What types of back-up operations do we want to perform?
Create a complete back-up – These are very important to have if your site does go down, you can quickly and easily reach for the last complete back-up and have your whole site re-installed in a short period of time. You do not have to create a full back-up daily if your site does not change much. You could get away with performing a complete back-up either weekly or even monthly depending on how active your are.
Data-base back-up – This type of back-up can be performed more frequently and can capture all the minor changes to your website. The reason you would only backup the database is that it takes less processor memory to do so, and also takes less memory to store the backup files. This can be performed daily or even hourly is your site is really active.
Remote Storage – Storing your backup files at an “off-site” location is very important. Sometimes, if your site and your server go down, you may need to upload your entire site onto a new server. This is quite easily accomplished if you have access to a complete back-up of your site.
Automated Back-Ups – All good back-up plugins can be configured to automatically back up your site. And you can set the plug-ins to do the back your site up on off-peak hours of the day. The key is to make sure these automated back-up processes are initiated and work effectively.
The following is a run-down of the most common back-up solutions used by websites. There are many more out there, but each of these four are very representative of varying budget levels and functions performed. i.e. there is a solution for everyone.
The “Best of ” Back up Plug-Ins
Backwpup
Free and easy to use, Backwpup is the chosen plugin by many wordpress users.
The plug-in comes with a few handy videos explaining how to configure the plug-in. This can be very helpful for novice users.
You can configure the plug-in to back up files to a folder, or to back your site up to an offsite cloud storage.
Updraft Plus
Updraftplus is slightly more popular than Backwpup, but is slightly more complex to set up. The big advantage of using Updraftplus over Backwpup is that it has a few more offsite, or “cloud” storage options available.
Back-up Buddy
Back-up Buddy is incredibly popular, and many of the pros use this back-up option. The beauty of using back-up buddy is that the plug-in comes with the functionality to migrate your site with ease.
Another advantage of back-up buddy is they do offer their own offsite storage, so setting up the plugin is a bit easier in terms of turning on the back-up automation.
The only downside is that back-up buddy does cost money to install. While this may not be something a true beginner will need to do, it is something to keep in mind as your site – or you number of sites, increases.