Backups? We don’t need no stinkin backups! Yeah, it would be pretty stupid not to have a backup of a site like Gunaxin. For the past couple of years we’ve relied on a backup via our host, who does a nightly hot backup of our server. About 6 weeks ago we had the occasion to dip into that backup for the first time after some nasty issues related to a server upgrade, so it was a good thing we had it.

Unfortunately a hot backup means that your database is just copied without closing it, and your backup can have data corruption issues. In addition, a nightly backup doesn’t really do anything to bring back any content that has been created since the previous backup. On a site like ours, we can have anywhere between 5-10 posts completed each day, and contributors might be working on 5-10 more in draft format. Hence a more robust back-up solution is needed to be truly protected. Enter Vaultpress from Automattic (makers of WordPress) :

So we’re now Vaultpress customers, and everything seems to be working fine. Granted I haven’t had the occasion to restore anything just yet, but the service was very easy to install and configure, and it has great transparency to what it is doing. It takes snapshots of your site at shorter intervals, and makes them available to you for download (among other features).

View from the Plugin inside of WordPress

View from the Dashboard at Vaultpress.com

The service does cost money, and currently we are on the lowest plan at $15 per month. To us it’s clearly worth it, but it’s obviously a decision that is effected by the size of your site, and the importance of your content to you. For much more on the service, definitely check out the site. They are currently in one of those “invite only” beta modes, so if you’d like to try out the service, let me know in the comments, and I can send you a “Golden Ticket” like Willy Wonka. No, this is not an affiliate thing, I don’t make any money, just trying to help out some fellow publishers.