Let’s face it, servers go down, hard drives fail and many problems can arise out of nowhere. Keeping a back up of your WordPress site and database is extremely important. There are many plugins and services in the WordPress world that can solve this. I have listed a number of blog posts at the bottom of this post if you would like to read more about the subject.
Remember, backup backup backup! This is one of the most important rules of owning a website or a computer. Follow this rule and you will be golden. With that said, let’s take a look at some of options and tools available.
Plugins
BackWPup
BackWPup has two versions: a free and paid one. You should determine your site’s needs and use the appropriate version. You can find some of the features for the free version below. You can find the plugin here. Alternatively, you can find the Pro features via this link.
Free Features:
- Database Backup (needs mysqli)
- File backup
- Backups in zip, tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2 format (needs gz, bz2, ZipArchive)
- Store backup to directory
- Store backup to FTP server (needs ftp)
- Store backup to Dropbox (needs curl)
- Store backup to S3 services (needs curl)
- PRO: Store backup to Amazon Glacier (needs PHP 5.3.3, curl)
- PRO: Store backup to Google Drive (needs PHP 5.3.3, curl)
- Send logs and backups by email
Pro Features:
- Full database backup
- Full data backup
- Backup a list of all installed plugins
- Backup with various storage options: Email, S3 (Amazon, Google Storage, Hosteurope…), Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP-Server, SugarSync, Amazon Glacier
- Step by step Wizard
- Differential backup of changed directories Only submit files that have changed since the last backup. This works for Dropbox, Google Drive, S3, Rackspace Cloud Files and Microsoft Azure.
- Database check and compression
- Backup archives management
- WordPress Multisite Support
WPBackupPro is also available in the following languages:
- english (standard)
- french / français (fr_FR)
- german / deutsch (de_DE)
- russian / pоссия (ru_RU)
- simplified chinese (zh_CN)
BackUpWordPress
BackupWordPress is a simpler plugin. After activation, you can setup a schedule to automically backup to your server; it does this by creating a seperate folder in /wp-content/backups. The plugin does not support Dropbox, Google Drive or other cloud services; on the other hand, it is lightweight and fast. This plugin supports the languages written below:
- Spanish
- German
- Chinese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Lithuanian
- Italian
- Czech
- Dutch
- French
- Basque.
If you wish to contribute to the project on Github, you can begin here.
Services
VaultPress
VaultPress is a WordPress backup service that will backup your site automatically. Founded by Matt Mullenweg, the creator of Automatic, the plugin is safe and hassle-free. In fact, it is included in Automattic’s Jetpack plugin for WordPress. All you have to do is install Jetpack, or the plugin, and enter your API key. Afte that, it’s smooth sailing and VaultPress will back up everything on your site. This includes your plugins, media files, database(s) and themes. Features include, but not limited to:
- Daily backup of your WordPress sites
- Review security threats
- Restore backups automatically
- Website stats
There is, however, a catch: WP Vault has a pricing model; plans start from five dollars a month and get higher as you want more features. If you have multiple sites, things can start to get pricy. That is where Backup Buddy comes in.
Backup Buddy
Backup Buddy can back up multiple sites for you without having to spend a lot more money. You do lose Automattic’s support but you can save a lot by using this service instead. Backup Buddy will also make full backups of your WordPress site and can even help you move it to another host as well!
Other than that, there are over 600 backup plugins to choose from! Click here to view the list. If you would like to learn more, the articles below may be of some help. You can also back up your website via your web hosting provider. Some web hosts offer cPanel, if you are not sure, you should contact your web host directly and/or look up their support forum.
Finally, some Reddit users shared their backup knowledge below.
Resources and other blogs
Stage of Digital: 6 Top WordPress Backup Plugins
Copy Blogger: What’s the Best Way to Backup Your WordPress Website?