WordPress Backup – What It Is And How Does It Work
What are WordPress Backups?
Website security is an imperative aspect for the wellbeing of your website venture, and for that, it is important to install and create regular WordPress backups. Wordpress backups provide you with a sense of security, in the unforeseen instance that your website may get hacked and you may end up losing autonomy over your data, content, etc. Furthermore, it also is a type of contingency management that would be a lifesaver in the case that the administrator of the website has locked themselves out. Even if you can’t get access to the website again, there is at least access to your data.
There are several proficient and free WordPress backups that work quite good as they are quite easy to use. The catch is however how most service providers offer limited-time backups and thus it is often threatened, the security regarding the fact that you cannot rely on them solely. There are though some WordPress backups that are quite sufficient – with the list having UpdraftPlus, VaultPress (Jetpack Backups), BackupBuddy, etc. The good thing about them is that there are free and quite user friendly, with access to their cloud storages, which seem to vary as it is compatible with Dropbox, Google Drive, FTR and various others which makes their target audience vast and thus the consumption of their product (in this case the named WordPress Backups) prolific. To safeguard backups, it is wise to have at least 3 backups, so even if one fails to deliver, the other ones still have your data safe.
How often should WordPress be backed up?
Making full backups is an imperative choice when the aim is to maintain your files and data. It is, however, also important to know when is the right time to do so. Here are some tips to be followed. If the case is that the themes and plug-ins are changed once or twice a week, the backups should be made at least no less than twice a month. Subsequently, if the regime goes to around changing themes or updating them once a month, it's better to at least install a backup once a month, a full-fledged one. Furthermore, if the updates are less than once a month, meaning very rarely it is then appropriate to install the backups, still at least once a month. While it does not directly affect the integrity of the files itself, it is preferred to have a fresh backup frequently, as if the updates go even one month without being regulated – that usually draws some vulnerability to the data structures of the website. The point is that if daily backups are not being done regularly then backups must be initiated every now and then – at least monthly and ideally, as often as possible.
The Pros and Cons of WordPress Backups
Starting with the pros, it is an understood fact that backing up the WordPress website is a habit that every user should inherit. That is because of the various benefits it reaps – the mental peace it grants when a user knows that their work is saved without the probability of their hard work going to waste. Furthermore, because installing backups is an automated process it does not require constant vigilance from the user and is a relatively stress-free process, both for the present and the future. Moreover, the need for a backup (if not various) persists because if due to some unforeseen accident that corrupts the website which will result in the loss of all available data, as typically no custom content that is stored externally of the WordPress folder is backed up. Another plus point would be that, while most the Backup service providers warrant free facilities (they are usually limited). If the occasion does arise where the user does have to purchases their backup, it usually is quite inexpensive. For example, Backup Buddy, whose server-level backups that discharge backups to Amazon S3, so that it does not take up disk space on the webserver. If you collect a surge of traffic that your server can't handle, or you face an authorization issue writing the file, your backup will fail. You might not even know it failed until you need that backup, which is why ensuring you have a preexisting one is significant to the credibility of your website.
The cons, however, are just as significant. As aforementioned, one of the main drawbacks of the backup installations is that they are temporary, which puts the data directly at the risk of loss if not immediately backed up when the limited facility is over and if the user is not vigilant enough. Furthermore, when using an independent WordPress Plug-in (plug-in level backup) is better to keep in mind that even if the most minor issue arises then all data will come to be confronted with the threat of damage. This usually occurs when the backup is not associated with the main server that has autonomy over the updates. Furthermore, because of the nature of the subject – which is data integrity, if one does not want to invest in external backups (hard drives, etc) it is also not a wise decision to store them on the website or on their cloud storage as it poses a security risk in the case that the website itself might face a cyberattack intrusion then the intruder has got full access to whatever sensitive information and content remains stored.
While there are various ways to employ backups, be it manually, through online plug-ins, through downloads via cPanel (a channel most web hosts provide to WordPress users) or even locally that usually takes up a lot more time than letting it be on the automated version, because it requires proper storage space, organization, security (see if your PC is not infected with a virus) and sometimes even restoration issues - it is perhaps heavily emphasizes to employ the use of these before the control of data and invaluable data is lost.