Be it through identity thefts, stealing of customer information, or cyber-attacks, data breaches are a reality in today’s connected world. A whopping 90% of WordPress sites were infected in 2018 according to WPWebHost.
As a WordPress website owner, you may ask, “How is all this relevant for website backups?” Depending on the type of online attack, a data breach can seriously compromise your website as well as impact your business operations due to loss of critical business data such as customer invoices, purchase orders, confidential data, and much more! Additionally, it can destroy customers’ trust in your business, particularly if customer data has been breached.
Having a sound WordPress backup process in place is the only guard against such an eventuality. If anything untoward happens to your website, you can restore it along with your business data from the securely stored backup.
How do I take a Complete Backup of my WordPress Website?
Now that we know the importance of taking a backup, the next question is how to perform this task? Whether you are a technical or non-technical person, creating and maintaining backups can be a tedious process. If you do happen to have the technical knowledge, you can choose to manually backup your WordPress website (as detailed here).
Luckily, there are automated backup tools available in the market today that can make this process quite easy. Before choosing the right backup tool, you must first know the pros and cons of each of these tools. Through this comparison article, we have done just that! Here are our findings on the pros and cons of the following five leading WordPress backup tools:
Let’s look at each of them in detail.
BlogVault
BlogVault is a website backup tool that provides a complete backup and storage solution for WordPress websites. Easy to install and configure, this tool completes your backup in quick time and stores your valuable data in an offsite storage location, thus making it more secure.
Some of its best features include:
- Incremental Sync Technology that is used for taking backups of your website data by dividing the overall data into smaller manageable chunks of data and then syncing them on the backup server. Incremental Sync follows the process of complete website backup initially and then taking backups of only incremental changes in the website during subsequent processes.
- One-click Automatic Restore feature that performs the complete restoration of your backup faster than other backup plugins. With its Test Restore functionality, you can safely test your backup in a staging environment before uploading them to the live website.
- Staging and Merging features available with all of BlogVault’s paid plans. The website staging feature allows you to update and test your website plugins and themes safely without any impact on your live website. The merging feature allows you to apply these changes from the staging environment to the live website.
- Migration feature comes in handy if you are looking to migrate your website to another web host. Supporting over 10,000 web host providers, BlogVault can seamlessly perform the migration of all your website files, including WordPress files, database files, and even non-WordPress data.
- Website management acts as an independent dashboard from which you can update your installed website plugins/ themes, manage user privileges, and generate customised reports. Featuring 2-Factor Authentication protection, you can now monitor and take backups of multiple websites from a centralised location.
- Support for WooCommerce Backups helps you perform real-time backups of WooCommerce-powered websites used by E-commerce companies. WooCommerce backups typically include data related to customer orders, product catalogues, shipping information, and more.
BlogVault offers both free and paid plans to customers. For paid plans, you can choose from the following three plans that are priced according to the number of websites to be backed up.
| Number of Websites | Basic plan | Plus plan | Advanced plan |
| 1 | $7.4 per month | $12.4 per month | $20.75 per month |
| Up to 5 | $16.58 per month | $29.9 per month | $45.75 per month |
| Up to 20 | $49 per month | $79 per month | $149 per month |
If you are looking to back up more than 20 websites, contact the BlogVault team directly for special pricing.
Pros and Cons of BlogVault Backup Tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Advanced backup and restore functionality
Website management using dashboard Free staging and merging Support for WooCommerce website backups |
Website security only included in Plus and Advanced plans |
BackupBuddy
From the house of iThemes, BackupBuddy is a popular WordPress backup solution that offers backups, restoration, and migration of WordPress websites.
Easy to install using the Quick Setup Wizard, BackupBuddy offers many useful features that have made it popular among WordPress users. These include:
- Automated Backups that helps perform real-time backups of website data, including website files, core WordPress files, settings, and all website content. You can also schedule backups according to your security needs. Using third-party cloud storage, BackupBuddy stores your backup data, and can also be easily downloaded when required.
- Restore and Migrate feature that enables easy restore and migration of backup data using the ImportBuddy tool. You can use this tool to perform an easy 1-click restore from your backup. With its migration feature, you can even choose to migrate your backups to a new web host or domain.
