BlogVault - A WordPress Site's Best Friend

Whether you are a WordPress Zen Master or a newbie, you put time into your WordPress site.  You spend time installing, configuring, tweaking, and adding content.  This is true whether you're creating an expansive WP site for a client, or for your personal blog on Fly Fishing.  The last thing you want to happen is to lose it all due to a server issue, some mysterious "web thing", or your own goof (been there, done that!).

In the old days, I would create an HTML site and upload it on my server. I always had a backup, because I needed the local files to upload the site via Dreamweaver in the first place.  If I was smart, I would also have some kind of offline backup, like to a portable drive or a CD/DVD, just in case my computer took a nosedive.

With WordPress, things are more complicated.  Since a WP site is dynamic, you not only have files on your server's root drive, but you also have a MySQL database driving the whole thing.  To truly backup your site, you have to back up both the root files and the database.

Now, you can do this manually, like anything else, but first, it's a hassle.  Second, I'd have to backup the site every night, just to be sure I got everything.  Remember, WP is dynamic, so not only are you adding content, but your subscribers are as well, every time they post a comment to the blog or make an edit (as in a client website).

As a WP designer/developer, one of the first places you'd look for help is for a WP plugin (e.g. a "magic bullet"). There are some plugins that will back up your site to your own drive, and a few that may allow you to download this backup as well.  However, some of them only backup your database.  Also, most of these plugins are free, and you may not have the reliability or support you would really need.

After scouring the web, I happened upon a solution.  In fact, it's what I use for my own WP site.  It's called BlogVault.

BlogVault is a service that you subscribe to on the web, which is able to reach in and backup your site nightly, or anytime you want manually. To get started, you simply sign up on their website and download the plugin to your WP site. (Heck, they can even install it for you!)

Here's some reasons to love BlogVault:

• Ease of Signup - It's very easy to get started with their service.
• Cost - The service is $9 a month as of the date of this review.
• Automatic backups - BlogVault will automatically backup your blog everyday.
• Manual backup - Can't wait for the next automatic backup time, back it up immediately from the BlogVault website.
• View Files - From the BlogVault website see exactly which files and tables are being backed up.
• Versioning - BlogVault maintains 30 days of backups, so you can restore any of those quickly and easily.
• Download - Download any backup to your desktop in a few minutes for a local copy.
• Great Customer Service - The founder of BlogVault, Akshat Choudhary, really cares about what he is doing, and gives awesome customer service to prove it!

Restoring your website is where the "rubber meets the road".  If it doesn't work, you're sunk.  But, how do you know if it actually is a good backup?

BlogVault enables you to do a test restore. You can restore any backup to BlogVault's services and then view it online. So, you can see your restored backup in REAL TIME, BEFORE you attempt to restore it to your own website.  That's AWESOME!

When you are ready to store your WP site, you can do it easily and quickly from your BlogVault dashboard.

There's one more feature that I what to mention that is really cool as well.  So what happens if you decide to more your WP site from one webhost to another?  Usually, this is a big pain.  Never fear, let BlogVault do it for you!

Yep, from your dashboard, use the Move Site feature.  First, set up your hosting with your new webhost, DNS stuff,etc.  Then, come over your BlogVault dashboard and select Move Site.  Enter the FTP information for your new host and, voila!  BlogVault move your WP site, including the database and the files from the server to your new host.  How cool is that?

One final thing, have more than one WP site to backup? No problem, BlogVault can handle that too, all from the same dashboard.  It's like pressing the "Easy" button!

Bottomline:

Back up all of your hard work with a dependable, inexpensive solution, and let BlogVault give you piece of mind.

Still not convinced???  BlogVault gives a 30-day FREE trial!  You have nothing to lose.

Bonus Review:

Check out this video clip that gives a decent walkthrough of BlogVault:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFlp3Eye4fw