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Can you imagine for just one minute how you would feel if your entire website simply disappeared?
Your website getting hacked, locking you out, or accidentally getting erased can be devastating, especially if your livelihood depends on having a functioning site.
One of the most important things you can do to guard yourself from such catastrophes is to regularly back up all of your website’s data.
Luckily for you there are some really great free and premium WordPress plugins meant to save you from losing everything you have worked so hard to build.
So, what are waiting for?
Take a look, pick your top choice, and get to backing up your WordPress website NOW!
Features to Look For
Before you start comparing which backup plugin is best suited for your website’s needs, let’s go over some of the key features a good backup plugin should have.
- Automation. If your plugin doesn’t automatically back your website up, you might as well do it manually. Automation just makes sense.
- Complete Backup. Backing up your database is important but there is more to your site than that. Media files, plugins, and themes are just some of the extra parts of your website that need to be saved in case of a disaster.
- Support. Having extensive documentation or someone to contact in the event you need help restoring your website is always a plus.
- Ease of use. Your plugin should be easy enough that any level WordPress user can restore their own website if need be.
- External Storage. Sending your website’s backups to an external source that is easily accessible from any device saves you a lot of trouble should your server accidentally wipe out your entire website, stored backups and all.
WordPress Backup Plugins
Now that you have a good idea what to look for in a reliable WordPress backup plugin, let’s look at what the top 8 have to offer you.
VaultPress
VaultPress is a premium, subscription-based WordPress backup plugin that can easily be found in the WordPress Repository.
Developed by Automattic, VaultPress offers users a huge range of features based on the plan you choose:
- Real-time backup monitoring
- One-click website restore
- Easy download of backups using the backup history
- Daily scans for malicious threats
- Simple fix solutions
- Experts to help backup, restore, and fix your site
VaultPress also comes with extensive documentation answering all of your questions. Starting at $9/month for the Basic Plan, VaultPress is one of the best premium plugin solutions for backing up your WordPress website.
BackupBuddy
Brought to you by iThemes, BackupBuddy is the most popular premium WordPress backup plugin. Unlike VaultPress, BackupBuddy is not a subscription based plugin. Rather it follows a yearly pricing plan starting at $80/year.
Here is what you can expect from this top dog backup plugin:
- Small database backups or complete backups of all your files, themes, plugins, and more.
- Offsite storage to places such as Amazon S3, Dropbox, Rackspace Cloud, FTP, email, or BackupBuddy Stash, a custom backup storage location.
- Scheduled automatic backups or manual backups if you choose
- Customized backups to exclude files and tables
- Built-in migration tool
- Detailed step-by-step restore process
- Support staff to help you with anything you need.
BackWPup Free
This free WordPress backup plugin is a good solution for those on a budget. With over 400,000 active installs and 3.9 out of 5 stars, this plugin has many features:
- Complete database and file backups
- One-click manual backup ability or automated backup schedules
- Offsite storage to FTP, email, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, RackSpace Cloud, or SugarSync, Amazon Glacier, and Google Drive
- Option to optimize, check, and repair your database, a feature not often found on a backup plugin
The one downside to this particular plugin is that the restoring process is not simple as there is no one-click restore button.
BackUpWordPress
Another free backup plugin found in the Repository is BackUpWordPress. Though more of a simple plugin than some of the other options, this backup plugin does offer some useful features to users:
- Complete file and database backups
- Works in shared hosting environment
- Translated into 13 languages
- Management of multiple backup schedules possible
- Works on Linux and Windows
Although a popular free choice for a backup plugin, BackUpWordPress will not let you send backups to an offsite storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive without purchasing the premium version for $99. There is also no quick restore process which again can cause some problems if you have lost your website and need it back but don’t know how to do it.
UpdraftPlus
This incredible WordPress plugin not only has 700,000+ active installs and a 4.9 start rating, it is absolutely free.
As a highly recommended backup plugin choice (that I totally agree with, as I use it on my own personal website), here are some of this plugin’s greatest features:
- Complete file and database backups or customize files to backup
- Custom automated backup schedules
- Offsite storage to places such as the UpdraftPlus Vault, Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more
- Failed uploads automatically retried
- Download backup archives found on your WordPress dashboard for easy access
- Super easy one-click restore option
blogVault
This lesser known but still favorable backup plugin is one that requires some initial setup. Also, it is important to note that this plugin is not free, rather it is a subscription-based backup solution.
Here is a look at what it does:
- Daily automatic and real-time backups
- 30 day backup history
- Managed offsite backup storage
- Incremental backups of large websites
- Testing of backup before restore
- Phone, email, and chat support
One downside to this plugin is the fact that the backup dashboard can only be accessed via blogVault’s own website rather that from your WordPress admin area which can be inconvenient.
WordPress Backup to Dropbox
If you are looking for a simple WordPress backup plugin and love using Dropbox, this is the solution for you. Here is what this basic yet effective plugin has to offer:
- Complete file and database backups
- User-friendly interface
- Connect to Dropbox via OAuth for account protection
- Translated into many languages
Duplicator
Normally used to migrate websites, Duplicator also has a simple backup feature. Although unconventional as a backup plugin, this solution is a win-win if you are already using Duplicator to migrate, clone, or copy your entire website to move it from one place to another. With over 600,000 active installs and an impressive 4.9 star rating, surely this plugin will come in handy for many.
Final Thoughts
In the end there are many choices out there for WordPress backup plugins both with a price tag and without.
Your individual needs and budget constraints will play a large role in determining which solution is best suited for your WordPress website. Luckily, with so many different options available, all it takes is a little research and some basic comparison to start protecting the work you have put so much time and effort into.
Have you used any of the above-mentioned plugin solutions for backing up your website? Do you recommend a plugin I failed to mention? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!
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