Guide to bullet-proof Firefox bookmark backup

Bookmarks can be used to store URLs of websites we visit often. Instead of having to remember all the URLs, you simply have to click “Bookmark this page” or its equivalent in your browser. All software are vulnerable to bugs and crashes – so, the chances of losing your bookmarks to a Firefox bug (more often caused by extensions) is high.

Instead of worrying over the safety of your bookmarks, you can put in place a comprehensive bookmark backup strategy, which I will be detailing in this post. There are three bookmark backup methods detailed here – exporting bookmarks to an external HTML file, using Foxmarks extension to backup your bookmarks online (so that floods, tsunami or any other disaster won’t touch your bookmarks) and Firefox Environment Backup Extension, which will do scheduled backups.

Upgrading to the latest version of Firefox is always a good idea, so get the latest version of Firefox (optional).

Backup bookmarks by exporting as HTML

Click Bookmarks -> Organize Bookmarks. This will bring up Bookmarks Manager(image below). All the bookmarks and bookmark folders are displayed.

Click File => Export and save the file. The HTML file contains all bookmarks. To import all the bookmarks, click File -> Import and select the correct file. If you need to restore the bookmarks to another computer, copy the HTML file to the other computer and proceed with the same steps.

Backup bookmarks with Foxmarks

Foxmarks extension backs up your bookmarks online (you have to create an account at Foxmarks website). You can see all the bookmarks at your Foxmarks account online even if you are away from home. To get started, install Foxmarks extension.

After the installation, appropriate steps will be shown – proceed to create an account, and your bookmarks will be backed up online.

If you loose your bookmarks due to a crash, install Firefox and Foxmarks, and in options, click “Force overwrite of local bookmarks”.

Schedule bookmark backups with FEBE extension

FEBE is more than just an extension to backup bookmarks – it can backup cookies, settings, history and bookmarks.

Install FEBE Firefox extension. Click Tools -> FEBE -> Perform Backup for a backup. When you need to restore it, locate the backup files and click Restore -> Restore bookmarks. For additional tweaks and options, go to Tools -> FEBE -> FEBE options.

To schedule a bookmark backup, click Tools -> FEBE -> FEBE options, and click the “Schedule” tab. Set a time for backup – the time when you use the computer. Click Directory tab and choose a backup destination. If you have a Box.net account, click the tab “Box.net”. Tick “Enable Box.net uploads” and enter your login details. Click “Save login” and then click OK.

So, there you have it – a comprehensive strategy to never loose your bookmarks again – particularly if you save lots of bookmarks. I personally use this because I save many pages suitable for post content (particularly list posts)- which I cannot afford to loose.

What is your backup strategy, and have you found this guide useful?