Automatic WordPress site backups

Those that have a backup of their site are leaps ahead of other online entrepreneurs that don’t store a copy of their WordPress site in case of emergency. And anyone who has a calendar or to do list reminder to run a fresh update every month or so is even further ahead.

The business owner that doesn’t have to think about their backups being run because it’s being done for them is not only ahead of everyone else, they are also freeing up their time + brain space for other things.

While it’s great to have a copy of your site, it’s even better to have a recent copy that includes this week’s blog post, the new photos you added to your about page + the Facebook pixel tracking code you just added.

But that means you have to make sure you are getting a new backup whenever you make any changes to your site. Or you can get backups off of your to do list forever by either automating them, or having someone else put the task on their to do list.

Automated backup options

Typically the more affordable route, automating your backups with a plugin or hosting service means that something else is handling the backup schedule. Picking a backup solution that has automation or scheduling in place will keep you from needing to add anything else to your site.

For example, BackupBuddy + BackWPUp are plugins that provide site backups, but also have the option to schedule those backups for whatever timeframe you specify. That means you can have your backups running at the start of every week, at the end of the month, or every day if that suits your site’s needs.

Once you set the backup schedule, the plugin handles the rest + triggers a fresh backup on the timeframe you specified. And both of those plugins have the ability to email you if a backup doesn’t work as expected — so you don’t have to remind yourself to check in on those backups every blue moon.

Another version of automated backups are those handled by your hosting company. For example, tiny blue orange hosting through Flywheel includes automatic daily backups of your entire site — not just the database. If something truly tragic happens — like being hacked — you can go back to the day before in a few quick clicks. How’s that for stress free?

Other hosting companies provide automatic backups for an additional charge. If so, it’s worth comparing the price of a premium plugin vs the hosting add-on cost to make a smart business investment.

If site security + maintenance has you overwhelmed, bringing someone onto your team to handle that responsibility is a good idea. There are numerous companies that will handle your backups, plugin updates + small site changes for a reasonable retainer price — including us at tiny blue orange! How much is not losing anymore nights of sleep worth? The answer could very well be a few dollars a day.

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