- BackupBuddy Stash Live feature that makes use of offsite backup servers to perform the backup operation, thus reducing the overall load on your website server. This feature monitors your website for any changes in installed plugins/ themes, web pages, and other posts and stores those changes in real-time. Other features include periodic snapshots of your website and over 1GB of free storage space. BackupBuddy Stash Live feature makes it suited for websites with large volumes of data and those running on shared web hosts.
- Website Staging feature that enables WordPress developers to test their updates in a staging environment. The website staging environment provided by BackupBuddy allows you to test any updates to installed plugins/themes without impacting your live website. You can replicate the changes on the live website only after you are satisfied with your tests in the staging environment.
The BackupBuddy security solution is available in the following three yearly subscription plans that are designed according to the number of websites.
| Blogger plan | Freelancer plan | Gold plan | |
| Features | Backup of 1 website
Free plugin updates for 1 year Ticket-based free support for 1 year 1GB of free storage space on BackupBuddy Stash 1-year Stash Live Access Support for 10 iThemes Sync websites |
Backup of 10 websites
Free plugin updates for 1 year Ticket-based free support for 1 year 1GB of free storage space on BackupBuddy Stash 1-year Stash Live Access Support for 10 iThemes Sync websites |
Unlimited websites
Free plugin updates for 1 year Ticket-based free support for 1 year 5GB of BackupBuddy Stash storage space 1-year Stash Live Access Support for 10 iThemes Sync websites |
| Pricing | $49 | $79 | $129 |
Pros and Cons of the Backupbuddy Backup Tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Complete file and database backup
Selective backups of WordPress files and database tables Easy restoration of backup data using ImportBuddy tool Real-time backup of WordPress data |
No free version available
The backup operation is performed on the client’s web server thus increasing server load |
UpdraftPlus
Used by over 2 million WordPress users across the globe, UpdraftPlus is among the most popular backup plugins in the market today. With both free and paid plans, UpdraftPlus provides exceptional backup and restores services for your WordPress website in the event of any hacks.
In addition to incremental backups that can be scheduled according to your convenience, UpdraftPlus offers a variety of useful features including:
- Backup-related functionalities such as manual and automated backups (that can be scheduled on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis), over 1GB of free storage for your backup data, secure data encryption, and remote storage facility on Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
- UpdraftPlus Migrator add-on feature (available with its paid plans) that can execute the migration of your website to a new domain or URL address. Easy to implement, this feature is available for the migration of unlimited websites during the yearly subscription plan.
- UpdraftPlus Central add-on feature (available with its paid plans) that allows you to manage the backup of multiple websites from a single centralised location. Other facilities include one-click updates for all installed plugins and themes and easy access to your backup data in the UpdraftPlus Vault account.
- UpdraftPlus Clone add-on feature (available with its paid plans) that creates a clone (or replica) of your live website. This feature is particularly useful for your WordPress developers who can first test any changes on the clone website before applying the changes to your live website.
The UpdraftPlus security solution offers both free and premium plans (which are priced according to the number of user licenses required).
| Personal | Business | Agency | Enterprise | |
| Number of licenses | 2 | 10 | 35 | Unlimited |
| Features | All features + 1 UpdraftClone token | All features + 2 UpdraftClone tokens | All features + 5 UpdraftClone token | All features + 10 UpdraftClone token |
| Pricing | $70 | $95 | $145 | $195 |
Pros and Cons of the UpdraftPlus Backup Tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Comprehensive Backup facility
For the restoration of backup data executed by other backup tools like BackupWordPress and BackWPUp Support for remote storage of backup data Suitable for multisite WordPress installations Suited for large website backups of more than 100GB |
No built-in website security feature for protection from malware
No support for real-time backup such as WooCommerce websites |
Codeguard
Codeguard is one of the website backup plugins that can be used on multiple CMS platforms, including WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. In addition to website backups and restores, Codeguard provides automatic updates of WordPress plugins and a malware scanner that can detect and remove any malware infections from your website.
