WordPress Backup Plugins I Recommend
WordPress backup plugin should be part of each and every blog install to ensure successful disaster recovery. In fact I consider WordPress database backup as well as unique files to be absolutely crucial part and it is the last part of concept I have pioneered and explained in “Triple ‘P’ of Total WordPress Security”
But with multitude of options available – What WordPress backup plugin should you use? Which one will be the best option for you?
In this post I want to go over couple plugins I have personally use successfully and will show you How To Backup WordPress automatically and ensure you can recover your blog IF disaster strikes and your blog becomes a victim of a hack.
When it comes to plugins that provide you with backup functionality you have multitude of options but today I will concentrate on 2 very specific plugins, not only because of the simplicity they offer but also because i have tested them personally and KNOW they produce the results, at least in standard host configurations…
My goal here is NOT to overload you with options and choices but give you information you can use – right now!
WordPress Database Backup Plugin
A solid performing plugin I have used on my blogs for at least couple of years. It does one thing and does it exceptionally well – creates a full database backup and gives you options to either store it locally, get a direct download or email it to you.
Obviously our goal is automation so email backup makes most sense and I personally use a dedicated gmail account that allows me to store large amount of data for free and most importantly – gives me access to daily backup no matter where disaster might find me!
If I need to restore database to previously working good configuration all I have to do is login into my gmail account, download “last known good” backup and restore it using phpMyAdmin. I teach the entire process in both “Lock Your Blog“ (free digital access) and “Expert WordPress” (members core training).
I recommend you also use a scheduled backup option, just be advised – anytime you add new plugins that create their own database tables – you need to revisit configuration and be sure to include it into daily backup!
I highlighted option in image below, you can find them under Tools->Backup menu:
I love this plugin for peace of mind it provides but you have to be aware that it only does WordPress Database backup, just as it name states and you are still left with manual work backing up important files from your blog.
Second plugin I want to talk about is also free but gives you pretty much complete solution, if you configure it correctly…
BackWPup Plugin
I have tested this plugin on both single standalone blog as well as latest WordPress 3.0.1 Multi-Site configuration. Once you install the plugin, and it could be done as always by simply searching for term through your admin panel, you need to configure its options.
By default it does a very good job of determining your blog host important information, such as location of files, your administrative email, etc., but I recommend you do some tweaking in at least a few places under Tools->BackWPup menu:
Change, if necessary sender email and sender name – you want to be sure you can easily recognize it.
Once you have configured general settings – you need to actually create the backup job and schedule it:
Once you click “Add New” you will be provided with interface to configure all available options. I will cover configuring your blog to be backed up to Amazon S3, as it provides super cheap storage and it is accessible to you from ANY place in the world, as long as you have internet connection. To me it makes most sense and this is how I personally tested it.
I will show below configuration options I used on one of my MU blogs and explain them, so you could make decision on what fits your needs.
- Your backup job name, something that identifies it uniquely
- Database tables to exclude – an option available to you although it makes no sense to exclude anything as you are trying to create a backup you can use to restore your blog
- Job Type – I personally use WordPress database backup and WordPress files backup as it gives me everything I need to restore my blog back to full working configuration if something happens.
- Job Schedule – this is where you pick time of the day for job to run and also how often to run it. I prefer to do it right around midnight and daily.
- File Backup options – you are provided with list of WordPress folders to include into backup and right below it – EXCLUDE options. It is important to understand that by placing a check mark into those fields will tell plugin NOT TO BACK it up. And as you can see for nightly backup I choose not to backup a lot of folders, but that s because I choose to run complete backup on less frequent schedule as separate job.
- If you have any custom folders you are provided with option to include them into back and also option to exclude some specific files or folders. “error_log” generated by Apache is a great candidate for exclusion.
- Backup file template name – something that will uniquely identify which blog this backup is coming from.
