It doesn't need to be all that difficult.
I'm in a similarish position to your (intended) one - I've logged PiC in aeroplanes, fixed wing microlights and flexwing microlights: plus P/UT in all of those plus gliders & motorgliders, plus flight test observer in just about everything from helicopters to motorgliders to fast jets - plus night, IMC, simulators... I have CAA, JAA and FAA licences, regularly fly as a flight test observer - you get the idea, it's complicated.
I had the sense when I started to fly and intended to do a lot of it to buy a reasonably chunky commercial logbook (the nearest equivalent now to what I have would be the CAA CAP407 logbook). After a bit of messing around (different colours and highlighters - didn't really work) I decided that by far the easiest solution was just to design an overlay label on my PC for the column headings, print it on thin paper and stick it on. Every year or two I find that the pattern of my flying changes so I change the label - so long as each page's totals are all correct, it works fine.
CAA and FAA officials, plus numerous instructors and examiners have seen my logbook for various reasons - neither has ever raised any query or objection to the method. Pretty much any commercial standard logbook, so long as you fill in all of the basic flight data and use approriate column headings, will meet all of the requirements of any regulatory authority, and CAA and FAA don't seem to object to seeing each others stamps and signatures in my logbook.
This doesn't mean that you can't use separate logbooks of-course, there may indeed be good reasons to, just that you don't need to. Similarly you don't need to be as worried about neatness as I tend to be - tippex and biro will change the headings just as effectively. Or, you could design and bind your own logbook using a PC (when I finally fill up this one, I'm threatening to do just that).
Regarding backups - I've never fortunately lost my primary logbook, but I have always photocopied each page as it gets filled in (complete with signatures, etc.) and filed that away, keeping it in another building. Nobody's ever suggested that this method was deficient - but if you are doubly paranoid, get the photocopies notarised by somebody reliable once in a while. It can't do any harm!
Basically, keep a clear and full record of your flying in some form of permanent binding - in a way that allows you to prove anything you are likely to need to, and keep some kind of backup. Everything else is optional!
G