Here are some of the features that Codeguard offers:
- Differential Backup Technology that tracks every file change and stores only the changes (instead of a complete website backup) thus saving some storage space. With automatic website backups stored in an off-site cloud server, Codeguard’s backup repository stores data-related information like date and time stamp of backup and file changes. Additionally, data backups are available for 90 days for any retrieval.
- Codeguard Restore feature to restore your backup data from the repository using the following options:
- Restore all files: to restore all the backup data to your website.
- Selective restore: that lets you restore selected files to the website.
- Manual restore: that lets you download the backup data (.zip format) and restore it manually to your website.
- Codeguard Malware Detection feature that monitors every file change on your website and can detect unauthorised changes in your website files. Additionally, the “Malware Gone” feature in Codeguard comprises of a malware scanner that can detect and fix any malware threats in your website.
- Codeguard Website Management feature that lets you update and manage all your installed plugins and themes from the centralised dashboard. You can also use this dashboard to perform daily backups and configure automatic restores.
The Codeguard security solution offers three premium packages that are priced according to the number of websites to be backed up.
| Professional | Team | Small Business | |
| Number of websites | Up to 12 | Up to 25 | Up to 100 |
| Storage space available | 50GB | 125GB | 500GB |
| Pricing | $39 per month | $79 per month | $139 per month |
Pros and Cons of the Codeguard Backup Tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Automated Backup facility
Offsite Cloud storage for backup data Tracks every file change and reports unauthorised changes Built-in malware scanner and removal tool |
No website migration feature
No website staging environment for testing updates |
VaultPress
Developed by Automattic, the team behind WordPress.com, VaultPress is a WordPress backup plugin that provides a comprehensive service which includes backups, migration, restoration, and security. This popular backup solution also offers a range of benefits including real-time backups, spam protection, and offsite storage of backup data on Automattic servers.
Here is what VaultPress offers that makes it among the most popular backup tools:
- Complete Real-time Backups that performs a backup of all your website resources, including plugin and theme files, database files, and files located in the wp-content and upload folders. With the backups stored in the offsite VaultPress servers, you can easily view and access your backup files. VaultPress also supports real-time backups of modified website files so that you don’t lose any data.
- VaultPress Restore enables you to easily restore all your backed-up data, including plugins, themes, database, and other website content files. With an easy 1-click restore, you can monitor the status of the website restoration. You can also choose to restore and migrate your backup data to an entirely new website domain or URL.
- VaultPress Security safeguards your WordPress website from malware and other online threats. Using daily malware scanning, VaultPress alerts you of any malicious code or threats to your website files. By partnering with Akismet, this VaultPress tool has also enabled protection against spam messages.
- VaultPress Dashboard feature that provides a centralised location for you to monitor your backup activities, download backup files, and monitor any vulnerabilities in your website.
The VaultPress security plugin is available with the following three yearly subscription plans.
| Personal plan | Premium plan | Professional plan | |
| Features | Ideal for small business enterprises, start-ups, and individual websites. | For more comprehensive backup and security needs | For complete peace of mind in website backups |
| Pricing | $39 | $99 | $299 |
Pros and Cons of the VaultPress Backup Tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Customer support team for any help or assistance
Backup files with detailed info for easy selection during the restore process Support for multisite WordPress installations In-built Malware scanner and removal tool |
No incremental backups so the entire process may take more time.
No website staging support Does not restore the .htaccess file as it may fail the restore process. |
In Conclusion
Automated backup plugins like BlogVault, VaultPress, and Codeguard can simplify the overall website backup process. So, which of these five backup plugins are the best? As each of them has its pros and cons, you must choose the backup plugin that is most suited for your website needs.
On all the 5 WordPress backup plugin, we recommend BlogVault for being a one-stop tool that offers value for your money since it provides backup and security as well. It’s the tool we use for WP Mayor’s backups right now. If you still want to try a free plugin, we suggest UpdraftPlus, particularly if you are running a small website.
We hope with all this information, you will make an informed choice and select the backup tool that’s just right for your business website.
Disclosure: WP Mayor is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our website we may earn an affiliate commission at no added cost to you. This does not influence our recommendations – we always recommend the best products and services based on our own experiences.
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