In next screenshot we will discuss your “backup to” options. I will concentrate on Amazon S3 but important note here – everything else you are not going to use – delete all default data, to avoid creating backups where you are not intended, such as “Backup to directory”
First you need to provide email address where the log will be sent to – I recommend you do not choose to send email only on errors – you need to be aware that your backup job is running properly and doing its job.
Next – delete ALL text except in what you need, in case above, Amazon S3 Backup Options.
Fill your Amazon S3 Access Information, choose a bucket to store your backup into (choices will be provided as soon as access info verified by plugin), and choose storage options.
My Recommendation for Backing WordPress Up To Amazon S3
- Create 2 different buckets – one for nightly backups of ONLY the files you know could be changed and database. Exclude all the non-changing directories, such as wp-admin, includes, plugins, themes, etc. Use second bucket for Weekly or Monthly backups and store COMPLETE blog backup there
- Create 2 different jobs – one for nightly as discussed above and one for full backup, using whatever schedule fits you.
Using strategy above you can have a full backup storing only 2-3 files to save on storage expenses and yet giving you opportunity to recover your blog quickly and nightly backup that will contain any changes, consider it incremental backup.
IMPORTANT: both plugins I mentioned above provide only backup files and while second one gives you option to restore database – I do it always by hand. Not because I don’t trust them – I just prefer it that way.
Related WordPress articles
- Backup Your WordPress Blog Before You Upgrade: A Lesson Learned (thebloggersbulletin.org)
- 35 Security Plugins to Make Your WordPress Bulletproof (1stwebdesigner.com)
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About The Blog Author
Alex Sysoef is an IT Consultant, Internet Marketer and ProBlogger who shares his passion and knowledge of WordPress, SEO, Social Media and traffic strategies on his blog WordPress Howto Spotter. Connect on Twitter or Facebook
55 Responses to “WordPress Backup Plugins I Recommend”
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[...] haven’t been upgraded officially to support 3.1 – they work.As always - you want to do a backup of at least your database before taking the plunge but I don’t see any reason with delaying the step. Our Expert [...]
What about WordPress Importer? That’s what I use, although I will admit its not as good as what WordPress Database Backup Plugin looks like!
Christopher Roberts recently posted..Google Instant
Well, I haven’t used that plugin. Two I recommend here do a very specific task that allows me to restore my blog to its full functionality. I prefer to recommend only what I know works and not create endless lists of “possible” solutions.
The importer merely allows you to import/export blog to blog; to use this for “backup”, you’d have to keep a duplicate blog.
Being the techie dunce I am, I prefer to just give Hostgator a shout, and my blog is back up and running n minutes.
Dennis Edell recently posted..See You October 1st-ish
Thanks Dennis,
I don’t like to rely on hosting company when it comes to my business. Unfortunately what you describe is not very common and I can guarantee you that most hosts will not have as good backup as one you create yourself, unless its part of the service you are paying for.
Actually just installed WordPress Database Backup Plugin and done a backup.
It seems to have worked, and it emailed it to me
It did take about half an hour though, then fell over, then I restarted and it took around a minute!
I can definitely recommend this to your readers Alex!
Christopher Roberts recently posted..WordPress
I certainly appreciate the information about the different backups. I think they are very important and I personally use WP Database backup myself. Anyone reading this should be listening and implementing what you have told them about backing up their website. Thanks for the information.
Yeah, I use it on most of my blogs as well but BackWPUp is definitely offers options that beat it and I’m already testing and implementing it.
Twitter: netchunks
says:
Even though there are a lot of Database Backup Plugins out there but I think these two that you have mentioned are the best. I have not used BackWPUp but have heard of it a lot, might as well try it out. I have been using WP DB Backup and it is quite a nice plugin
Shiva recently posted..Digging Into WordPress 30 Review Discount Coupon Code
Thanks Shiva,
Please note I edited your comment to remove keywords from name, please be sure to read the comment guidelines because next time it will not be approved.
Hi Alex, Thanks for the great write up on “BackWPup” plugin. I use the first one, but have not seen this one before. It looks like it does everything you need, unless I missed something.
I will give it a try.
