Recommended back-up plugin to use before updating WordPress, themes and plugins?

I use WP-DBManager for the database…
https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/search.php?q=WP-DBManager
…and then I have my host’s regular backups (paid service) as well as my own downloaded copy of my entire site. Other than the database, however, the only backups you truly *must* have are the wp-content folder (includes themes, plugins and uploads) and the wp-config.php file (for database access) and any special .htaccess file in your “root” since everything else you might need can come from a regular download of WordPress.

Thanks for the reply.

How do you download your own copy?

Thanks!

FileZilla installed locally and an SFTP connection to the server. However, and even though FTP sends and receives in plain text, not all hosts allow an SFTP connection. So, check with your host about that.

Thanks, I’ll give that a go.

I was wondering if there was more of an all-in-one plugin out there (I’ve tried Online Backup for WordPress but currently having issues with it and need to update my site/plugins now).

If not, I’ll go ahead with this. Thanks!

Part of the challenge is finding the best place or places to store backups, and then there is still no guarantee that a given backup stored at your site or even by a host will never be lost or corrupted. So while an all-in-one backup plugin might sound convenient, I keep different eggs in different baskets and the ones I trust the most are my own.

Gotcha, I’ll try your method then. Thanks for your help!

phpMyAdmin at your cPanel at your host can be a convenient place to directly “export” (download) and import (restore) a database backup.

So do you do that as well as WP-DBManager? So you have multiple backups?

I primarily use DB-Manager for saving, and I have it saving to a secure folder controlled by BulletProof Security and then I download my own local backup from there. However, my host recommends using phpMyAdmin and not saving a database backup on a website since it can be vulnerable there (and that is why I at least have it in a secure BPS folder). But for database restoration, phpMyAdmin is going to be there even when a plugin might not be. So, I at least know how to do that from there if ever necessary. And as to FileZilla and SFTP for everything else, I once had a big mess and had my host simply empty my “root” folder and then I successfully restored all three of my sites from right here at home (over a period of about weight hours).

Ah right, cool. Thanks for the info.

I’ve already done the FTP side. Do you select any extra options/tick boxes when you do the PHPmyadmin backup?

I have only ever used Quick - display only the minimal options so far, and I have done downloads to my computer (as suggested by my host) as well as Save on server in the directory /home/(mydomain)/tmp/ while trying some edits in my database…and there is where I first discovered the immediate convenience of being able to do a restoration from right there within phpMyAdmin (after having messed something up in my database while editing it via phpMyAdmin).

Thanks, I’ve looked around the internet but there doesn’t seem to be a definitive way to use the PHPmyadmin options. I’ve already done a custom backup, so I guess I’ll do the quick one, too.

The backups I have on my computer right now are: cPanel wizard full site backup, Database plugin backup (which seemed to backup a smaller file than PHPmyadmin?), an FTP backup and PHPmyadmin backup.

I’m planning to store these files on a USB stick too and update them every fortnight or so.

I see what you’re saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket; good to have a variety of options.

Thanks for your help!

Database plugin backup (which seemed to backup a smaller file than PHPmyadmin?)

That might be a case where a given plugin is using SQL to only backup the default WordPress tables and not all the additional ones added by plugins.

I’m planning to store these files…and update them every fortnight or so.

Glad to know you have a plan!

PS: I just noticed “before updating WordPress” in your title here, and I always deactivate all plugins and switch to a default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twelve) before doing a WordPress upgrade. And if you want to be certain all plugins truly are completely deactivated, momentarily rename your plugins folder to “plugouts” or whatever (and then name it back again) before doing the upgrade. Watch the forums here and you might have already noticed that many people who have trouble with upgrades resolve the problem by deactivating all plugins and then doing it again.