10 WordPress Plugins That Back Up a Website
You wake up one morning, excited about the big changes you’re going to make in your life. You want to take control of your life in new and inspiring ways, and begin a new journey. You want to create a blog to share your experiences and the experiences of others. You look at your schedule and notice that you have a few hours to spare. You begin to plan the structure of your new blog, considering what you’ll need to have to get started. Pretty soon, you’re immersed in the process of setting up your WordPress blog.
You start by signing up for a free account with WordPress.com. You’ll need to have a way to host your blog on the site, so you can put it online for the world to see. You decide to use Bluehost as your host. Why Bluehost? Well, for one thing, they offer a one-click install for WordPress. Additionally, their customer support is unmatched. Finally, they have an amazing money-back guarantee if you decide that hosting with them isn’t for you.
1. Wpbackup
Wpbackup is an all-in-one backup and syncing plugin for WordPress. When you activate this plugin, you’ll see two handy buttons at the top of your WordPress dashboard. One lets you create backups, while the other allows you to restore them. You can use the former to create regular backups of your site’s most important data. Each time you run a backup, the plugin creates a tar.gz file containing your website’s databases, files, and the like. The latter button, when clicked, will restore an earlier version of your site to its current state. Think of this button as your WordPress dashboard’s ‘undo’ option.
You’ll need to have at least six weeks of backups for this button to be effective. It’s also worth pointing out that Wpbackup creates full backups only when you choose a “full” backup schedule, which is the default setting. If you’d like to create only incremental backups, you’ll need to specify that when you activate the plugin. This is an advanced feature, and for the average user, it might be overkill. However, if you’re serious about securing your website’s data, incremental backups wouldn’t hurt either.
2. VaultPress
This plugin from Automattic lets you create a free, self-hosted WordPress vault. You’ll need to have a.NET development environment installed on your computer to access its full potential. Once you have that, you can download and install the VaultPress plug-in. As with Wpbackup, when you activate this plugin, you’ll see two shiny, yellow buttons at the top of your WordPress dashboard. One lets you export your content as a.ZIP file, which you can send to a friend or family member when you need to transfer some content; the other allows you to install the WordPress.com Blogger into your site so you can start blogging immediately.
VaultPress is a fantastic option for bloggers who want to keep their content private until they are ready to release it to the public. When you activate this plugin, you’ll see a pop up window asking you to choose a vault name and a password. You can make the process more secure by choosing a strong password, using a different one for each of your vaults, and storing it somewhere safe. In addition to providing you with a private place to keep and share your content, which in turn will grow your blog’s audience, this plugin generates content for you to share.
If you choose Blogger, you’ll be able to select a username and a password, and the plugin will generate ready-to-publish blogs for you to hit the ground running. As an added bonus, as you publish your blogs, VaultPress monitors their performance and offers tips on improving them. This is a fantastic tool for novices who want to get into the blogging game, and for those who want to grow their audience fast.
3. Backup Buddy
Backup Buddy is the ultimate WordPress backup and restore solution. When you install this plugin, you’ll see a pop-up window asking you to choose a license. Either enter your email to receive a one-time license key, or choose the “single site” license to use for one website. After that, you can click the button to the right of the WordPress dashboard’s “Welcome to WordPress” message to get started. You’ll see a friendly popup letting you know that BackupBuddy has installed a secure connection that connects your WordPress dashboard to their servers. If you want to access your site’s backups, click the “File Manager” link.
The File Manager will open up a directory filled with all of your backups. You can click any of them to view the contents in a browser window. You can restore any of these files at any time, from the File Manager itself, by clicking the “Restore” button. As was the case with the other two plugins on this list, BackupBuddy allows you to create multiple vaults, with different backup schedules for each one. It also keeps a record of your vaults, so you can easily access them at any time. On top of all that, the plugin automatically creates a WordPress installation for you so you can start blogging without any extra training. To top it all off, this is a free and open source plugin, which means you contribute to its development.
4. All-in-One WP-CMS
This All-in-One WP-CMS plugin, from WP Curve, combines a content management system with a web framework, making it simpler for designers and developers to create fully functional websites with WordPress. This is a great option for those who want to quickly get a site up and running without needing to learn HTML or CSS. Basically, with this plugin, you can get a pre-configured, ready-to-launch website up in no time at all. Just choose your web host, enter a domain name and password, and you’re ready to go.
One of the main reasons why we like this option so much is because it includes a free, fully featured mobile-optimized version of WordPress. No other plugin we looked at comes close to comparing with its usability on small devices. Not only that, but with this plugin you can launch an entire website, including a blog, in no time at all. Its developer, WP Curve, claims that this plugin is perfect for those who are new to WordPress, or whose existing WordPress installation is lacking in features. It’s also great for designers who want to create a fully featured website, but don’t have the time to learn WordPress’s ins and outs.
5. Akismet
WordPress.com includes some fantastic tools for bloggers, some of which are free and some of which are premium. Among the premium tools is Akismet, the anti-spam tool from Automattic. When you install this plugin, you’ll see two buttons at the top of your dashboard. One lets you submit events as posts to your site (like a babyblogging conference or a wedding announcement), and the other allows you to combat spam. You can choose either one, but since we’re focusing on security here, let’s choose the latter.
Click the Spam button to open up a page that will show you all the spam that has been caught by the plugin. You can then choose to manually approve or reject each email. If you manually approve each one, you’re opening yourself up to potentially dangerous infections. If you’re feeling extra secure, you can install the Cleaner for WordPress extension, which is also included with Automattic’s toolkit. With this tool, you can remove specific words and phrases from your posts and pages.
For those who want to keep their content private until they are ready to release it, Automattic’s Akismet plugin is the ultimate choice. It not only provides you with a private place to store and share your content, but the tool also monitors the performance of your site and gives you advice on how to improve it. On top of all that, this plugin is free and open source, which means you contribute to its development.
6. WP-Spam
The “clean” version of the WordPress core software, WordPress.com includes the WP-Spam plugin. When you activate this plugin, you’ll see a button at the top of your WordPress dashboard. Click it to see a pop-up window containing links to all your sites’ spam, as well as the ability to filter content automatically. You can use the latter to block certain words and phrases from being posted to your site. There are also options to enable or disable email notifications for new posts and comments, and choose new spam words and phrases to block.