General/Presales Questions
Why should I backup my web site(s) and why I should backup using your web site backup service?
Without giving you goosebumps, many horrific situations can easily ruin any webmaster's day that can be prevented by maintaining safe, secure, and consistent set of website backups. You've heard too many stories about other fellow webmasters having to lose their website files, databases, emails due to a hosting company closing business, webmaster error, server hardware failure, or malicious attacks. Backomatic.com is a service that prevents these problematic situations from ruining the website you've invested hours and hours of dedication and hard work into. All in all, Backomatic.com is an easy solution that allows you to schedule automated web site backups for your websites as well as your clients' website if you are a hosting provider yourself.
Why should I trust Backomatic with my backup files?
Backomatic.com is a service backed by RsyncPalace.com that allow website owners automate scheduled backups. Since 2007, RsyncPalace.com specializes in offsite data backups, for virtual and dedicated servers, and currently provide data storage to over 300 clients worldwide.
How much does your website backup service cost?
An easy to use backup system should be priced as simple as it is to use it. That is what we've done. We made one plan, for everyone to start off with which is priced at an affordable $2.99 a month, or $29.99 per annum. If you need more than the provided 1 GB in the package, you can pay what you need for only 99 cents a month or $9.90 a year for 1 GB of additional space. If you need more than 100 GB of space, contact us and we'll quote you a much more appealing price. Check out our pricing page for more details.
Do you have a money back guarantee?
Yes we do! We have a seven day money back guarantee for our website backup service. If you are not satisfied within this period, just contact us and we'll promptly process a full refund.
How many websites can I backup with one account?
In short, unlimited. To make things simple, you can backup as many websites as you want as long as they fit within the disk space you purchased. So for example, if you purchase 5 GB worth of disk space from us, you can store 10000 websites if you are within that 5 GB limit. If you have a WHM reseller account, you can also backup all your clients' websites without purchasing more than one account from us.
Why should I backup if my web host already advertises that they backup my website?
First and foremost, web hosting providers have a tendency to schedule backups on a weekly basis and often in an inconsistent matter due to the massive amounts of data they need to work with. It is also very easy for them to lose your backup files due to that reason. The second reason is that if your website is the only website that's having problems such as a corrupted database or a human mistake, most webhosts will not restore individual websites or will do so for a large restoration fee. The third reason is that if for any reason your web host decides to hold your data for ransom, you can kiss good bye to them and restore your backups somewhere else. The forth reason is that if your web host gets hit with a long outage due to a technical failure, or a mistake on their part, or if they are closing shop, you know you have your own copy of backups to rely on. There are many more unlisted reasons as to why it is best to make your own backups. Only you are in control of your data and backups, nobody else should be.
Why should I backup with your service if I already backup myself?
Many people make the mistake of not having a reliable place for storing their backup files, nor is it stored in a schematic fashion; many people make the mistake of storing their backup files in the same place as their original files (eg. backup files on the same account as your website). If there is a problem with your website, then you may lose both the original files and the backup files all at once. if you use our backup service, we will store your backup files in a schematic naming fashion on reliable RAID-6 servers, which means which means drives on the server can fail without the loss of data. That in turn means that you can retrieve the files whenever you need to. Your backups will also happen automatically either on a daily or weekly basis depending on what you configure it to do in our control panel. You don't have to remind yourself to make your backups, so you'll always have a consistent backup set to rely on when disaster strikes.
Do you offer free website backup services?
We do not offer a free website backup service plan, as we do not believe in subsidizing free services by raising the prices of our paying customers to balance the spreadsheet out. With a plan starting at $2.99 a month, there's no reason for you not to make website backups. At certain times we have special promotions that are listed right on our pricing and sign up page. Feel free to use the coupon codes when they become available. We also offer a 7 day money back guarantee and process all payments through PayPal and 2CheckOut for convenience and security.
What payment options do you accept?
We accept PayPal as our preferred method of payment. PayPal lets you send money to anyone with just an email account. PayPal is free for consumers and works seamlessly with your existing credit cards, debit cards and bank account. 2Checkout.com, Inc. is an authorized retailer of Backomatic.com which allows you to use your credit card (i.e. VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diner's Club) without having to register for a payment account, so you can directly pay for your invoices without any hassle.
Which web hosts does your website backup service support?
