WordPress Backup: The most important feature of a backup service

On our blog we have mentioned backup plugins to be important and a must have for anyone running their site on WordPress CMS. The reason for having a backup is to have the option to return to a previous point in history of the site, before a change was done or when it was stable. In case a disaster strikes or it could be just a routine migration of site from a server to another, we should be able to restore the backed up version.

Most important part about backups is the user friendliness of the tools that will help you restore and have your site running again just as before in the shortest time possible. A one-click to restore guarantee is the best way to deal with backup and restore plugins or services. Of course, fast restore features might come at a price, but if your business depends on it, then it’s a good investment and a good way to avoid your clients’ dissatisfaction.

When choosing a backup plugin there are a few criteria that you should consider:

  • Automatic schedule based backup – this is important to know how regularly the backups are done and is a must have
  • Choose where to store the backup – there will be at least one location that is free. It’s good to choose a location to which you should have access to from anywhere, like Dropbox or Google Drive.
  • Time period for storing the backup – It’s important that the backup is available for a longer period of time so you could return to it at a later time in a reasonable time frame.
  • Easy migration feature – This is a good to have option, but it’s not essential.
  • Easy WordPress restore option available from the Dashboard or from provider’s site – This is a very good feature that will avoid many mistakes and errors as when you’re under stress you are more prone to forget or miss something important.
  • Assistance and documentation – If the interface is user-friendly, then this could be avoided. It is important to have this when the plugin or service is complex or it’s a free service provided and has less of a user-friendly way to work.
  • Various pricing plans – A great backup service is worth the money and many would pay a lot for the service that makes a webmaster’s life easier in moments when sites disappear and nobody can explain how and where. Backup plugin pricing plan can start from 0 and go up to $300 per year or more
  • Multisite support – this is important only if you have a multisite setup

Plugins that offer a one-click restore feature and that we can recommend you can be seen below.

Snapshot

This is a great service that you can use straight from the WordPress Dashboard. Multisites are backed up at no extra cost. It works similarly to Time Machine that backups the Mac OS. There is no free version available, but there is a 30 days money-back guarantee.

Vaultpress

This is a service from Automattic, so you know it is reliable. The backups are stored on the VaultPress site, so it’s not another service where you could have easier access. There are 2 pricing plans and no free option.

ManageWP

This is an easy to use service that can help you restore your data from your dashboard on provider’s site. This is a service similar to VaultPress. It also comes with some extra features which you can check on their site. One thing about this service is that it restores another backup on your site, but moving the site to another server is done manually and there is no one-click restore option. They have 4 pricing plans and one of theme is for free for up to 5 sites.

These are great services you can start to backup your WordPress site and be sure to help you when you most need it to. Especially if you are managing more than one site and not just for you, but for customers of yours, then you should invest in a reliable and fast tool with a one-click restore option that will speed up the restore process considering that time is money and every hour the site is offline could mean lost customers, lost sales and stained public image.