Any discussion on designing an online store is incomplete without the mention of WooCommerce. A whopping 94% of WordPress-based eCommerce stores choose the WooCommerce plugin to build their website.
While the WooCommerce plugin has greatly simplified the process of building an online store, running and maintaining a WooCommerce site comes with its unique set of challenges.
The challenge of minimizing any risk of downtime and data loss tops this list. Even a few hours of downtime could mean a major drop in orders and loss of traffic and customer data.
The solution? Backups. If you run an eCommerce site, backups are a huge component of your website maintenance plan. But there’s a catch. Backups for WooCommerce sites are a different ballgame altogether — thanks to the large volumes of data they deal with, and the time-critical nature of the data on them.
Here is a look at the 7 best WooCommerce backup plugins available in 2021.
7 Best WooCommerce Backup Plugins in 2021
A WooCommerce backup plugin can simplify the task of taking WordPress backups on an ongoing basis and using the restore functionality in the event of a website crash. Here are 7 of the best backup plugins for WooCommerce sites and their key features and pricing details:
Among the most popular and reliable WooCommerce backup tools, the BlogVault backup plugin has been used by over 400,000 WordPress sites. BlogVault provides a complete SaaS-based backup solution instead of simply a plugin. It’s easy to install and use for most users with basic WordPress knowledge.
Here are some of its key features:
- Automatic backups of both WordPress website and databases
- Backup encryption for secure storage
- Unlimited number on-demand backups
- Incremental backups that are faster and put minimum load on the webserver
- Independent offsite storage at multiple cloud locations – so there’s no dependence on your existing storage
- One-click website backup and restore functionality that works even when your website is down
- Real-time backups that including custom database table backups and 365 days of backup history so you don’t need a dedicated database backup plugin
- In-built WordPress staging with 1-click merge-to-live
- Independent centralized dashboard for easier website management including user management, updates, etc. – for multiple websites
- One-click website migration with zero downtime for your live site
Pricing: At $89 yearly for a personal plan, BlogVault is affordable for small businesses and startups. The advanced plan with real-time backups is priced at $249 for a year.
- UpdraftPlus
With over 2 million active installations, UpdraftPlus is another popular WordPress backup solution. The free version of this tool is ideal for early-stage WooCommerce sites as it includes both manual and scheduled backups. Plus, it’s easy to use – even for non-technical users.
Here are some of its key features:
- Incremental backups (that have been modified since the previous backup) that enable faster backups of only website files
- Independent storage of backup files on cloud platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, etc.
- 1GB of free UpdraftPlus storage space for all customers
- Easy website management using a centralized and independent dashboard – ideal for managing multiple websites
- UpdraftClone feature or a temporary copy of your live website running on the UpdraftPlus servers for testing and staging
- Easy restores of both website and database files – with a single click
Among its limitations, UpdraftPlus is an efficient general-purpose backup that does not support real-time backups, while offsite backup storage comes at an additional price.
Pricing: It is available in a free version and a paid version that starts at $70 a year for two sites.
- Jetpack
Previously known as VaultPress, the Jetpack backup plugin offers both daily and real-time backups on the cloud, making it a great choice for a WooCommerce site. It comes with security and backup features.
Here are some of its key backup features:
- Support for scheduled automatic backups in real time
- The Jetpack mobile app that allows you to perform backups from any place or time
- 24/7 automatic website security using Jetpack Security.
- Detailed activity log to track all actions performed on WordPress site, a great addition for website maintenance and troubleshooting
- Recommended for WooCommerce sites – thanks to its support for real-time offsite backup storage
Here are a few of its limitations:
- Unlimited backup archives only available on higher plans
- Expensive if you need backups for multiple websites
Pricing: Daily backup plans start from $9.95 (monthly) while the real-time backup plan is priced at $49.95 (monthly).
- Duplicator
With over 25 million successful installations, Duplicator is another popular tool for WordPress sites. On its part, Duplicator makes it extremely easy to create backup files (as a zipped file) so you can store them locally or upload them on cloud storage platforms. This backup tool also offers website migration and cloning.
Here are some of its key features:
- Scheduled and on-demand backups that also work for larger WordPress sites
- Quick and easy in-built website migration functionality
- Support for cloud storage platforms like Google Drive, Amazon S3, and Dropbox
- Works for multisite network backups and subsites
- Easier WordPress website management using a central dashboard
Among its few limitations, Duplicator is not exactly beginner-friendly and requires some level of technical knowledge for effective usage.
Pricing: It is available with a free version, while the paid plan starts from $69 yearly.
- WP Time Capsule
If you are looking for a WordPress WooCommerce backup plugin that can back up only the incremental changes instead of the entire website, then WP Time Capsule is a great choice.
Effectively, this backup plugin only backs up the recently modified website files which means that it uses lesser server resources and bandwidth to perform the backup and restore operations.
Here are some of its key features:
- An incremental backup mode that does not overload your server
- Automated real-time backups that are executed whenever there is any addition or modification to the website files
- Single-click staging solution for testing backups before merging with live website
- Encrypted database backups to make them more secure
Here are a few of its limitations:
- Longer backup and restore processes even for small WooCommerce sites
- Lack of offsite storage for backups
Pricing: A free version is available for 30 days, while the paid plans start at $49 yearly.
- BackWPup
Looking for a WooCommerce backup tool that can provide decent backup features with its free version? The BackWPup tool is a good choice. Easy to use, this backup tool allows you to automate and schedule WordPress backups based on your needs. This backup plugin has been installed in over 600,000 WordPress sites.
Here are some of its key features:
- Free backups and storage on popular cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, RackSpaceCloud, and Dropbox
- Support for WordPress database backups
- Dedicated mobile app for quick backups and restores
- Website migration to new domains
- Personalized customer support
Here are a few of its limitations:
- Non-intuitive user interface
- Supports only manual backups
Pricing: Free version along with a paid Pro version starting at $69 yearly
- BackupBuddy
Protecting over 500,000 WordPress sites globally, BackupBuddy from iThemes Security is among the best WordPress and WooCommerce backup solutions available in the market today.
Here are some of its key features:
- Complete WordPress backup including website files and database tables
- BackupBuddy Stash feature to store all your backups in a secure location
- In-built iThemes Sync feature to manage multiple websites using a single dashboard
- Automatic backups (every hour) along with on-demand backups
- One-click automatic restore functionality to get your website back to normal.
Pricing: Single website license priced at $80.
Now that we have looked at 7 of the best WooCommerce backup plugins, what are the essential features that you should look for in your WooCommerce backup plugin? Let us discuss that next.
WooCommerce Backup Plugins – Features
Based on the unique needs of a WooCommerce website, here are some essential features to look for in your backup tool:
- Real-time backups
Real-time backups ensure that you do not lose any website changes such as the latest transactions, user comments, or online payments. Check if your backup plugin includes taking backups of both websites and database tables whenever there is any change.
- Dedicated backup servers
As real-time backups can be server intensive, WooCommerce backup plugins must support executing backups on their dedicated backup servers. This puts zero load on your internal web server, which can be used optimally for other activities.
- Incremental backups
Backups of a large eCommerce website data can be both server-intensive and time-consuming. Incremental backups are an alternative – as they reduce the overall load to taking backups of only modified WordPress files and folders.
Finding the best plugin to backup WooCommerce sites is not a straightforward exercise of picking one over the other. It needs careful consideration of your website, its needs, your priorities, and your budgets. The seven WordPress backup plugins in this article are the best out there for WooCommerce sites.
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