This post is the content of a presentation I made at WordCamp Birmingham in January 2012.

Click here to download the Backup Options Comparison Chart (PDF)

Here are my slides from this presentation:

My name is Nathan Ingram. And I am a backup fanatic.

I have been ever since October of 1991 when, as a freshman in College, I experienced my first data loss. It was on my first computer, a home brew 386SX/25Mhz, running Windows 3.0, built by my uncle in his garage. I had been up most of the night working on a paper that was due the next morning when it happened. The 3.5″ floppy disk started making strange noises. “Error writing to disk in drive b:” And just like that, hours of literary genius was wiped out. The paper was gone. It was over.

From that day forward, I began setting into place certain habits that would minimize the possibility of that kind of data loss ever happening to me again. When I began to develop web sites in 1995, making regular backups of my work was a habit. When I switched to WordPress, a few years back, I knew I needed to find a reliable backup strategy that would back up not only my files, but the database as well.

There are many options for backing up WordPress. A search of the WordPress Plugin Directory for “WordPress Backup” yields over 350 results. As you might expect, some are good, some are not so good, and some are better than others depending on your situation. In this post, my goal is to bring a little clarity to today’s WordPress Backup options. We’ll discuss:

1. Why you need a backup.
2. Five musts of a solid backup strategy.
3. Backup plugin comparisons
4. Three bonus backup tips

Why you Need a Backup

WordPress does not have a built-in backup.

It amazes me how many newcomers to the wonderful world of WordPress take this for granted. Or, they think their web host will handle this for them. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Few hosts will guarantee a backup.  And since WordPress does not include this function out of the box, you’d better get smart on what’s available for you to use.

Servers #fail

Web servers are a lot like your high school girlfriend (or boyfriend). Things might be going ok right now, but more than likely, sooner or later, they’re going to let you down. You may never experience the kick-in-the-gut experience of a catastrophic server crash, but most of us will have to deal with corrupt files or tables at some point. And when – not if – it happens to you, having a good recent backup makes all the difference.

Clients

Work with clients long enough and you’ll meet this guy. Ingram’s first rule of client entropy states: “Never underestimate the ability of the client to discover new and creative ways to screw up his web site.” Clients are famous for uninstalling plugins, deleting themes, inserting their own creative php code, and the list goes on. The worst ones are the ones who think they know everything after they watched an 8 minute WordPress overview video on YouTube. Ingram’s second rule of client entropy states: “If you work with clients, you better have a backup.”

Hackers

Hackers are often as bad as clients. Yes, WordPress is very secure if you keep your core files and plugins up to date. But hackers are persistent and motivated. One Monday morning a couple of years back, I woke up to an early morning client call when he found this hacker graffiti on his web site. His site wasn’t on WordPress, but thankfully I had a backup and he was up again 5 minutes later. If your web site is on the Internet, you need a backup.

I’ve heard that sometimes even we make mistakes.

If you work with web sites and you are a human, you need a backup. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was in the process of converting a single WordPress site into a multisite. Somewhere along the way, I goofed something up. Because I was backed up, I was able to restore in a couple of minutes and be back on track.

What makes a good backup system?
The 5 musts of any backup strategy.

Different people will have different ideas here, but There may be others you could include, but I’ve tried to make these broad enough so that everyone will agree.

1. A good backup is complete.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few backup plugins out there that only back up the WordPress database. That means, basically, just the words of your web site and nothing else. That’s like homeowners insurance that covers what’s inside your house, but not the house itself. A good backup solution should save my database, files, uploads, settings, widgets, themes. I want everything backed up.

2. A good backup is automatic.

A good backup needs to happen like clockwork. It needs to be like a heartbeat. It happens without me telling it to. Because if the backup is relying on me to log in and press a button, or if I have to stop my work to make it happen, that backup is never going to be made. After I’ve set it up, a good backup happens without me having to think about it again.

3. A good backup is reliable.

The backup I want is like that friendly old dog that most of us had around the neighborhood when we were growing up. It was always around and got along with everybody. Server compatibility is a real issue with most WordPress backup plugins. A good solution needs to be compatible with a wide variety of hosts. It needs to be regularly updated so it stays compatible with the newest versions of WordPress and the newest trends in web hosting. And if you have a problem, there should be a responsive support mechanism that puts you in contact with the developers. Whichever backup solution you select, you should be able to rely on it to work not only today, but down the road as well. With no worries.

