What’s the Best Way to Back Up Your WordPress Website?

OK, you already know that backing up your WordPress website is important but what’s the best and safest way to go about it?

You basically have three options:

1. Do it yourself.
2. Install a plugin to do it for you.
3. Use a service.

I’m not going to go into all the pros and cons of each method because the best information on that can be found over at The Keyword Academy. So I recommend you go check that out first if you’d like more information on the different options.

After doing backups myself for the past few years (I don’t trust plugins and too many will bog down your website) I’ve finally decided to sign-up with a service. When you have multiple websites it just doesn’t make sense to do backups yourself. Especially when they need to done everyday. There’s just too much time involved and honestly I wouldn’t even know what to do with all those files if something ever did happen to my website. Even if you have just one website using a backup service makes a lot of sense.  Chances are, if you’re backing up your website yourself you’re not doing it as often as you should.

I decided to go with Code Garage and signed up for the 10 Site plan which costs $15/month. That includes daily backups of both your WordPress files and database with a 30-day history. Your site is also scanned for malicious Javascript and iframes multiple times a day. And if anything ever happens to your site they’ll help you get back up and running as quickly as possible. Another nice feature of the Code Garage Locker is that you can keep track of your load times and uptime.

Disclaimer: Please note that the links for Code Garage in this post are affiliate links and I do earn a commission through any purchases that you make. If you do make a purchase, I appreciate it greatly! If you wish, contact me or shoot me a message on Facebook so I can thank you personally.

I picked Code Garage for the simple fact that I totally trust Peter from the work he’s done with The Keyword Academy over the past few years. As soon as I heard that Peter had started his website maintenance service I knew I wanted to sign-up! And his service didn’t disappoint when I had problems connecting my website to his “Locker” system (the problem had to do with my server) as we exchanged several emails during the course of two days in an attempt to get everything up and running. I have great peace of mind and sleep better at night knowing that my websites are under his lock and key!

Really, if you’re serious about protecting your websites a.k.a. assets it’s worth it to spend a little money and pay a professional to take care of all those nitty-gritty details. You have better things to do with your time!

So what are you doing now to back-up your websites and keep your data safe and secure? Let me know in the comments.