Backup Plugins are Bad

Backup plugins in WordPress are relatively common, but they’re actually quite bad as I’m going to discussing this article.

Why are backups necessary for WordPress?

Because many things can happen with a complicated technology stack such as WordPress. Plugins can crash, databases can become corrupted, hackers can get in and a myriad of other issues can occur which would require backing up the website.

Why are backup plugins bad?

I’m going to cover a few different reasons why this is the case. The number one reason is that they slow down a website and consume way too many resources. Due to the nature of the backups being stored locally on the actual WordPress site, it takes up way too many resources and causes loading speed issues.

The second reason is that they are notoriously unreliable when it comes time to use a backup. Often times the backup will not be available or will be an incorrect version of the site.

Finally, the third reason is that they create an attack vector for hackers to get into the website. So rather than using a WordPress plugin to do backups, I highly encourage purchasing backups from the hosting provider.

There should be at least 10 days of backups, preferably 30 days. Additionally with the server backups, I recommend going into the hosting account and downloading a copy of the site once per quarter. This may be something hard to remember to do so I encourage setting a reminder on your calendar and going in and doing it.

These backups may never be needed, however if there becomes a situation where it is needed, it it will become a lifesaver. That’s all I have for this article, do you have any questions about why backup plugins are bad?

You can certainly send me some of your thoughts on the subject to our contact page located here.

2 replies

Anne says:
May 27, 2021 at 1:37 am

This is great
Reply
- Jophiel Silvestrone says:
  May 29, 2021 at 1:29 pm
  
  Thanks for the kind feedback, Anne! (:
  Reply

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Written by: Jophiel Silvestrone

Jophiel Silvestrone has written 326 posts in the Tech Blog.

Jophiel grew up on a ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana near Chico Hot Springs. Working on the ranch instilled work ethic and self motivation. Filled with this drive, Jophiel started mowing the local school's yards twice a month throughout the summers, at the age of 12. He moved to Billings in 2004, where he has been deeply involved in the local business community ever since. A serial entrepreneur, Jophiel has ran multiple businesses in our local community. The first business, a janitorial and carpet cleaning company, founded in 2005, has employed over 50 locals. Moving on to the media industry, Jophiel and several partners founded Green Directory Montana in the spring of 2007. Green Directory's sustainability ranking software awarded points based on sustainable or "green" actions. These points counted towards a business's total "Green Score," which in turn ranked them against other businesses in their category and throughout the entire site. It also featured a limited edition print version distributed annually. A business acquisition allowed Jophiel to focus on new projects, and a few close business colleagues and Jophiel started Rocky Mountain Mr. & Ms. Magazine, a lifestyle publication for men and women in the Magic City. After a year and a half at the helm of RM3 Magazine, the business was purchased. He now runs a web development company SkyPoint Studios and fathers his son Jaoquin, who plays football, basketball, soccer, and is learning snowboarding from his dad. Recently, has expanded to locations in Havasu, Arizona & Vegas. SkyPoint Studios is a market leader in both Billings & Havasu and Jophiel is working on building that same level of market dominance in Vegas. Specialties: Extensive experience in online and offline business. Especially savvy at WordPress, and operate several sites, one example is the blog: skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com/tech-blog. Check out skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com for the latest projects from SkyPoint Studios.