Tag Archives: backups

The post 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins appeared first on HostGator Blog . Best WordPress Backup Plugins Chances are you’ve spent a lot of time building and tweaking your website, from theme customizations to setting up plugins, creating pages, writing posts, and adding images. What would happen to you if all this data were lost? Would you have a backup to restore from? Or, would you have to do it all over—from scratch? There are plenty of reasons your site can fail, but instead of going into every case of doom, it’s better to be prepared if it ever does happen. If you run a WordPress site, then one of the best things you can do is utilize a WordPress backup plugin. Below we highlight why you’ll want to use a WordPress backup plugin, and offer a handful of plugins to choose from. Why Would I Use a WordPress Backup Plugin? Most hosts offer their own backup services (HostGator customers can sign up for CodeGuard here ), and although you should take advantage of these, you may want to supplement these backups with backups of your own . A WordPress backup plugin will simplify the backup process so you don’t have to think about it, but there’s always a version of your site you can restore from if need be. Think of a WordPress backup plugin like an insurance policy for your website. You’ll still want to protect your site from hackers, but you’re covered if something happens.   7 WordPress Backup Plugins to Consider There are dozens of different WordPress backup plugins for you to consider. To simplify your search we’ve highlighted seven of our favorites below.   1. VaultPress VaultPress was founded by Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress. It’s now part of JetPack, and will automatically backup your entire site, media, posts, comments, and dashboard settings included. In order to use this plugin, you’ll need a subscription to Jetpack . The higher level plans can get expensive, but the features and ease of use might make that cost worthwhile. Also included are things like one-click site restore, customer support, backup storage, and malware and virus scans.   2. BackupBuddy BackupBuddy is a very popular and long-running WordPress backup plugin. You can schedule your backups to run on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Plus, you can have those backups automatically go to Dropbox, Amazon S3, Rackspace, or even have it emailed to yourself. This plugin is a premium plugin, but you only pay on a yearly basis and you get access to plugin updates, user forums, and even 1GB of backup space.   3. BackWPup BackWPup is a very popular and free backup plugin. Its popularity probably comes from how easy this tool is to setup and use. With this plugin, you can create a complete WordPress site backup and have that backup sent to cloud storage, or download it directly to your computer. Plus, restoring your site from a backup is very straightforward with their built-in restoration wizard. There’s also a paid version of this plugin that offers you additional features like site scans and database repair and optimization, and more.   4. Duplicator Duplicator is primarily a site migration and cloning tool, but it can also be used to backup your site as well. The free version of the plugin allows you to manually backup your entire site. Now, the free version isn’t automated, but for sites that don’t change very often, it can be a solid solution. There is a paid version of the plugin , which includes scheduled backups that you can send to cloud storage providers like Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Google Drive.   5. UpdraftPlus UpdraftPlus is a popular and free WordPress plugin. With this plugin, you can create a complete backup of your site to store on your own computer, or via cloud storage, like Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, Rackspace, and more. You have the ability to created scheduled backups, or even on-demand backups with this plugin. There’s also a premium version of the plugin , which will offer you additional features like migrating or cloning a site, support for multiple sites, premium-level support, and much more.   6. BackUpWordPress BackUpWordpress is another very popular and free backup plugin. This plugin allows you to schedule automatic backups, so you don’t have to remember to backup your site. It’ll backup your entire site, including all of your site’s file and databases. However, in order to send your backups to a cloud storage provider, you’ll need to purchase an extension .   7. Backup & Restore Dropbox Like the name suggests Backup & Restore Dropbox will backup your WordPress site and send that backup to Dropbox. If you currently use Dropbox as your preferred cloud storage provider, then this is a great option. All of the backups are fully automated; all you have to do is authorize the connection to your Dropbox account. By using a WordPress backup plugin you’re safeguarding your site in case your data is lost, or you need to restore your site to a previous version. It’s always a good idea to have multiple fail-safes in place, from host backups to additional backups from a WordPress plugin.   Back Up Your WordPress Site Any of the plugins above will be a great option to provide you with consistent, high-quality backups. For added security and peace of mind, make sure you sign up for a backup service through your web host. HostGator customers can schedule daily site backups through CodeGuard . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →