Top WordPress Backup Plugins
We never like to think that we may need to use a tool to back up our websites but it’s never worth taking the risk.
In the following post I’ve put together a list of free and paid plugins that will help you backup your blog so you have complete piece of mind.
There seems to be no end of horror stories that I’m told on a regular basis and even the most experienced developers have had problems before.
Sure, hindsight is a great way for us to learn but it won’t help recover any of your content.
READ- How To Install WordPress Plugin
Below are a selection of powerful backup plugins for your WordPress site, there’s a huge range of features between them but remember that there are always benefits of going for premium WordPress plugins as opposed to free WordPress plugins.
For example; better functionality, frequent updates and great support.
Ok, lets dive into the list..
This is an amazing plugin from the team at iThemes, I’ve been a big fan for a while now because everything they do, from plugins to themes and even training is top notch and Backup Buddy is no exception.
This is my go-to plugin for all my backup needs, it doesn’t get better or easier than this.
iThemes always have something in the works, they actively improve all of their products and release new products to help existing customers – there are not many companies that do such a good job at looking after existing customers.
You can use Backup Buddy to backup, restore or migrate a website to a new server – I love that it’s got the migration option because with some web hosts it can be a bit of a bother so this is perfect.
Some of the other useful functions within Backup Buddy include scheduled backups that you can send to your Email, Amazon Web Services account, Dropbox account, Rackspace Cloud account or FTP.
A recent addition to version 3.1 of Backup Buddy is the “Stash” which is an offsite location for your data backups. Once backed up to your “Stash” you can access them with your iThemes login details – You’ll currently get 1GB of space included for free with the option to increase your space should you need it.
Update 02/02/2014 – It’s been a while since I first published this post so I think it’s important that I include an update for you here about how I have been getting on with Backup Buddy.
iThemes, the developers have continued to roll out updates. This is important to ensure the plugin works with the latest version of WordPress. And despite the long period of time that I have been using Backup Buddy, I have not had any problems or found anything better.
This is an interesting backup plugin, essentially it’s an off-site back up system that comes with it’s own plugin that will allow you to schedule backups.
Once your data is backed up to the My Repono servers you’ll only pay for the data storage and data transfer bandwidth that you use so you won’t be stuck paying out for space that you’re not going to use.
This backup solution is straight from Automatic, the company behind WordPress.
There is more than just backups here because there’s security bundled in with some plans too, every plan comes with real-time backups, automated site restores and more whereas premium and enterprise plans come with increased priority support along with security scans and other functionality.
This is a more high end service that could simply be overkill for most bloggers due to the pricing, which can scale up quite rapidly.
UpdraftPlus Backup supports Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive and some other popular services so you’re covered for offsite backups.
You can schedule your backups and choose to encrypt your backups should you need to then there’s a handy one click restore option.
For a lot of free WordPress plugins support is an issue, but the UpdraftPlus team give the sort of support you’d expect from a premium plugin.
Note: there is also a premium version of the plugin that’s available on the UpdraftPlus website along with some useful add-ons and priority support packages.
Download Plugin
Please note that this plugin only backs up your database, so if you rely on this as a solution then you won’t be able back up everything.
If you’re looking for a good security plugin too, then definitely check out Better WP Security and see what it can do for you.
Download Plugin
You can schedule updates at times that suit you and you can choose the specific files that are backed up if there are some that you would prefer to leave out.
There’s also a log that shows you exactly what’s happening with your backups – just be sure to check the backup log page and start a backup when you first install the plugin.
Download Plugin
WP-DB Manager does a lot more than just backup your WordPress database – it will repair, optimise and allow you to drop or empty database tables which can be very handy if you’ve had a lot of plugins installed over the years because even if you have chosen to delete a plugin, you will still sometimes find plugin data within your WP database.
Note: this plugin will not do ‘complete backups’, it will just backup your database.
Download Plugin
When you get a free plugin, you’re not entitled to support, it’s a luxury and can you really expect someone to not only take the time to create a plugin and release it for free, but to spend hours and hours of their time supporting the plugin too?
I can’t expect that, everyone needs to put food on the table and make a living.
Have you had any horror stories with botched website migrations?
Let us know in the comments below.
In the following post I’ve put together a list of free and paid plugins that will help you backup your blog so you have complete piece of mind.
There seems to be no end of horror stories that I’m told on a regular basis and even the most experienced developers have had problems before.
- I lost my entire site
- I forgot to back up my site
- I messed around with some code and everything’s gone
- My site was hacked and I lost everything
Sure, hindsight is a great way for us to learn but it won’t help recover any of your content.
