I have been a big fan off keeping files backup off site for a while now and the best tool I have found to get that job done is Carbonite.  Out of all the other solutions, Carbonite does the best job at making backing up automated so I don’t have to worry about it.  For the webmasters out there, it is also a great way to store your website backups too.

Once installed, Carbonite just starts to automatically backup your files.  Now, you can go in and customize which files you need it to back up – and it will do so, with perfection.  Just in case your PC goes caput, recovering your data from Carbonite’s servers it hassle-free. You can restore all the files in your backup (just in case you get a new PC) or recover any accidentally deleted files from the Carbonite desktop client.

Now, how would you use Carbonite to backup your website?

First, you would  need to log into your control panel and generate the backups needed.  You want to make sure you grab all the files stored on the server via FTP and all your database files you need for your installed scripts too.  Once you have those files downloaded, put them in a folder – and name that folder by the date of the backup – such as:

Web Hosting Show Nov 15 Backup

Now you have one local copy of your website backed up.  To get Carbonite to back it up – just right-click on the folder, and then Select Carbonite > Back this up.  It is that easy.  Now, you will have two backups of your website.  You have the local version of the backup saved to your PC and the off site backup saved to the Carbonite servers.

How much does Carbonite cost?  It is only $54.95 a year, which is around/about $5 per month.  That is equivalent to your average shared web hosting plan price. You can also try Carbonite for free for 15 days before you decide if you want to pay for it or not too.  If you are looking for a great off site backup option for your websites, Carbonite is a great and cheap way to get the job done.