Herschel recently posted..Facebook password has been changed! ID619
No, you didn’t
It actually works quite nicely on both stand-alone WP blog and WP Blog in Multi-site configuration. As long as you are willing to go through restore by hand – its a great solution. For me – it works
Ah great detailed guide. It’s so important to have WP backup plugins because it’ll really save you when you’re in a mess. Can’t stress the important of always backing up your data.
Mandy June recently posted..Double Dip Recession- What Is It and Should You Be Worried
I’m certainly going to need these when i make some changes tomorrow, thanks for this, will be of great help.
Sure, glad I could help!
Yeah, you never think you need backup until something fails. But personally I’m quite happy with simple posts export .xml file.
Slava recently posted..Reasons to visit Plitvice Lakes
And its fine just keep in mind that .xml export file doesn’t include your blog important files, such as theme, any plugins you might have purchased, uploads folder that contains all you images, audio, etc . XML export file works fine for migrating currently running blog to another host but I would never recommend anyone to use it as backup option!
Thank you for this article. Thats all I can say. You most definitely have made this blog into something speciel.
Thanks for the great post. I’ve downloaded the plugin and activated it. When I try to back up I get the following error. THought you might be able to help.
The following errors were reported: fsockopen() [function.fsockopen]: unable to connect to localhost:25 (Connection refused)
Thanks in advance,
Cary
Cary Ganz recently posted..JumpStart2 – Getting You The YouTube Placement Your Video Deserves
Hi Alex!
Thanks for sharing, I always install wp db backup, but just activated it and never touched actuall settings and made a backup. Screenshots & detailed explanation definitely help! Bookmarked
Anton recently posted..Time To Share Some Failures
Sure thing,
Backup is one of the first things I always configure on new blog
and highly recommend you do same, you will thank me later
Thanks howtospoter for the detailed tutorial on wp back up.We cannot rely on hosting company for everything.If anything adverse happens to the hosting company servers our entire hardwork should not go to waste.
Linda recently posted..Causes of Eczema – What Causes Eczema
Thanks for the great explanation on BackWPup. I’d not come across that before and I was looking for a better solution than the one I’m currently using to back up my gardening blog. I shudder when I hear of bloggers making massive changes to their blog without taking a backup! Periodic backups are important too of course. While I have used a host backup restore once, I’d not rely on that.
Alison Kerr recently posted..Why Lettuce is Better Than Cabbage
Thanks Alison,
yeah, my experience with hosts is simple – rely on yourself or you will be sorry.
Twitter: volaer
says:
Alex, what about a back from being made from your host. Is it good enough? Frequent data back up is good, but as data base goes larger and larger, backing up makes it harder and harder. And it consumes a lot of space.
Which one is better, a back up from this plugins, or a backup generated from cpanel itself?
Vince recently posted..Create A MAP To Build Your Brand
Vince,
I would always rely on my own backup. As data grows larger – evaluate what you have to backup frequently and what is less changing – backup accordingly.
Twitter: volaer
says:
By the way, please do know however that I really believe that back up is very very important. I had this experience with my last blog, it was hacked. Huge mistake for me:
1, I forgot that my browser was set to be saving passwords.
2. My host installed the wordpress for me which I think they just used Fantastico which bears the generic data base name…
Poor blog… I ended up refunding. Now I get another one. And this time, I know its better by following your Lock Your WordPress program.:)
Thanks a lot Alex. This is why I really can\’t get off from this blog. This is one of the most helpful blogs that I read.:)
Vince recently posted..Create A MAP To Build Your Brand
I’m getting “Logs Folder not exists:” & “Logs Folder not writeable:” with BackWPup. Any idea on what’s wrong? Tried the developer’s site but it’s all German.
Jane,
That means you need to create a logs folder it is looking for and give it appropriate permissions. In error message it should specify which folder it is looking for and in which location – create it, then using cPanel file manager change permissions first to 755 and try and if doesn’t work, 777 on that folder. Permissions will depend on your host and how they have compiled their PHP