Most hosting providers take automated daily backups, and dotCanada is no exception. But relying solely on your host for backups is a risk you should not take. If your account is compromised, suspended, or if the backup itself fails at a critical moment, you want an independent copy of your site that lives somewhere else entirely.
A WordPress backup plugin gives you exactly that: automated, off-site backups that you control, stored in cloud services you own.
What You Need to Back Up
A complete WordPress backup consists of two components:
The database stores all your content - posts, pages, comments, settings, user accounts, WooCommerce orders, and plugin configuration. Without a database backup, your site exists only as an empty template.
The files include your WordPress core files, your theme, all installed plugins, and critically, your uploads folder where images and documents are stored. Without file backups, your database alone cannot rebuild a working site.
A backup that covers only one of these two components is an incomplete backup. Always verify your plugin is capturing both.
Top WordPress Backup Plugins
UpdraftPlus (Free and Premium)
UpdraftPlus is the most popular WordPress backup plugin and the standard recommendation for most sites. The free version covers everything most small businesses need: scheduled automatic backups of both files and database, with storage to Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft OneDrive, or remote FTP.
The premium version adds incremental backups (only backing up what has changed, which is faster and uses less storage), multisite support, migration tools, and clone/staging features. Premium starts around $70 USD per year.
For most sites, the free version of UpdraftPlus is sufficient.
BlogVault
BlogVault takes a different approach: it manages backups through its own cloud infrastructure rather than storing them in your personal cloud storage. Every backup is verified for completeness, and the service includes a one-click restore and a staging environment for testing changes.
BlogVault is particularly well regarded for WooCommerce stores because it handles large databases and frequent order data changes reliably. Plans start around $89 USD per year.
BackupBuddy
BackupBuddy by iThemes is one of the oldest WordPress backup plugins and focuses on complete site backups with robust migration tools. It stores backups to its own BackupBuddy Stash service as well as standard cloud storage options.
BackupBuddy is a solid choice if you also need migration capabilities (moving a site from staging to production, or from one host to another).
Duplicator
Duplicator is primarily a migration plugin that also functions as a backup tool. It packages your entire site into a single archive file that can be deployed to a new server. It is particularly useful for agencies and developers who regularly move sites between environments.
For automated, scheduled backups, UpdraftPlus or BlogVault are more appropriate - Duplicator shines more as a migration and cloning tool.
Where to Store Your Backups
The most important rule: backups must be stored somewhere other than your hosting account. If your hosting account is compromised or has a catastrophic hardware failure, backups stored on the same server are useless.
Recommended external storage locations:
- Google Drive - Free storage tier (15 GB) is sufficient for many small sites; easy to configure with UpdraftPlus
- Dropbox - Similar to Google Drive; generous free tier
- Amazon S3 - Reliable and inexpensive at scale; best for larger sites with substantial backup sizes
- OneDrive - Good option if you already use Microsoft 365
Configure your backup plugin to send copies to at least one external location. Some businesses store backups in two separate cloud services for additional redundancy.
How Often Should You Back Up?
The right backup frequency depends on how often your content changes.
- Daily backups are appropriate for most small business sites
- Hourly or real-time backups make sense for active WooCommerce stores where orders are placed throughout the day
- Keep at least 14 days of backup history so you can restore to a point before a problem occurred - malware infections are sometimes not discovered for days
Test Your Restores
A backup you have never tested is a backup you do not know works. At least once every few months, restore a backup to a staging environment and confirm the site comes up correctly. The worst time to discover your backup process has been failing is the moment you actually need to restore.
Most backup plugins include a one-click restore option. Familiarize yourself with it before an emergency forces you to figure it out under pressure.