READ- How To Install WordPress Plugin
Below are a selection of powerful backup plugins for your WordPress site, there’s a huge range of features between them but remember that there are always benefits of going for premium WordPress plugins as opposed to free WordPress plugins.
For example; better functionality, frequent updates and great support.
Ok, lets dive into the list..
Premium WordPress backup plugins
1. Backup Buddy
This is an amazing plugin from the team at iThemes, I’ve been a big fan for a while now because everything they do, from plugins to themes and even training is top notch and Backup Buddy is no exception.
This is my go-to plugin for all my backup needs, it doesn’t get better or easier than this.
iThemes always have something in the works, they actively improve all of their products and release new products to help existing customers – there are not many companies that do such a good job at looking after existing customers.
You can use Backup Buddy to backup, restore or migrate a website to a new server – I love that it’s got the migration option because with some web hosts it can be a bit of a bother so this is perfect.
Some of the other useful functions within Backup Buddy include scheduled backups that you can send to your Email, Amazon Web Services account, Dropbox account, Rackspace Cloud account or FTP.
A recent addition to version 3.1 of Backup Buddy is the “Stash” which is an offsite location for your data backups. Once backed up to your “Stash” you can access them with your iThemes login details – You’ll currently get 1GB of space included for free with the option to increase your space should you need it.
Update 02/02/2014 – It’s been a while since I first published this post so I think it’s important that I include an update for you here about how I have been getting on with Backup Buddy.
iThemes, the developers have continued to roll out updates. This is important to ensure the plugin works with the latest version of WordPress. And despite the long period of time that I have been using Backup Buddy, I have not had any problems or found anything better.
2. My Repono
Once your data is backed up to the My Repono servers you’ll only pay for the data storage and data transfer bandwidth that you use so you won’t be stuck paying out for space that you’re not going to use.
3. Vault Press
There is more than just backups here because there’s security bundled in with some plans too, every plan comes with real-time backups, automated site restores and more whereas premium and enterprise plans come with increased priority support along with security scans and other functionality.
This is a more high end service that could simply be overkill for most bloggers due to the pricing, which can scale up quite rapidly.
Free WordPress backup plugins
4. UpdraftPlus Backup
This is one of the most complete backup plugins for WordPress that I’ve found within the WordPress plugin repository so far.UpdraftPlus Backup supports Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive and some other popular services so you’re covered for offsite backups.
You can schedule your backups and choose to encrypt your backups should you need to then there’s a handy one click restore option.
For a lot of free WordPress plugins support is an issue, but the UpdraftPlus team give the sort of support you’d expect from a premium plugin.
Note: there is also a premium version of the plugin that’s available on the UpdraftPlus website along with some useful add-ons and priority support packages.
Download Plugin
5. Better WP Security
This is primarily a security plugin, but it has built in features that allow you to set automated backups that are emailed to you or stored on your server.Please note that this plugin only backs up your database, so if you rely on this as a solution then you won’t be able back up everything.
If you’re looking for a good security plugin too, then definitely check out Better WP Security and see what it can do for you.
Download Plugin
6. WP Backup to Dropbox
This is a handy plugin that will back up your media and database to your Dropbox account.You can schedule updates at times that suit you and you can choose the specific files that are backed up if there are some that you would prefer to leave out.
There’s also a log that shows you exactly what’s happening with your backups – just be sure to check the backup log page and start a backup when you first install the plugin.
Download Plugin
7. WP-DB Manager
This plugin gives you the option to schedule database backups to suit you, but this won’t backup everything so shouldn’t be considered a complete solution, although it is a VERY useful plugin.WP-DB Manager does a lot more than just backup your WordPress database – it will repair, optimise and allow you to drop or empty database tables which can be very handy if you’ve had a lot of plugins installed over the years because even if you have chosen to delete a plugin, you will still sometimes find plugin data within your WP database.
Note: this plugin will not do ‘complete backups’, it will just backup your database.
Download Plugin
Where do I go from here?
Now that you’ve got your backup plugin taken care of, you can start adding some extra bells and whistles. Feel free to take a look at some of the other posts on WordPress plugins, including – Security Plugins, SEO Boosting Plugins and social sharing plugins.Summary
While there are some decent WordPress backup plugins that come at no cost, you will always get the most benefit when you invest some money and get a premium plugin installed – that way you’ve got additional piece of mind.When you get a free plugin, you’re not entitled to support, it’s a luxury and can you really expect someone to not only take the time to create a plugin and release it for free, but to spend hours and hours of their time supporting the plugin too?
I can’t expect that, everyone needs to put food on the table and make a living.
Have you had any horror stories with botched website migrations?
Let us know in the comments below.