Our website backup service supports full backups (file, databases, email, statistics, etc.) of web hosts that make use of the cPanel/WHM software and give access to it as well. If your webhost doesn't give access or make use of cPanel/WHM, our website backup service also supports web hosts that give you access to File Transfer Protocol (FTP) which only backups your website files. Directadmin supports creation of backup archives, which can then be backed up by FTP. If your site uses MySQL databases, you can also back that up using our website backup service. Modestly speaking, our service supports at least 20,000 web hosts worldwide as it is very hard to pinpoint an exact number our service supports by being compatible with these technologies. Please check our video tutorials on how to setup your website with our service.
Click here to view a small selection of webhosts that do support our website backup service.
| Web Host Name* | Supports via (cPanel/WHM/FTP/MySQL) | Site URL |
|---|---|---|
| Godaddy | FTP/MySQL | godaddy.com |
| Site5 | cPanel/WHM | site5.com |
| BlueHost | cPanel/WHM | bluehost.com |
| MediaLayer | Directadmin through FTP | medialayer.com |
| HostMonster | cPanel/WHM | hostmonster.com |
| HostGator | cPanel/WHM | hostgator.com |
| StableHost | cPanel/WHM | stablehost.com |
| DowntownHost | cPanel/WHM | downtownhost.com |
| SharkSpace | cPanel/WHM | sharkspace.com |
| GeekStorage | cPanel/WHM | geekstorage.com |
| SpeedySparrow | cPanel/WHM | speedysparrow.com |
| HostedFX | cPanel/WHM | hostedfx.com |
| InnoHosting | cPanel/WHM | innohosting.com |
| Vixile | cPanel/WHM | vixile.com |
| K-Disk Networks | cPanel/WHM | k-disk.net |
| HawkHost | cPanel/WHM | hawkhost.com |
| HostPC | Directadmin through FTP | hostpc.com |
| powerMonster | cPanel/WHM/DirectAdmin | powermonster.net |
| TheWIRE | Directadmin through FTP | thewire.ca |
| Capital Webhost | Directadmin through FTP | capitalwebhost.net |
| GotWebHost | Directadmin through FTP | gotwebhost.com |
| v247s | Directadmin through FTP | v247s.com |
| AlwaysWebHosting | cPanel/WHM | alwayswebhosting.com |
| eMonsterhost | cPanel/WHM | emonsterhost.com |
| SemoWeb | cPanel/WHM | semoweb.com |
| 123Systems | cPanel/WHM | 123systems.net |
| Frantech | cPanel/WHM | frantech.ca |
| HostMist | cPanel/WHM | hostmist.com |
| The Simple Host | cPanel/WHM | thesimplehost.net |
| ServPlus Hosting | cPanel/WHM | servplus.net |
| Mellowhost | cPanel/WHM | mellowhost.com |
| EZPZ Hosting | cPanel/WHM | ezpzhosting.co.uk |
| Arvixe | cPanel/WHM | arvixe.com |
| 1&1 Internet | FTP/MySQL | 1and1.com |
| Corbis Hosting | cPanel/WHM | corbishosting.com |
| Atrium Hosting | cPanel/WHM | atriumhosting.com |
* Listed in alphabetical order.
How can I be sure that my website will be compatible with your website backup service?
If you have access cPanel/WHM, DirectAdmin, FTP/MySQL, the best way to be sure is to try out our service! We have a seven day no-questions asked money back guarantee. If it doesn't work out for you, you can contact support for help or simply ask for a refund.
How do I tell if I have cPanel/WebHost Manager access to my website?
Generally speaking, if you can access your website control panel using one of these links, then you have access to cPanel: http://yourdomain.com:2082, https://cpanel.yourdomain.com:2083, or http://yourdomain.com/cpanel. If you own a cPanel reseller account and have access to a control panel that can create individual cPanel accounts, then you have WebHost Manager access. If none of these work for you, then you do not have cPanel/WHM access to your website(s) and that you will need to use the FTP method for our website backup service. If you are unsure of whether or not you have cPanel/WHM access, or whether our website backup services work with your website, feel free to contact us.
How are my website's login credentials stored?
In case you were wondering, your domain and username will be stored as-is, while your password will be encrypted using a military-grade standard.
I'm convinced, how do I start?
Just click 'Sign-up' at the top right navigation bar, select how much space you need to start (Tip: you can always upgrade whenever you need to with a click of a button in the client area). Choose the desired payment cycle and follow the steps of our ordering system. After payment, you will receive a welcoming email with further steps to get everything all setup. It's as easy as plugging in several fields with your website information and selecting the time you want your backups to be scheduled.
I've ran out of backup space. How do I upgrade?
Upgrading is easy! Just login into our client portal, click 'My Services', then press the 
next to the account you want to upgrade. Once you see your account details, press 'Upgrade/Downgrade Disk Space'. Now you can type in how much disk space you want. Once you've filled in the upgrade box, click "Click to Continue >>" and you will be shown a price confirmation on the upgrade. Due to our per-GB pricing model and our payment processors' high per-transaction fee, you must fill up your account balance with credits before you can upgrade. Account credits will be used for your account upgrade, and any credits left over will be used automatically for your next invoice. You will not be able to complete the upgrade process unless you have enough credits to cover the upgrade. Minimum Top-up is $5.00 USD. So once you've filled up your account with the link given, you can go ahead and checkout. Once you checkout, your account will be instantly upgraded to the new service level.
How often will my backups run?
With Backomatic CP, you can schedule your backups to run every day or every week at a certain time, at a certain time. You also have the flexibility to backup whenever you like by clicking the 'Run' button. For advanced users, you can even use the given cron link/URL to schedule your own timely backups.
Will my backups be publicly accessible?
No, your backups will not be publicly accessibly unless you generate a download link for your cPanel/WHM and MySQL backups. The generated download link will be unique to you and will expire in 24 hours, or when you click the deletion link given to you. It's recommended that you remove the link once you've finished downloading the file.
cPanel/WebHost Manager Questions:
What are the requirements for backing up a cPanel/WHM account?
Let's start off with cPanel accounts. In order for our website backup service to work, you must have the 'Backups' icon in cPanel - which should be under the 'Files' Category. For WHM accounts, all your cPanel accounts must have 'Backup Manager' enabled in the package feature list.
What is being backed up for a cPanel account?
In short: everything. Our solution is designed to backup the entire cPanel account, which means that your preferences, mail, files, security, domains, logs, software/services, and advanced sections will be backed up. If you have a WHM account, all end-user cPanel accounts will also have everything included within the individual backup files.
How much space will one cPanel backup take?
Each backup file size depends on what is being backed up and how big your cPanel account is. If your website contains mostly plain text (HTML, PHP) or images, the backup file size can be as little as 20% of your actual disk usage. For example, if your cPanel account disk usage is 100 MB, each backup file will take about 20 MB of backup space. If your website contain mostly media files, you will face less space saving benefits from the compression.
What is the maximum file size for each backup file?
There are no limits per file. You're only limited by your backup account size. However, it is recommended that you only backup cPanel accounts lesser than 50 GB of disk usage as anything bigger will cause high server loads on your cPanel server due to the backup compression.
Are all cPanel accounts backed up when I backup my WebHostManager account?
All active cPanel accounts will be backed up when you backup your WebHostManager (WHM) account. You may exclude individual cPanel accounts manually by going to 'File Manager/More Options'. You may also exclude accounts by package type, and maximum account size.
How do I exclude files and folders from being backed up with my cPanel account?
You can exclude certain directories or files which you do not want to backup by using the built-in cPanel function. Please refer to this cPanel document for more details.
Can I exclude cPanel accounts from my WHM account backups?
Yes you can! Just go to 'File Manager/More Options' for your WHM configuration, and you can finetune which accounts to backup.
Can I chose which packages to include and exclude from my WHM backups?
Yes you can! Just go to 'File Manager/More Options' for your WHM configuration, and you can fine-tune which packages you want to include and exclude from your backup..
Can I exclude cPanel accounts over a certain size to be backed up with my WHM account?
Yes you can! Just go to 'File Manager/More Options' for your WHM configuration, and you can input the maximum account size you want to backup in megabytes (MB).
How do I restore a cPanel backup?
You will be able to generate a download link for any backup file you wish in Backomatic CP. You can give this to your webhost, and they'll be able to help you perform the restore. You can also download the archive yourself and extract the contents out. You can then restore homedir.tar and your MySQL databases in /mysql/ directly in cPanel - just look for the icon labeled 'Backups'.
For Web Hosts: You can restore the backup file by first downloading the file using wget, and then running /scripts/restorepkg backupfile.tar.gz.
FTP Backup (Non-cPanel/WHM) Questions:
What are the requirements for backing up a FTP account?
All you need is a FTP account that's accessible over the web. That's it!
What is being backed up for a FTP configuration?
Everything in your FTP account (and the specific directory you specify) that is readable, will be backed up on to our backup service. Exclude file/directory feature will be implemented into Backomatic CP soon.
How much space will one FTP backup take?
Unlike a cPanel backup, FTP backups are not compressed and will take exactly as much space on our backup service as it is on your FTP account. For example, a 500 MB FTP account will take up 500 MB on your backup account.
What is the maximum size for each FTP backup?
