It’s a good idea to create backups of your WordPress site frequently since doing so may save you time and trouble in the case of a cyberattack, a faulty plugin or WordPress update, or a mistake in the coding.
If your website has been recently updated and you have a backup, you may undo them all by restoring the backup in the event of a disaster. The favorable aspect is that most popular web hosting service providers now provide frequent, automated backups, but these features typically come at a hefty premium. While they automate the entire process, it still sounds like a lot of money to spend on backup unless you own a large business or your WordPress site generates a hundred times its cost in revenue per year. Therefore, WordPress backup plugins might be an excellent option for those on a strict budget or without money. These WordPress backup plugins often include a free version that should be suitable for most users.
However, by shelling out some cash, you may have access to other, more advanced options, such as automated backups and more. In addition, the cost of these backups will be far lower than what you would pay your web host for similar protection.
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Things to Consider When Looking for a WordPress Backup Plugin
Maintaining the safety of your website necessitates regular backups. If your website goes down for whatever reason, you may restore it from a previous backup.
Because there are so many, selecting the best WordPress backup plugin or the most popular theme that suits your needs might be challenging. This article provides a compiled list of the best WordPress backup plugins currently available, along with a description of what each one has to offer.
But first, let’s talk about what features a good WordPress backup plugin should have. One by one, let’s talk about them.
Automation Backup Frequency
Whenever you allow the plugin to store the data regularly automatically, now is the time to remember that the plugin supports scheduled backups. That’s possible with services like Dropbox and Google Drive, depending on the plugin.
You could also use an incremental backup plugin to ensure the changes are backed up. It will assist in reducing the load that is placed on the server.
One Click Restore
The purpose of creating regular backups of your website is to increase the speed with which you can restore the data if something goes wrong. Because of this, the backup plugin you choose should contain a function that allows you to restore data with only one click. If your website has to be restored, the process must go quickly.
Storage Availability
Take a look at the amount of data that the plugin can store. While other plugins allow you to create full backups of your WordPress database, some provide you with the ability to create partial backups. This will create a backup of your whole website, your database, and the data stored in WordPress, including any blogs, pages, media files, plugins, or themes you have installed.
Pricing
Your budget could limit your plugin’s quality and features. On a tighter budget, you can only use some of the features available in backup plugins. Several useful plugins are available for free, and that’s a big help. If your financial resources are more flexible, you can purchase a plugin that includes all you require.
Migration
If you’re using WordPress and want to move your site to a different host or website builder in the future, you should install a plugin that makes that process easier. Changing the domain and doing a find-and-replace in phpMyAdmin to restore the site migration is not the same as migrating. Consequently, locating a plugin that can perform this without hassle is the best option.
Top 7 WordPress Backup Plugins
So, here we have our list of the top WordPress backup plugins.
UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus is one of the greatest free WordPress backup plugins available on the internet. After all, more than 3 million individuals now use it on their WordPress websites, and even though more than 6000 people have left reviews on the WordPress.org website, its overall rating is an impressive 4.8 stars.
Also, this is the only WordPress backup plugin that has reached the 2 million downloads mark as UpdraftPlus has. This plugin is also the most highly rated free WordPress backup plugin available at WordPress.org. What this demonstrates is the confidence individuals have in UpdraftPlus’s popularity.
Almost all WordPress sites, including those with older WordPress installations, may use UpdraftPlus because it is compatible with Version 3.2 and beyond. Furthermore, you should upgrade your WordPress installation if you’re using a more than a few years old version.
This WordPress plugin lets you make a full backup without spending any money and save it in the cloud or on your computer. By integrating UpdraftPlus with your cloud service of choice, you may set up automated backups at any time convenient.
To generate and recover backups, the free version of UpdraftPlus is more than enough; however, a commercial edition of UpdraftPlus is also available. Features like website duplication, migration, and backup of both WordPress and non-WP files and databases are at your disposal.
