Top 5 backup plugins for WordPress

Why are backups necessary in wordpress?

WordPress is a widely used blogging platform by web developers, bloggers and companies. Every day there is an increase in the number of blogs and websites running on WordPress.

You may find WordPress helpful if you are a newbie blogger and want to start a blog. But you will be in big trouble if you run out of time and accidentally delete a few critical files. If backups are present, You can restore the files to their original state and get them working without hassle.

Let me tell you three common reasons you need to backup your website and data.

• The first reason is hackers can hack and delete your site or blog.
• The second reason is that you may lose data due to viruses and malware attacks.
• And the third reason is that you may accidentally delete some important files.

Top 5 backup plugins for WordPress

There are many WordPress backup plugins available, both free and paid. Here are some of the best ones:

1. UpdraftPlus

This is one of the most popular WordPress backup plugins and is trusted worldwide by over 3+ million WordPress users. It offers free and premium packages, which are loaded with features.

UpdraftPlus is a highly regarded backup plugin for WordPress that has gained popularity for its extensive features and user-friendly interface. Here are some key features and benefits of UpdraftPlus:

• Easy Backup and Restoration: UpdraftPlus allows you to schedule automatic backups of your WordPress site and its database. You can choose from different backup frequencies, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. It also supports on-demand backups that you can initiate manually. You can easily restore your backups with just a few clicks.
• Remote Storage Options: UpdraftPlus offers a wide range of remote storage options to store your backups securely. You can save your backups to cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, Microsoft OneDrive, and more. It also supports FTP, SFTP, and email backups.
• Incremental Backups: With UpdraftPlus, you can perform incremental backups. This means that after the initial full backup, subsequent backups will only include the changes made since the last backup. This helps save storage space and reduces backup times.
• Site Migration and Cloning: UpdraftPlus includes migration and cloning features, allowing you to move or duplicate your WordPress site easily. You can create a complete site copy, including files, database, themes, and plugins, and then migrate it to a new host or domain.
• Additional Add-Ons: UpdraftPlus offers various premium add-ons that extend its functionality. These add-ons include advanced reporting, multisite support, remote storage destinations, enhanced security, and more. You can choose the add-ons that suit your specific needs.

Overall, UpdraftPlus is a powerful and reliable backup plugin that provides comprehensive backup and restoration solutions for WordPress sites. Its intuitive interface and wide range of features make it a popular choice among WordPress users.

2. BlogVault

This plugin is said to be the fastest and most reliable WordPress backup plugin available. It offers both free and premium packages.

BlogVault is a comprehensive backup and security plugin specifically designed for WordPress. It offers a range of features beyond regular backups, making it a popular choice among WordPress users.

Here are some key features and benefits of BlogVault:

• Automated Backups: BlogVault provides automated backups of your WordPress site, including files, databases, plugins, themes, and media. It offers incremental backups, which means only the changes made since the last backup are stored, ensuring faster and more efficient backups.
• Off-site Storage: BlogVault stores your backups on its secure cloud servers. This ensures that your backups are stored separately from your website, providing an extra layer of protection in case of server issues or data loss.
• Easy Restoration: BlogVault offers a one-click restore feature, allowing you to restore your website to a previous state effortlessly. You can restore specific files or the entire site, making it convenient and user-friendly.
• Staging and Migration: BlogVault includes a staging feature that allows you to create a replica of your site to test updates, plugins, or themes before implementing them on your live site. It also facilitates easy site migration by helping you move your WordPress site from one domain or host to another without hassle.
• Security Features: Along with backups, BlogVault offers a range of security features to protect your WordPress site. It includes malware scanning, firewall protection, and login protection, ensuring your site is secure and protected from potential threats.
• Incremental Sync: BlogVault can sync your website backups with your cloud storage provider, like Dropbox or Google Drive. This enables an additional layer of redundancy and provides an extra backup copy in a location of your choice.

Overall, BlogVault is a powerful backup and security solution for WordPress users. Its comprehensive features, ease of use, and reliable performance make it a popular choice among website owners looking for a robust backup plugin with added security measures.

3. Jetpack

This plugin offers a suite of features, including backups, security scanning, and spam protection. It offers both free and premium packages.

Jetpack is a powerful plugin for WordPress developed by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. It offers a wide range of features to enhance your WordPress website’s security, performance, and functionality.

Here are some key features of Jetpack:

• Site Security: Jetpack includes a suite of security tools to protect your website from malicious attacks. It provides features like brute force attack protection, downtime monitoring, spam filtering, and secure logins.
• Website Performance: Jetpack offers various performance optimization features, such as image and video CDN (Content Delivery Network) for faster content delivery, lazy loading of images to improve page loading times, and website caching for improved performance.
• Traffic Growth: Jetpack provides tools to help you increase traffic to your website. It includes social media sharing features, related posts suggestions, site statistics, and automatic social media posting to promote your content.
• Website Design and Customization: Jetpack offers a range of design and customization options, including hundreds of free themes, customization tools for modifying the appearance of your site, and CSS editing capabilities for advanced users.
• Backup and Restore: Jetpack includes automated daily backups of your website’s content, including posts, pages, comments, and media. These backups can be easily restored with a single click, providing peace of mind in case of any data loss or accidental changes.
• Content Creation and Publishing: Jetpack provides a distraction-free writing interface, content scheduling, and advanced content options such as Markdown support, custom content types, and enhanced gallery features.

Jetpack is available in both free and premium versions, with the premium version unlocking additional advanced features and priority support. It is a comprehensive plugin that offers a wide range of tools to enhance your WordPress website’s security, performance, and functionality, making it a popular choice for many WordPress users.

