanks for d info :)
April 9th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Me either, I prefer the WP Database Backup plugin, besides it’s free for life. I have my backups delivered straight to my GMail account.
April 9th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
back it up now, people! thanks, jayp!
April 9th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Sound advice, yet people always seem to forget it until it’s too late.
On a large software development scale, it’s so important to always backup before deploying even small changes to a site. I remember a project last year… we were converting approx. over 10 MILLION records, but the thing is… we couldn’t actually test the new code on REAL production data (nor were we allowed to duplicate the real production data on our testing server). Obviously we backed up, tested with our own fake data… thought that we had found all the bugs… and on production day… THINGS WENT HAYWIRE on the live conversion process. Of course, we could easily rollback. THANK GOD!
Whether small or big, back up!