WordPress plugins for BackUp are important because if something like this happens to your site – your important data is protected or not protected if you ignore this article and let it go to waste. In any case, it’s up to you!
Selecting a plugin for fast copying
Fixing the problem is easy if you regularly create a BackUp of your WordPress site, and as one fairly effective way to do it is to use plugins to create copies.
1. VaultPress
A service provided directly by Automattic Inc., the force behind WordPress. That’s saying a lot, isn’t it? Again, for those who don’t quite get it: VaultPress is now in the hands of the people who created and maintain the entire WordPress ecosystem, and the trust in them is almost limitless. Separately, of the pluses, it’s worth noting:
- Daily WordPress BackUp or real-time copy creation (bury an post – changes sent to the server immediately!)
- Restore your WordPress site from a backup copy, you can at any time. You don’t have to be near your PC, your phone is enough.
- With Jetpack Backup, you can undo changes or restore an earlier version of your site if you need to.
Now, to use VaultPress, you have to install Jetpack and sign up for the plan. For just $3.95 a month or $39 a year, you get a top-notch backup and security service where copies are stored off-site. If you want, you can download a copy using your WordPress admin panel.
Before we go any further, we should clarify that JetPack is not only a backup solution, but also a bunch of other useful features. Read more in our full review of the JetPack plugin.
3. UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup
If UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup plugin, were included in the WordPress installation package instead of “Akismet” and “Hello Dolly”, it would be the perfect choice for many users. Over 2 million active installations and a near perfect rating (4.8 out of 5 stars), cool right?
With UpdraftPlus you can store your copies in the cloud as the plugin supports Amazon S3, Dropbox and Google Drive. You also have the option of storing backups on a server of your choice via FTP protocol.
Like all cool solutions, the plugin has a premium version that you have to shell out money for. With the paid version you get more storage options, such as Microsoft OneDrive, SCP, WebDAV and OpenStack Swift, as well as 1GB of free space in the Updraft Vault, a dedicated storage facility from the plugin’s authors. Secure FTP (SFTP) features. Email and forum support and some other goodies.
The price depends on how many sites you plan to use, and ranges from $70 to $399 per year. For the vast majority of users, a “Personal” plan for $70 a year is all you need to forget about backing up your WordPress site. Pay for it, set it up, and sleep in peace.
3. BackWPup
A popular plugin, or as they say stand-alone backup solution for WordPress sites with over 600,000 active installations. The plugin creates a complete physical copy of your site, including all content elements and the database. Copies will be stored on external resources such as: Dropbox, S3, FTP, etc. The recovery process is simple – you only need the *.zip file you created earlier.
BackWPup is free, but the authors of the plugin claim that the free version will not be as effective as the professional version. Professional features include backups to Google Drive and Amazon Glacier and other services.
Unfortunately, the database backup feature is only implemented in the “PRO” version, and rates start at $69 per year (1 site) and up to $349, in the agency rate (100 sites). But here you should also understand that your database must be in the format of.
Practice and risk assessment
Once your site has been backed up with one of the above-mentioned plugins, you have passed the first step in securing your site. Risk management is essential if you want to make sure your site data is not lost.
Here are risk management best practices you should follow:
Make backups of your WordPress site
By now you must have learned the importance of backing up your site. Whether you do it with plugins or manually, frequently backing up your WodPress site should be at the top of your priority list.
You should also have a working backup of your website on your hard drive, even if you save that backup to the safest places, such as Amazon S3. Because you are bound to have a working backup in case of the absolute worst case scenario.
Replace files, not restore
The WordPress white screen of death is one of the common problems in WordPress, caused by problems in the fuctions.php file. Your first thought would be to restore your entire site. However, there is a much more convenient way to bring your site back to life, and that is to replace the corrupt functions.php file.
All you have to do is simply access your personal backups, find the functions.php file (when it didn’t already contain errors) and overwrite it with a backup file using FTP, SFTP or WP-CLI.
Think before you start the process
Restoring your entire site should be the last thing you need to do to get your site back to life. Typically, hosting providers will create daily backups of your site. In this case, you will at most lose changes in the last 24 hours.
Keep copies handy.
It’s okay to be cautious. Create copies of your sites and make as many as you want, but never store them on the servers where the sites themselves are hosted. You should store them in cloud storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive. If you can, keep the same copies on different network drives. This process can be automated.
This way, you reduce the chance of losing backups to almost zero.
Conclusion
WordPress BackUp of your website data is critical to keeping your website running smoothly. In this article, we looked at the best plugins and also shed some light on why backups are important for any website.