Is backing up your WordPress website a scary thought? Backing up doesn’t need to be complicated, here are three free WordPress backup plugins that help.

My Top 3 Free WordPress Backup Plugins

I’ve used these three plugins on various WordPress websites of my own, and currently have all three installed here on MLBO.  A tad excessive, you don’t need to install all three!

XCloner

I first came across XCloner when I needed to move a well established blog to a different server. I wasn’t looking forward to it. It’s a backup and restore plugin that also backs up every file on your server should you want it.

XCloner isn’t the easiest backup plugin to use and may be a bit overwhelming at first. You do need to create a back-up folder on your server. Make sure you have access and are comfortable creating a folder.

That said, once you have backed-up, restoration is a case of uploading the files, locating the restore script and running it in your browser. All the files then repopulate.

You can backup to the created folder only, download or send to Amazon S3. Scheduled backups can also be created.

While the plugin is free, there is some support through the forum. The documentation on the forum and wiki is quite thorough, if a little out of date and hard to navigate. Full support can be purchased monthly, annually or an unlimited package. That’s fair enough, it’s an extensive plugin!

This is a great plugin for moving WordPress websites and providing a complete back-up of your site.

Check out XCloner here.

WordPress Backup to DropBox

Backup to DropBox is another free WordPress plugin that enables you to do a complete backup. It connects to your DropBox account via Oauth so your password is secure.

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily. You can use up to 2GB free – at least 3 or 4 backups worth unless you have a huge site!

This plugin is very easy to install and use. There are a couple of downsides…

It’s slow to backup. Get yourself a coffee and put your feet up. Once complete, click the plugin settings to check for any error messages as it isn’t immediately obvious from the backup screen if there have been issues transferring.

While Backup to DropBox is very simple to install and backup your site, it does need to be restored manually in the event of a failure.

Check Out Backup To DropBox here.

WP DB Backup

An old favourite! Very easy to install and schedule backups. However, be aware it only backs up your database, not your content, themes and plugins. In the event of a total failure of your website, this free plugin simply isn’t enough.

I’m having a few issues with it on this blog, but then I do tend to have more plugins than the average user while I try things out. This plugin is still working on other sites.

Check out WP DB Backup here.

What WordPress backup plugins do you use? You are backing up your website aren’t you?