4. A good backup is portable.

Zipping up all your files and storing them on your server is great… as long as the server stays up. Or, as long as you remember to FTP in and download the zips once and a while. I know myself well enough to know that a good backup, at least for me, needs to push those backups offsite as part of the backup process. A good backup solution will do this automatically and offer lots of options on where the archives should be stored.

5. A good backup is simple.

A backup is no good that’s too complicated to set up, or so confusing that you’re not sure if you’ve set it up correctly. I need something that’s easy to set up. I don’t want to fiddle with setting up cron jobs on the server or FTPing something somewhere, or chmodding anything at all. And when the day finally comes when you have to restore a broken site, the restore process should be easy and wizard driven. If the restore process involves phpMyAdmin, I’m not interested. Make it easy, please.

Backup Plugin Comparison

The Criteria

Searching for a good WordPress backup plugin can be a daunting task. There are dozens of options available. So I’ve set two basic criteria that a plugin must meet in order to be included in my comparison chart. First, the plugin must back up the entire site. Not just the database. Second, the plugin must have the ability to schedule automated backups.

The Categories

Services

The plugins I’ll consider fall into three basic categories. First there are companies that provide backup as a web service. Typically, these offer excellent customer service and compatibility as well as their own proprietary cloud storage system for backups. On the down side, web services charge a monthly fee for their services, which can become costly, especially for developers with many sites to manage.

Premium Plugins

Second, there are premium plugins which must be purchased from a vendor. These also typically have some kind of support mechanism for their customers and provide ongoing updates to insure compatibility. Many offer a developer license for use on unlimited web sites. On the down side, they often require a significant investment at the time of purchase.

Free Plugins

Third, there are free options in the WordPress Plugin Directory. For the purposes of this post, I’m going to consider these as an option. But, in my opinion, they should not be used on any web site you consider important. Yes, they’re free. But a good backup plugin is something you should be willing to pay for. It’s something you should be able to depend on and have support for if things go bad. Free plugins just don’t offer this kind of reliability.

Plugin Recommendations

After much consideration, I’ve determined what I believe are the two best solutions in each category: services, premium plugins and free plugins. The top option in each category receives a gold star, and the runner up gets a silver star.

Click here to download the Backup Options Comparison Chart (PDF)

Recommended Services

VaultPress

This splendid service is produced by Automattic, the makers of WordPress. I consider this service to be the best for individual users with a web site they want to back up. However, since they do not offer multiple site discounts or white labeling, they are not the best choice for developers supporting multiple clients. Here are the highlights:

• Starts at $15/month.
• Concierge services included to help you with everything from simple usage questions to a full bare metal restore of your web site.
• Backups are stored to Automattic’s redundant cloud storage system.
• Does not back up to any other storage system.
• Since it’s from Automattic, you can expect it to fit hand-in-glove with the WordPress ecosystem, including Multisite.
• The only plugin that does realtime backups to your site. It backs up when something changes.
• Backs up WordPress tables only. It will not back up any custom tables you have in your database.
• Malware scan and migration from one domain to another is included in the premium and enterprise versions.

ManageWP Professional

ManageWP has been recently released from beta testing and is a solid management and backup solution. I consider this this to be the best choice for developers who manage multiple sites. In addition to providing backup services, ManageWP also allows you to access all of your WordPress dashboards from one central location. The Professional version is the one considered here because it includes the backup feature. Here are the highlights:

• Starts at $29/month.
• Handles migration from one domain to another.
• Supports Multisite.
• Stores backups to server, FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox and Email.
• Allows you to set a limit to the number of backups stored.
• White labeling is available for developers.

Recommended Premium Plugins

BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy is my plugin of choice for WordPress backups. It’s ideal for developers, offering a license for use on an unlimited number of sites. Created by iThemes / PluginBuddy and supported by their fine staff, this plugin strives to make the backup experience as simple as possible while ensuring compatibility with most web hosts. Here are the highlights:

• Starts at $75
• Handles migrating from one domain to another.
• Multisite support is working well in beta, with a full release expected in March 2012.
• Sucuri malware scan and db repair tool included.
• Stores backups to server, remote FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox, Rackspace, and Email.
• Allows you to set a limit to the number of backups stored.
• Updated regularly
• Works very well for localhost develop and deploy.
• Has a user-friendly restore wizard.

