Maintaining regular backups of your WordPress site is an absolute must for all website owners. Even the smallest of sites that rarely gets updated should still be performing regular backups of both the files & database. The emergence of managed WordPress hosting companies have made many sites safer than before, but security vulnerabilities and hardware failures can still occur.
There’s a ton of WordPress backup services out there; some are great, others are so-so. I’ll talk about your options in a general sense first, and then provide a list of basic features for each WordPress backup option.
Main Criteria
There are a few different criteria you should consider before choosing a backup solution:
Free vs. Premium
Your free WordPress backup plugins won’t cost you anything upfront, but they won’t come with much support outside of community forums. There are high-quality, free options, but there are also some free plugins I’d stay away from.
Premium backup solutions will cost you a few bucks (both one-time & monthly subscriptions available), but come with more features and usually guaranteed support. You’re far less likely to come across a sub-par backup solution if you’re paying for it.
Self-Managed vs. Included with Service
A self-managed solution is one in which you, the website owner, are responsible for administering the backup. It’s your responsibility to make sure the backups are working, keep the files safe & know how to restore your site should something go wrong. Most free solutions fall under this category.
“Included with service” means that you’re paying someone else to take care of all that for you. Examples would include hosting providers who do regular backups, or any third-party backup service who offers customer support. Most premium solutions fall under this category.
Files vs. Database
These are the two main parts that make up your WordPress site. I won’t go into detail here because most services/plugins provide a way to backup both, but it might still be worth asking if you’re unsure.
Now that you have an idea what to look for, let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress backup services out there. These are high-level overviews of each option, but for those that I’ve personally used, I’ll include links for more detailed reviews.
List of WordPress Backup Services
VaultPress [premium]
- Owned & operated by Automattic, the creators of WordPress
- Daily backups (with option for realtime)
- 30-day backup archive (with option for full archive)
- Daily security checks (with email alerts)
- Download backup files, or restore with one-click
- Also includes stats to track the activity on your site
- Limited multi-site support
Plans start at $5/mo/site or $55/yr/site.
CodeGuard [premium]
- Not a WordPress plugin, but super-easy to setup
- Daily backups (some plans offer on-demand)
- Lifetime archive
- Download backup files, or restore with one-click
- Realtime file-monitoring (with email notifications)
14-day free trial. Plans start at $5/mo/site with discounts for 2- and 3-year commitments.
BackupBuddy [premium]
- Owned & operated by reputable WordPress theme & plugin company, iThemes
- Store backups on Amazon S3, Dropbox or Rackspace Cloud
- Schedule backups daily, weekly or monthly
- Restore your entire site, just your database, or individual files
- Malware & security scanning
Plans start at $80/yr ($3.33/mo/site) for up to 2 sites.
BackWPup [free & premium]
Free version
- Managed by reputable WordPress theme & plugin company, MarketPress
- Schedule backups at any interval
- Additional database repair options
- Store backups on FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox, Rackspace Cloud, Microsoft Azure, SugarSync
- Multi-site support
Premium version
- Premium support
- Store backups on Google Drive & Amazon Glacier
Download for free or buy the premium version starting at $75/yr/site, renewing at $45/yr/site for subsequent years
BackUpWordPress [free & premium]
Free version
- Owned & operated by WordPress.com VIP partner, humanmade
- Schedule backups at any interval
- Backups stored on your server only
- Exclude files & folders from the backup
Premium version
- Priority support
- Backup to Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Windows Azure, Rackspace Cloud, Dreamhost DreamObjects
Download the free version or go premium for $99/yr for unlimited sites.
WP Engine [included w/ hosting]
- Popular WordPress managed hosting company
- Daily & on-demand backups
- Download backup files, or restore with one-click
- Separate file & database restore
- 30-day backup archive
GoDaddy [included w/ hosting]
- Large company w/ WordPress-only hosting options
- Daily backups
- 30-day backup archive
- One-click restore
- Separate file & database restore
- Cannot download backup files
WP-DB-Backup [free]
- Quick’n’easy
- Backs up your database only
- Store backups on your server, download or email them
- Include/Exclude certain database tables
I include this option if you need a really quick, easy way to grab a copy of your database. This plugin has not been updated in a few years, but it’s still safe to install & run. I would deactivate it when not in use, and I would not recommend this as a long-term backup solution. Download for free
What WordPress backup service are you using? What do you like most about it?
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