Additionally, both database encryption and WP-CLI are supported in the premium edition. The first year costs $70, and the premium plan offered support for two websites but had a price. Once the initial year has passed, the annual fee drops to $42. You shouldn’t pay too much for UpdraftPlus at this point. Those features are only available in the premium edition of the plugin, which you should consider purchasing if you require them.
Click here to read introducing 5 Top WordPress Cache Plugins in 2023.
BackWPup
BackWPup, a free WordPress backup plugin, was chosen for this roundup due to its high level of use and the many useful functions it provides despite its low price tag.
You can produce backups in zip, tar, and tar.gz using BackWPup, and then store those backups in a remote site such as Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, RackSpaceCloud, or SugarSync. You can also store backups on a file transfer protocol (FTP) server in addition to your own computer.
As well as doing backups, BackWPup can also optimize, inspect, and repair your databases. Email notifications make it simple to monitor backups and activity logs. Multi-site support is also available for network administrators.
While BackWPup does its job well as a free plugin, it’s only fair to disclose that a paid version adds additional functionality and provides far better support. For instance, WordPress backend backups may be easily restored with only a few clicks for premium users, thanks to extra storage choices (Amazon Glacier, Google Drive). You may also encrypt backups and restore whole websites from secure storage. Moreover, BackWPup may be used independently without needing any other software.
Paid plans range in price from $69 per year for the Standard plan to $349 per year for the Agency plan. One full year of updates and priority support is included with every plan.
WP Clone by WP Academy
Is there a free plugin you can recommend for backing up WordPress? The WP Clone service provided by WP Academy may be just what you need. Use this free tool to effortlessly and quickly copy, move, or clone your WordPress site to a new domain or hosting service. Usually, hosting services include VPS hosting or VPS Windows Servers, dedicated servers hosting, cloud hosting and colocation hosting, etc.
This free WordPress backup plugin has more than 100,000 live installs because of this feature. PHP 5.5 and WordPress 3.3 or later are required for this plugin to function properly.
The latest version of WordPress supported by WP Clone is 5.8.2, so there’s no need to worry about compatibility issues. You can use this plugin to copy a website on a local server, transfer it to another server, or clone it.
WP Clone’s ability to create backups and clones without needing FTP access is one of its best features. Once the plugin is enabled, it may take care of anything from inside the WordPress control panel.
WP Clone’s strength also lies in the fact that it does not copy WordPress’s core files. Instead, it restores the user’s database and all their plugin and theme data. It not only decreases the time it takes to post but also increases the safety of your website.
WP Clone has a high percentage of success, and the good news is that they admit their success rate is not 100%. Most backup and migration methods fail, however, because of mismatched configurations. If this is the case, use WP Clone to back up your database and then use FTP to transfer over to the wp-content folder.
BlogVault
BlogVault is the next plugin on our list and serves as a WordPress backup. BlogVault’s website claims they have provided services to over 450K websites, whereas WordPress.org reports that the free version of this plugin currently has over 90K+ active installations.
We highly recommend this plugin if you want to back up your WordPress site. Precise metrics are more important to me than the fact that it is effective. If you want to install and use BlogVault, your site must use PHP 5.4 or above and WordPress 4.0 or higher.
This plugin’s lack of free availability is a major drawback, though. Premium services from BlogVault range from $89 to $249 a year for a single website. As a result, BlogVault is not a viable choice if you’re seeking a free WordPress backup plugin.
But if you’re willing to spend that much money on WordPress site backup, BlogVault is worth looking into. It’s a fantastic add-on that has a tonne of useful functions.
One of BlogVault’s finest features is its ability to store backups offsite for 90 days, with support for extensions for up to 365 days. The fact that your website’s backups are kept on a different server means that you will always have a copy of them, even if the server hosting your website crashes.
With BlogVault’s staging feature, you can make changes and updates to your website without worrying about them going live without any problems. In the process of rolling out updates, modifying features, or doing other tasks, this function may be useful. BlogVault also has excellent availability and responsiveness in its customer service department.
