One of the crucial things you need to do to your WordPress site is backing it up regularly. If it’s needed, you can even create a backup schedules. You will never know what is going to happen with your WordPress site tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. If something bad happens and you have no backup, you are done.

In general, there are two components of your WordPress site you have to make a backup of: the database and the whole files under the root directory of your web server. While you can perform the backup manually, there are also several backup plugins to ease your job.

Following are 6 WordPress backup plugins that you can use.

1. BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy is a premium plugin. It is one of the most popular backup plugins for WordPress. The sale packages offered by this plugin include free storage capacity. However, you can also choose different storage medium to store your backup files of your WordPress site, including cloud storage services like Dropbox, Amazon S3 and Rackspace Cloud. You can also store the backup files on your own server via FTP. With BackupBuddy, you don’t have to perform the backup manually anymore. The plugin allows you to set up backup schedules, whether daily, weekly or monthly. BackupBuddy will backup your entire WordPress installation, ensuring you have a copy of all your WordPress site files, including database, media library. Everything.

2. UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is a freemium WordPress backup plugin. You can use it for free, but there are several additional features you can get if you use the premium version. Whichever the UpdraftPlus version you use, you can perform the backup manually or by creating schedules in which you can set hourly backup, daily, weekly and monthly. UpdraftPlus also makes it easy to restore the backup from the WordPress control panel. Same as BackupBuddy, UpdraftPlus also allows you to save the backup files to the cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Amazon S3. This plugin also supports FTP to allow you save the backup files on your own server.

What is the difference between premium version and free version?

The premium version of UpdraftPlus comes with more advanced features like Cloning and Migration, more database options, reporting, importer, lock settings and so on. Also, you won’t have to deal with ads.

3. Duplicator

Duplicator is also a freemium WordPress backup plugin. This plugin is not primarily designed as a backup plugin. Instead, the native function of this plugin is to help you create a duplicate of your WordPress site with the aim of server migration. This plugin works by creating a package that bundles all the site’s plugins, themes, content, database and WordPress files into a simple zip file.

You will find the advanced backup features if you upgrade your Duplicator to premium version. The premium version of Duplicator comes with features like scheduled backups, email notifications, multi-threaded to support larger web sites & databases and so on. You can also select the storage medium where you want to store the backup files. Whether Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3 or your own server via FTP. Duplicator Pro is available in the lower price than BackupBuddy.

4. BackWPup

BackWPup is also a freemium plugin. While you can use it for free, premium version will gives more setting options over your desired backup methods. Whichever the version you use, BackWPup will do its job by creating backup of your WordPress full installation. You can also store the files on the clod storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive or Amazon S3 just like other plugins above. The cheapest package offered by BackWPup is also cheaper than BackupBuddy.

5. BackUpWordPress

BackUpWordPress is also available as a freemium plugin. In general, the features offered by this plugin are not much different to 4 other plugins above in helping you backing your WordPress website. This plugin also allows you to set scheduled backups and select a certain cloud storage to store the backup files. In addition, you and also set it to store the backup files to your own server. BackUpWordPress supports multiple backup schedules. This plugin comes with the cheapest pricing options than 4 plugins above, only $29 for a single website.

6. Backup & Restore Dropbox

If you have a premium Dropbox then Backup & Restore Dropbox plugin is the backup plugin you have to try. As the name suggests, this plugin allows you to store the backup files to Dropbox. You don’t have to perform the backup manually since this plugin also support scheduled backups. Unlike 5 other tools above, this plugin is completely free to use.

Final words

There are probably more WordPress backup plugins available out there, but not all of them are still in an active development. When you search for a backup plugin on the WordPress Plugins site, you will probably find tens other plugins other than mentioned on this list. But again, not all of them are still in an active development. At the time of writing, all of the plugins mentioned above are still in an active development.