Best WordPress Automatic Backup Plugins

One of the best advice you can get is to keep your WordPress blog safe. The best way to do this is to keep WordPress backups .

There are many WordPress backup plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory, but few of them can perform a complete backup.

When we talk about full backup, it means backing up the database and  **the “wp-content folder ** ” . Also, it is always recommended to automatically backup WordPress to make sure you have the latest version of your blog backed up.

Why is it important to backup your WordPress blog?

Most bloggers make the mistake of not backing up their blogs and end up regretting it. If you are one of those bloggers who has not configured a backup system for their blog and are relying on the backup provided by the hosting company, then you are making a big mistake .

Understand that WordPress is a software that runs on PHP and MySQL. All files are stored on your web hosting company.

Generally speaking, anything related to computers and web hosting can crash at any time. A hacker could break into your server or website, or someone could log in and delete your entire WordPress directory. In the end, you'll be left with nothing but the regret that you never created a backup of your WordPress blog. All your hard work will be gone in a flash.

Here is an important rule:

• Your backup file should be stored somewhere remote and reliable . It should not be saved on the same server where your blog is located.

Ironically, it’s actually pretty easy to automatically back up your WordPress blog. Here I’ll discuss three ways you can automatically back up your entire WordPress site on a schedule.

This includes the WordPress database and all related files, including theme files, plugins, and images.

Files that need to be backed up in WordPress:

While you can configure a full backup of your installation , we only want one file and one complete folder as a backup. They are:

• Database backup
• WP-content folder backup

In the WP-content folder, you can exclude those themes that you don't use, and if you keep a lot of old database backups or use other methods to make WordPress database backups, you can exclude the "WordPress DB Backup Directory".

Additionally, you should optimize your database files to reduce backup size.

• Read: How to Optimize WordPress Database Size for Better Performance

Best WordPress backup plugins you can trust:

1. JetPack Backup

I use JetPack to backup ShoutMeLoud. I pay $39 per year and it gives me complete peace of mind. Jetpack Backup (formerly known as VaultPress) is a solution from Automattic (the parent company of WordPress). This solution is perfect for those who need to backup 1-2 blogs.

If you need to backup multiple blogs, I recommend looking for another solution so you don't have to pay too much in monthly fees. Otherwise, for a single blog, Jetpack Backup is a perfect solution that allows you to fully restore your blog from a backup.

To configure it, you can use the Jetpack WordPress plugin . Before that, you need to purchase a plan. I used the Personal plan which cost $39.

On the Personal plan, Jetpack Backup makes a full backup of your blog every day. You can restore your blog from a backup with just one click.

I love the support they offer. Since the people behind it are WordPress experts, your blog backup and security will be taken care of.

View Jetpack Backup

• Read: A full review of the Jetpack Backup plugin .

2. UpdraftPlus Backup and Restore

This is another popular WordPress backup solution.

– UpdraftPlus is available in two versions:

• Lite (free from the WordPress plugin repository)
• Premium version: Official website here

With a rating of 4.9/5 , UpdraftPlus is the most popular backup solution for WordPress . It provides all the features you need to back up your WordPress blog.

What makes this plugin stand out is that it has multiple backup options. With UpdraftPremium, you also get 1GB of UpdraftPlus Vault (their cloud storage) space for free .

UpdraftPlus offers more than just backups. It also has cloning and migration features that allow you to easily migrate your WordPress site from one host to another.

UpdraftPlus is the best choice for people who have multiple WordPress blogs . You only need to configure everything once, and you don’t have to worry about backing up your blogs afterwards.

Get UpdraftPlus Now (Best for 2 or More Sites)

3. ManageWP Backup

ManageWP is a popular service for managing multiple WordPress websites. I have been a loyal user of ManageWP since its launch and use it to manage all the blogs in my network. What I like about ManageWP is that it makes it easy to optimize, update, and track your blogs from one dashboard.

ManageWP offers real-time protection and incremental backups. This means that instead of doing a full backup every time, slowing down your server, it only backs up the files that have changed. It then uploads them to their cloud storage infrastructure.

• The best part about using ManageWP to manage or create backups of your WordPress website is that you don’t have to worry about dealing with the configuration.
• With a one-click switch, you can enable or disable backup. You can use Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, or ManageWP cloud infrastructure for backup.

Note: "Every 24 days" in the above figure means that backup is performed every 24 hours (one day).

To get the best value for your money, ManageWP is the best choice for those who have more than 5 WordPress websites.

View ManageWP

Other free and premium backup solutions for WordPress:

The above three solutions are the best WordPress backup plugins currently available. I will list more free and paid solutions recommended by our community members.

Note: I have listed only those plugins that provide basic functionality such as backing up your database and files, the ability to schedule backups, and support for various other backup services.

1. BackUP WordPress (Free)
2. BackupBuddy (Pro)

Remember : many web hosting companies will back up your blog every day. This is especially true for those using a managed WordPress hosting service like Kinsta or WPEngine . This means you don’t have to set up a third-party backup system.

However, I’m a bit paranoid when it comes to having full control, which is why even though my hosting offers free offsite backups, I always make another backup of ShoutMeLoud using VaultPress and backups of all my other sites using ManageWP .

I hope this guide helped you choose the right backup solution for your WordPress site. Please let us know which one you chose/are currently using and why?

I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments section below.

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Here are some handpicked guides for you to read:

• How to Fix WordPress Database Errors
• 7 Best WordPress Security Plugins to Protect Your WordPress Blog

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