There are currently no limits other than the limit of your backup account size. In the future, you may be limited by a file size limit per file for your FTP account. For example, if you have a 10 GB file in your FTP account, it may be excluded from the backups in the future. We will be notifying our customers if some sort of limit is imposed in the future.
What is the maximum file count limit for each FTP backup?
There is a limit of 10,000 files/inodes per FTP account. Anything configuration over this limit will not be backed up, and will error out.
How can I backup DirectAdmin accounts (using reseller access) using the FTP module in Backomatic CP?
A video tutorial on how to backup a DirectAdmin reseller is located at our Getting Started page!
How do I restore a FTP backup?
Just go to the 'File Manager/More Options' for the FTP configuration, and click 'Restore' for the backup file you want to restore. Fill in the destination FTP credentials and click 'Restore'. Transfer will then begin and you will be sent an email once the restore process is done (only if you've selected to be notified). You may also check on it's process by going back to the 'File Manager/More Options' page.
MySQL Backup (Non-cPanel/WHM) Questions:
What are the requirements for backing up MySQL?
To backup MySQL databases with our service, you must have a webserver capable of serving PHP files. MySQL network backup without the use of PHP is coming soon to a Backomatic CP near you!
What do I do with the MySQL backup PHP script that I need to download and configure?
In Step 2 of the adding process for a MySQL configuration, you're asked to configure and upload the script on to a user-accessible web space. Download the script with the link provided, and open it up with a text editor. Fill in your MySQL database details and save it as .php file. Upload it on to your web server that is accessible to the web. Once you've done so, you can put in the script URL in to Backomatic CP. If your script is configured correctly, you should be all set and MySQL backups will happen according to the schedule you've selected during configuration.
Note: The script will only work with that one configuration. If you have multiple MySQL configurations, you will need to download the script for each one.
Can I backup more than one MySQL database per configuration?
Yes you can, just follow the instruction in the MySQL PHP script when you set it up and you can have multiple MySQL databases backed up with one configuration. One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot have duplicated MySQL database names in the same configuration - otherwise, Backomatic CP will error out and will not back up your databases.
How do I restore a MySQL backup?
Just go to the 'File Manager/More Options' for the MySQL configuration, and click 'Generate' for the backup file you want to restore. Once you click Generate, you will be given a unique link to download your database backup. You can then use this file and restore it using PhpMyAdmin, or BigDump, or any MySQL import software.
General Backomatic CP Questions:
What are 'backup copies' and what should I set it as?
You can choose to keep between 1 to 31 backup sets or copies for each backup configuration. Once the maximum number of backup sets/copies is met, the oldest backup file will be overwritten by the newest one. For example, if you are backing up daily and you want to keep each backup file for at least a week, you will choose to keep 7 copies of the backups. It's always best to keep more backup copies; however, the more backups you keep, the more space you will need. Why is it better to keep more backup copies? The main reason is that you will have more backups to rely on when disaster strikes. If your website gets hacked or infected, and you were unaware of it until 2 days later - you can revert to the backups that were unaffected 3 days ago.
What are manual trigger cron links?
Manual trigger cron links are for advanced users to setup their own scheduled backups using a cronjob, or by using it to trigger backups when needed. This allows for greater flexibility as you can choose when to run the backup configuration. You may also incorporate the manual trigger links into a custom coded script. For example, you can code a script to run a certain backup configuration after a certain task instead of on a schedule. All you need to do to obtain the manual trigger links is to disable 'Auto', or Scheduled Backups in Backomatic CP.
How do I delete the backup files after deleting the configuration?
You will need to login to your backup account using FTP or cPanel, and delete the folder associated with the backup configuration. If the configuration name was for example, abcd, you would delete abcd_cpanel, abcd_whm, abcd_ftp, or abcd_mysql according to the backup method that was chosen. The main reason why Backomatic CP does not automatically delete backup files for you, is because there is a greater chance of removing a configuration by accident, than to logging in and deleting the folders through FTP/cPanel's File Manager.
Why is a configuration flashing on the index page?
A configuration flashes when it's backup is in progress. If your configuration never stops flashing for cPanel/WHM configurations and you never receive an email about backups completing, the server your cPanel/WHM account is on might have what we called a non-resolvable email server. Contact us about it and we'll try and resolve it with your web host.
Why am I not receiving any emails about my backups completing?
If you're not receiving emails even though you've ticket the 'notify me' box in the configuration, and it's not in the spam folder - there's a large chance that the server your cPanel/WHM account is on has something called a non-resolvable email server. Contact us about it and we'll try and resolve it with your web host.