Hello friends,

We are back on the backup topic for WordPress. You already know two awesome ways of saving your precious database and files with BackWPup and All-in-One WP Migration which can also be used as a tool for moving WordPress from one host to another.

Now it’s time for another great solution. It is called BackUpWordPress and it will save you not only time, but also effort when it comes to creating backups.

Let’s start with the usual steps and that is installation and activation. What you will find interesting is that when you are done with these steps you won’t need to make any settings in order to receive your first backup. Why? Because the plugin comes with pre-configured scheduled daily and weekly backup tasks.

Let’s see what you get completely out-of-the-box when you go to Tools -> Backups:

The default daily backup is for the database only and it is located under the Database Daily tab. You may change it if you desire by clicking on the “Settings” link. Then you can either transform it to another backup type (for example files and database or only files) and change whether this should be a daily schedule or maybe weekly or monthly.

The default weekly backup schedule is a complete one and it will make a copy of your database and your WordPress files. It is located under the Complete Weekly tab. Again you may change its settings and re-transform it for your specific needs.

Each of these backup types can also be deleted by clicking on the red “Delete” link. Also you may run all of them now if you are in a hurry. Just click on the “Run now” link and you will get your backup now.

For the complete backups you can make a list of excluded files and folders. Click on the “Excludes” link and make your settings.

BackUpWordPress will inform you in which directory you will find your backups. You will also be presented with an option to download them from the plugin menu in your dashboard under the completed backups section for each backup type. There you can also manage your completed backups by deleting the ones that are no longer necessary.

You can also create as many scheduled backups as needed. You can do this by going to the “Add Schedule” tab.

You can also set an e-mail address on which you can receive a notification about the completed backups.

As for the different backup types you can set different options. For example in the monthly backup you can determine the start day of the month and the start time for the scheduled monthly backups.

Great, right?

OK this was the free version of the plugin. BackUpWordPress however allows premium purchase of additional options such as backup to Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, Rackspace, Azure, DreamObjects and FTP/SFTP.

Now to the most important question – how to restore the backup if needed?

Well, I will be completely honest with you on this one. BackUpWordPress lacks the functionality to allow you to restore your WordPress site to an earlier state. So basically you need to download the backup zip file, unzip it and them overwrite the files and folders on your server by using an FTP software (be careful of the permissions for each file and folder). As for the database, you need to enter your host’s phpMyAdmin or other suitable database management tool and restore it there. More on this topic you can find in the official WordPress Codex: Restoring Your Database From Backup.

But despite of this downside, BackUpWordPress is still a great backup tool that can help you protect your website in case of a major failure.

So what are your thoughts, friends? Will you be willing to give this plugin a try? Share your opinion in the comments below.

See you soon!