Menu
iThemes
WordPress Backup, Security & Maintenance
  • Products
    • iThemes Security Pro
    • BackupBuddy
    • Kadence WP
    • Restrict Content Pro
    • iThemes Sync
    • Why buy from iThemes?
  • Bundles
    • Essentials Bundle
    • Plugin Suite
    • WordPress Web Designer’s Toolkit
    • Customer Spotlights
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • WordPress 101 Tutorials
    • WordPress Ebooks
    • Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report
    • The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Web Design Business
  • Training
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Free Webinar Library
    • Premium Courses
    • Become a Member
    • Member Login
  • Support
    • Documentation
    • Get Help
    • Product Updates
    • Upgrade Policy
    • Contact
    • Our Mission: Make People’s Lives Awesome
  • Log In
WordPress News and Updates from iThemes
Categories
  • Product Updates
  • WordPress Backup
  • WordPress Block Editor
  • WordPress Ecommerce
  • WordPress for Freelancers
  • WordPress Security
  • WordPress Tutorials
  • WPprosper

From Server Crashes, Tacos, and Coffee: The Birth of BackupBuddy

Written by Kristen Wright on November 8, 2011

Last Updated on August 13, 2020

It’s a familiar tale of misery, server failures, taco and coffee binges–but BackupBuddy was born. And as we watch the real-time counter inch upwards to 50,000 site licenses, we couldn’t help but revisit the BackupBuddy story.

It’s true:

mattckup-11

Everyone makes mistakes. And we were no different.

In November 2009, we experienced a complete hard drive failure that was a complete accident. Matt, our COO, provided this in-depth analysis/pictorial explanation:

mattckup-3

At the time, this unexpected “explosion” meant we lost everything. We mean everything. ALL of our sites went down, including several client sites.

The next 48 hours were spent rebuilding each site—fueled on nothing but coffee and bags of tacos:

mattckup-4

A few months later, enter:

mattckup-6

Who ran this server command:

mattckup-7

Which meant (again), we lost EVERYTHING—and thus commenced yet another frantic rebuild of our sites.

Matt provided yet another in-depth/pictorial analysis of the situation:

mattckup-91

In the end, we tallied our losses. And it was pretty painful to see it like this:

mattckup-8

That’s 120 hours—3 entire work weeks—lost on site failures. We knew there had to be another way.

At the time, we knew WordPress didn’t offer any complete backup solutions. In both of our failure cases, we needed entire directory and file backups for complete site recovery.

Based on our experience, we knew a complete backup would require these four main ingredients:

mattckup-111

mattckup-12

mattckup-13

mattckup-14

The development for BackupBuddy started in January of 2010, and in just two months, we had done it (eureka!)—created the awesome plugin that would eventually become BackupBuddy.

Now, years later, BackupBuddy has become the top-rated WordPress backup plugin, and does much more than a “mere” WordPress backup. BackupBuddy also migrates and restores like a champ.

Get BackupBuddy now

Kristen Wright
Kristen Wright

Kristen has been writing tutorials to help WordPress users since 2011. As marketing director here at iThemes, she’s dedicated to helping you find the best ways to build, manage, and maintain effective WordPress websites. Kristen also enjoys journaling (check out her side project, The Transformation Year!), hiking and camping, step aerobics, cooking, and daily adventures with her family, hoping to live a more present life.

Share via:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • More
Other related posts
move-wordpress-new-domain
How to Move a WordPress Website to a New Domain

10 Ways to Save Time & Make Money With BackupBuddy

How to Create a WordPress Backup in 4 Steps

Making Money with BackupBuddy

Respond

Click here to cancel reply.

Get updates on new themes & plugins plus special discounts

About iThemes

  • The Team
  • Contact Us
  • Website Accessibility Statement
  • Sitemap

Resources

  • Blog
  • Documentation
  • WordPress Tutorials
  • Free WordPress Ebooks
  • Free Webinar Library
  • Free Upcoming Webinars
  • iThemes Training
  • Affiliates

Customers

  • Member Panel Login
  • Support
  • FAQs
  • Upgrade Policy
  • Licensing
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Refund Policy

Top Products

  • BackupBuddy
  • iThemes Security Pro
  • iThemes Sync
  • Restrict Content Pro
  • WPComplete
  • WordPress Hosting
  • WordPress Plugins
  • Content Upgrades
  • WordPress Landing Page Plugin
  • BackupBuddy Stash

iThemes Media LLC Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved | Privacy Policy

© 2022 All Rights Reserved.

[class^="wpforms-"]
[class^="wpforms-"]
Share via
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Mix
Email
Print
Copy Link
Powered by Social Snap
Copy link
CopyCopied
Powered by Social Snap