GD Press Tools Pro

GD Press Tools is a full suite of database management tools for WordPress that also includes a backup function. It is made by developers for developers. So you’ll get what you’d expect. There’s a high emphasis on functionality for advanced users with less emphasis on usability for average users. It’s easy to get lost in all the options available. But it’s a solid choice if you know what you’re doing. Here are the highlights:

• Starts at $67
• Handles migration from one domain to another
• Supports WordPress Multisite
• Includes malware scan and removes spam comments and user registrations
• Stores backups to server, FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox
• Allows you to set a limit to the number of backups stored.

Recommended Free Plugins

I’ve already given my disclaimer about free plugins. I would not advise relying on them for any mission critical backups. However, if you want a free plugin, here are a couple of good options.

Xcloner

Xcloner is the most full-featured plugin that’s available at no cost. While GD Press Tools is designed for geeks, Xcloner is designed for uber geeks.  The setup options are very technical. You better really know what you’re doing if you plan to use this plugin. If you do, it might work really well for you. Here are the highlights:

• Free
• Handles migration from one domain to another
• Supports WordPress multisite
• Stores to server and Amazon S3
• Has a good restore wizard – all the other free plugins on my chart require accessing phpMyAdmin to restore  the WordPress database.
• Has responsive support forums and a paid support option

BackWPUp

This one came in as a late suggestion following my presentation at WordCamp. Somehow I missed this splendid option in my consideration. Not only does it deserve a place on the chart, it deserves a silver star for free plugins. BackWPUp is a bit long in the tooth as far as the interface goes, but not as bad as other free plugins. I also had memory issues running it on my localhost.

• Free
• Database restore requires use of phpMyAdmin
• Stores to server or sends to FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox, Google storage, Microsoft Azure, Rackspace, Email and more
• Will optimize tables and repair errors.

Honorable Mention: WP Backup to Dropbox

Although it does not meet my criteria of scheduling, I really like the simplicity and usefulness of this plugin. It’s a simple, manual backup option that pushes the file out to your Dropbox (which already keeps 30 days of file revisions by itself). Here are the highlights:

• Free
• Stores backup to server and Dropbox
• Database restore requires use of phpMyAdmin
• No scheduling available

Three Bonus Backup Tips for Freelancers and Developers

1. Archive your baseline WordPress install for starting new sites

If you’re a web developer constantly setting up WordPress, this tip will save you hours of time. Get your WordPress set up just the way you like it. Remove posts and plugins like Hello World and Hello Dolly. Install your favorite themes and plugins. Make all the normal tweaks to the CSS that you normally do to get things just how you like them. Then back up the site. The next time you build a site, restore your backup and you’re an hour ahead of where you would have been. I use BackupBuddy to do this all the time.

When updates to WordPress or your plugins or themes are released, restore your baseline backup, do the updates and back it up again. Make this part of your development process and you’ll save a ton of time.

2. Develop locally then deploy to your web site

If you’re not developing locally using something like MAMP for us Mac users or WAMP/XAMP for PCs, you’re not as fast as you could be. MAMP, WAMP and XAMP are web servers for your own computer. They will let you run WordPress locally and develop on your own PC rather than your server. The advantage is speed! Think of all the time you wait for the web server to respond to a clicking through the WordPress menu. Add up all those seconds over the life of a web project and you’ll save hours. Plus, you can develop wherever you go, whether you have Internet access or not.

I use BackupBuddy to develop locally, then push the site out to the live server when it’s completed. BackupBuddy’s migrate feature scans the entire database, replacing the development address (localhost) with the domain name of the site where it’s being deployed. Developing locally is a must for any serious web designer.

3. Sell Backup Services as a security package for clients

Mailbox money is the key to a freelance developer’s survival. I offer an ongoing security service to clients that includes web hosting on my server, daily offsite backups, and weekly updates to WordPress and plugins. I use BackupBuddy as the core of this service because of its reliability. Then every week, I check my clients’ dashboards for any updates that might need to be made.

As an extra touch, why not burn your backup file on a CD and mail it to your client once a month (preferably just prior to your charge appearing on his credit card). Include a thank you note, and even a summary of his SEO from Google Analytics for a nice touch that most clients will really appreciate.

Your thoughts?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about backup plugins and strategies. Please comment below.

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