4. BackupBuddy

This plugin offers a complete backup solution for your WordPress website. It is a premium plugin that offers a range of features including automatic backups, off-site storage, and one-click restore.

BackupBuddy is a premium backup plugin for WordPress that offers comprehensive backup and restoration solutions for your website. It is developed by iThemes, a well-known WordPress plugin and theme company.

Here are the key features of BackupBuddy:

• Full Site Backups: BackupBuddy allows you to create complete backups of your WordPress site, including all files, themes, plugins, media, and the database. You can choose to perform manual backups or schedule automatic backups at regular intervals.
• Multiple Storage Options: BackupBuddy provides various storage options for your backups, including cloud services like Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP, and even backup to email. This flexibility allows you to choose a storage solution that suits your needs and preferences.
• Easy Restoration: Restoring your website from a backup is made simple with BackupBuddy. It provides a straightforward restoration process, allowing you to easily and quickly recover your site in case of data loss, site migration, or other emergencies.
• Site Migration and Cloning: BackupBuddy includes a migration feature that allows you to easily move your WordPress site to a new domain or host. It also enables you to create site clones, which can be useful for creating staging environments or duplicating your site for testing purposes.
• Incremental Backups: BackupBuddy offers incremental backups, meaning it only backs up changes made to your site since the last backup. This helps save server resources and reduces backup time for subsequent backups.
• Advanced Backup Settings: BackupBuddy provides various advanced settings that allow you to customize your backup process. You can choose specific files or directories to exclude from backups, set backup file size limits, and even set up email notifications for backup activities.

BackupBuddy is a robust backup plugin trusted by many WordPress users for its comprehensive backup solutions, easy restoration process, and additional features like site migration and cloning. While it is a premium plugin, its features and reliable performance make it a popular choice for those seeking a professional backup solution for their WordPress websites.

5. Duplicator

This plugin allows you to create a backup of your entire WordPress website including all files, themes, plugins, and databases. It offers both free and premium packages.

Duplicator is a popular plugin for WordPress that offers backup, migration, and cloning capabilities. It is developed by Snap Creek, a company specializing in website backup and migration solutions.

Here are the key features of Duplicator:

• Site Migration and Cloning: Duplicator allows you to easily migrate your WordPress site from one server to another or clone your entire site for testing or development purposes. It packages your site into a single archive file, including all files, themes, plugins, databases, and configurations, making transferring or duplicating your site convenient.
• Backup and Restoration: Duplicator enables you to create full backups of your WordPress site, allowing you to save a copy of your website’s files and database. These backups can be stored on your local machine, cloud storage services, or transferred to another server. The plugin also provides a simple process to restore your site from a backup quickly.
• Easy Deployment: With Duplicator, you can effortlessly deploy your WordPress site to a new location. The plugin streamlines the process by handling the necessary database creation and configuration, making setting up a duplicate site or moving your site to a new domain or host easier.
• Advanced Options: Duplicator offers various advanced options to customize your backup and migration process. You can exclude specific files, directories, or database tables from backups, set up filters to include or exclude certain content and adjust the package settings to optimize the process based on your needs.
• Multisite Support: Duplicator also supports WordPress Multisite, allowing you to migrate or clone individual sites within a network or even duplicate the entire Multisite installation.

Duplicator is a widely used plugin that simplifies the backup, migration, and cloning processes for WordPress websites. Its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and support for advanced options make it a valuable tool for developers, site owners, and anyone looking to move or duplicate their WordPress site easily.

What are the pros and cons of each backup plugin?

Here are some pros and cons of each plugin:

Which backup plugin do you recommend?

A recommended backup plugin for WordPress is UpdraftPlus. It is a widely used and highly regarded backup plugin that offers a range of features, user-friendly interface, and reliable performance. 90% of my client’s sites, I use UpdraftPlus, and it is convenient for me.

While UpdraftPlus is recommended, evaluating your specific needs and preferences is important. Other backup plugins such as BlogVault, Jetpack, BackupBuddy, and Duplicator also offer excellent features and may be better suited for certain scenarios. Consider factors like the complexity of your site, desired features, budget, and compatibility with your hosting environment when choosing the best backup plugin for your WordPress website.

Bonus: How to install a plugin in WordPress?

To install a plugin in WordPress, you can follow these simple steps:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard. The login page can typically be accessed by adding “/wp-admin” to your website’s URL (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin).
2. Once logged in, navigate to the “Plugins” menu on the left-hand side of the dashboard.
3. Click on the “Add New” button at the top of the Plugins page. This will take you to the Add Plugins page.
4. On the Add Plugins page, you can search for a specific plugin by name in the search box or browse through the Featured, Popular, Recommended, or Favorites sections to find plugins.
5. When you find the plugin you want to install, click the “Install Now” button. WordPress will begin the installation process.
6. After the installation is complete, the “Install Now” button will change to an “Activate” button. Click on the “Activate” button to activate the plugin.
7. Once activated, you may need to configure the plugin’s settings, depending on the plugin’s requirements. This can usually be done by going to the “Settings” or “Plugins” section of the WordPress dashboard.

That’s it! The plugin is now installed and activated on your WordPress website. You can start using its features and functionality according to the instructions provided by the plugin developer.

Note: Sometimes, you may need to manually upload a plugin file if you downloaded it from a third-party source. In such cases, you can click the “Upload Plugin” button on the Add Plugins page and follow the prompts to upload and install the plugin file manually. Choosing reputable plugins from trusted sources and keeping them updated is important to ensure compatibility, security, and performance on your WordPress site.

That’s it! These were my Top 5 backup plugins for WordPress. Let me know if you have any other questions.