How to Backup, Sync and Share Your Bookmarks

Backup Your Bookmarks

Backing up your Web bookmarks is an important part of disaster recovery. A bookmark backup copy can also be copied to another computer or mobile device. You can even backup your bookmarks to a Web or cloud-based service so that they are always available no matter what device you're using. The procedure for backing up bookmarks is fairly simple but bookmark locations vary from one browser to another.

Internet Explorer calls bookmarks "Favorites." To make a backup copy of your IE Favorites, open Internet Explorer, then click File in the main menu bar. Click Import and Export, select the "Export to a File" option, then click Next. Check the box next to Favorites, and click Next. Select the topmost folder "Favorites" and click Next. Enter a filename where your bookmarks will be saved. The default is to save them as "bookmarks.htm" in your My Documents folder, but you might want to save them to a different folder, a USB flash drive, or some other backup media. After choosing your backup file, click Export, then Finish.

Firefox has a built-in bookmarks organizer that can import and export bookmarks. In all versions of Firefox, start by clicking on the Bookmarks tab in the main menu bar. In Firefox 4, click "Show all bookmarks" on the pull-down menu; in earlier versions, click "Organize bookmarks." Now you should see the Library window. Click on "Import and backup" in the menu bar. Click on "Export to HTML" to make a backup copy in HTML format. Save the backup copy to a destination of your choice.

If you use Apple's Safari browser, click on File, then Export Bookmarks. Specify a folder for the exported bookmark file. You will find the file "Safari bookmarks.html" in that folder.

Google Chrome, like Firefox, has a bookmarks manager. Click on the "wrench" icon in Chrome and choose "Bookmark Manager." Click on Tools in the manager and select 'Export Bookmarks." Save the export file to a destination of your choice.

In all of these cases, the exported bookmarks are stored in HTML format, which is the language in which web pages are coded. So you can import the bookmark file into any other browser.

Web-Based Bookmark Managers

The problem is, if you add or delete bookmarks often, it's a hassle to keep the bookmarks on all your browsers and devices in sync. That's where web-based bookmarks managers shine. Use one of these online (umm, I mean "cloud based") bookmark managers to sync and share your bookmarks across all your browsing platforms.

Xmarks is a Web-based bookmark backup and synchronization service. You need to install the Xmarks browser add-on on each computer you intend to use. Then Xmarks uploads backup copies of your bookmarks to its server and syncs all of the bookmarks of all the devices. The free version of Xmarks supports Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari browsers. Premium plans expand support to Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and other mobile platforms.

Another popular web-based bookmark manager is Delicious, which they call a "Social Bookmarking" service. Delicious lets you store your bookmarks online, and optionally share them with others. Delicious also acts as a discovery tool, because you can see the most popular bookmarks in many areas of interest. Delicious is free, but has had a turbulent history.

That has prompted some to opt for Pinboard, a similar paid service. A modest fee of around US $9.00 gives lifetime access, and discourages spammers from polluting the ecosystem.

Do you have something to say about backing up or sharing bookmarks? Post your comment or question below...