In all my quests for plugins, I’ve never had quite the experience as I’ve had looking for a backup plugin. Most recently, after trying several (click here to read about it), I thought I had found the PERFECT plugin to back up my entire site, not just the MySQL database: Automatic WordPress Backup. This plugin backed up everything to Amazon (S3) Simple Storage Service. I already had an Amazon account (I am a Prime member), so I used the same login. The reason I decided on the Amazon S3 service was because all other backup plugins had caused memory problems and brought my site down. Saving inside my website obviously wasn’t working, and the file was so large I think it caused problems when the plugin tried to email it.
Setting up Amazon S3
To prepare for the backup, I created a bucket, Amazon speak for a folder, that would contain the files for each website, and then went back over to my website to click the ‘back up now’ option. Then I went back over to Amazon to see the result. There was none. I clicked several more times with the same result. Off I went to the support site for the plugin, and it seems there is a delay in the backup showing up in S3. And each time you click, you create a backup, so it takes a while to transfer, so I waited.
The next day I checked Amazon S3. The two smaller sites were there, but the two larger sites were not. I waited. The next day I checked, nothing. I waited. This went on for almost a week and the two larger sites never showed up in Amazon. I gave up.
And went looking again…
I wandered over to ToMuse’s site and found this post: http://tomuse.com/wordpress-backup-plugin-service-review/. Being rather frustrated with free backup plugins by now, I began considering paid options. He recommended VaultPress and BackupBuddy.
VaultPress had a basic plan, one site, for $15. Their premium plan, $40, did not mention how many sites were covered, and the enterprise plan did not mention the number of sites either. And BTW, these are monthly charges. They seemed to offer some advanced features, but I didn’t understand what they were, so therefore, could not see the benefit of them. 
And the winner is…
BackupBuddy is coded by the people over at iThemes. Their plans include one installation for $45, 10 for $75, and unlimited for $150. That is for one year of plugin updates and support. While I wasn’t especially thrilled about having to buy the plugin again in a year, it was still cheaper than VaultPress. And they do have a very good reputation. I would put up my affiliate link, but I don’t want to go look for it.
To wrap this up, I purchased the 10 installation BackupBuddy package yesterday. Since then, I’ve contacted tech support twice and been very happy with the response. And, I just sent them another one. LOL
I’m stopping now because it’s bedtime, but I’ll continue this conversation next week because I definitely have more to say about backup plugins for newbies.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi Deb, did you ever continue to post about WP backup options (especially for newbies!)?