BackupBuddy
To easily create backups of your WordPress site, try out BackupBuddy, another paid plugin. iThemes’s Backup & Restore Plugin is one of the most widely used backup solutions.
BackupBuddy, however, does not provide a free version. BackupBuddy is not a viable option if you’re seeking the top free WordPress backup plugin. Try out BackupBuddy’s premium services risk-free because they provide a 30-day money-back guarantee.
In addition to being a solid backup plugin, BackupBuddy’s easy security features may help you feel safe about the safety of your WordPress site. If you use BackupBuddy, for instance, you may use its malware scan function, which performs routine scans of your website in search of vulnerabilities and malicious code.
Database scan and repair is another useful feature of this plugin that can resolve common database problems and enhance performance. Moving websites across servers may be daunting for those who need more technical expertise, but BackupBuddy streamlines the process.
Changing your website’s domain name is also a breeze thanks to the change your domain option, eliminating the need to make any adjustments to the database. Any URLs now employing your old domain will be automatically modified to use your new one.
Easy deployment and testing of your WordPress updates are two of the many benefits of using BackupBuddy as your go-to backup and disaster recovery solution. You may also use BackupBuddy to transfer your websites to a new domain.
Also read 50+ Best WordPress Plugins You Must Have [2023].
Duplicator
Another excellent WordPress backup plugin, Duplicator, has been downloaded over 25 million times and has over a million active installs. While Duplicator’s primary use case is as a tool for moving websites, its ability to create backups within WordPress makes it a great option for anybody needing such a service.
The Duplicator plugin for WordPress has received over 4000 reviews and still maintains a solid 4.9-star rating. The popularity of this plugin for website migration and backups is evidence of its reliability.
This plugin has been tested with the current stable release of WordPress, version 5.8. And the developers of Duplicator are always tweaking it to make it better. For this reason, you may stop worrying about compatibility problems.
Duplicator’s ability to clone existing sites is a major selling point. The ability to create a clone of a live site or migrate it with no downtime is provided by this function. Additionally, this function may copy your existing website to a local host environment where you can make changes.
The ability to back up automatically is separate from the basic version. The only method to make copies is to do it by hand. The good news is that making backups takes a few clicks and is a very straightforward process.
The annual fee for Duplicator’s pro edition, which may use on three websites, is only $69. Features unique to Duplicator Pro include a faster two-step setup process, automated cloud backups, recovery points, and drag-and-drop installation.
WPvivid Backup Plugin
WPvivid is the last item on the list. WPVivid is a relatively new backup plugin. However, it already has over 100K active installs. And the reviews on WordPress.org are all five stars!
In only a few clicks, you can generate a website backup using WPvivid. It also allows you to back up the full website and all its contents or simply the database. Also, WPvivid will remember the directories you manually select for inclusion in future backups.
You can schedule regular backups and run them every 12 hours, 24 hours, seven days, or one month. It is possible to have these backups uploaded directly to a cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and others regularly.
In addition, WPvivid’s powerful clone and migration feature make it simple to move your site to another host. You can migrate the whole site, just the files, or only the database.
A staging feature allows you to test your development, theme, plugin, and other website modifications in a subdirectory. You may choose which parts of the current website you want to replicate to the staging site.
The only real negative is that most of WPvivid’s capabilities are locked behind a Pro subscription. This is the sole justification for its place at the bottom of our rankings. WPvivid Backup Plugin is a solid option, however, if you’re prepared to invest a little money on a reliable backup plugin.
Final Thoughts
There’s a plethora of options when it comes to WordPress backup plugins. Many more backup plugins are available, but these feature everything a top-notch WordPress backup plugin should. Not only the price and convenience but also the features, safety, and dependability of these options are considered. Remember that the point of backups is to prevent data loss and choose a reliable program accordingly.
Also, there are other options for protecting a WordPress site, but we find plugins to be the most convenient and secure. They weigh less than a shed load and require minimal setup time.
Consider your demands and money while deciding between the free and paid versions. While there are many fantastic free options, the truth is that paid plugins typically offer a few extra features and far better support.
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