Website Backup and Migration (Caution, it's a bit of a Rant)
My backup plugin of choice (WP Clone) has not been updated for a long time and has not been tested with the latest version of WordPress. Even so, I used it to move a website from one hosting company to another last week without any problems.
Normal size website
But, in all fairness, I thought I should test out a different plugin to see if I should make a change.
I've read that All In One WP Migration is free, easy to use, reliable, and it works. And there's over 900,000 active installations.
Wrong!
The file size limit to upload (restore) is only 512 MB. That's a pretty small website. Even my test website is bigger than that. To upgrade the plugin for larger websites costs $69.
Very small website
So if I used that plugin I would have to cough up the money or try to split up the website into bite-size chunks.
So I had a go at splitting up the website into chunks. Using the advanced settings, I backed up the database. Then I backed up the plugins. Then the themes. Then the media. etc.
For the amount of time it took I prefer FTP. At least with FTP you can set it up and then forget about it while you get on with other things.
What the Heck is a .wpress File?
The other concern I have is that All In One Migration saves the website as a .wpress file which I can't open to check if all the content is actually there.
What if I need to edit the database? Or save the media files where I can get at them?
Conclusion
The only safe way to be sure of backing up your website is to use a database backup plugin or Tools > Export to backup your database and use FTP to backup everything else.
Do it yourself and don't rely on anyone else to take care of your business. No-one cares as much about your business as you do.
Recent Comments
150
Thanks Marion, have you read that the latest WP update has overwritten all automatic updates?
https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2018/02/broken-auto-update
I don't know what else it broke, My plugin of WPforms acted strangely after the update too and I had to remove it and change to another form plugin
It's a mess Loes. They released the next version of WordPress within 24 hours, as soon as they realized the mistake. I see your site is OK now.
I fixed all of my sites in 2 minutes without any help from the support here. What kind of understanding or knowledge do you top people have? I was ready to break out a credit card and pay for premium and I'm wondering what the benefit is? Thanks for making it clear, I won't pay a dime here.
Use All-in-One WP Migration. Marion had too much vegemite and isn't giving the best of advice. :-)
Use All-in-One WP Migration. Marion had too much vegemite and isn't giving the best of advice. :-)
Hi Toby, I don't think we have met before, it's good to know you are knowledgeable. We are all doing our very best here to learn everything we need, some have an IT background, some are beginners and start here from scratch. None of us are claiming to know everything.
Quite frankly your attitude sucks. There is, and has been confusion over the ranking system, and people believe that the highest rank means they are experts, however, most of us know that's not how it works. There are millionaires here who have been in the online business for years and really know their technical stuff, but have very low rankings, - mainly because like most successful people, they spend their time on their business rather than socialising. However, given your attitude and the fact that you joined just a couple of days ago..yet you seem to know it all, I don't think you need WA. It's an all inclusive community yet you manage to look like you wouldn't be a good fit here unless you drop the attitude. He dicho.
Hi Marion, I wonder why you call him Bob, for all I can see his name is Ed. But scrolling down this thread, I presume you know more, it looks like someone is trolling around, an old member? Called Bob? I think I can guess which "Bob" is surfing around here...
Use All-in-One WP Migration. Marion had too much vegemite and isn't giving the best of advice. :-)
Kyle's video on How to back up your Wordpress site my question is where is Website Express Website Builder
I don't know what you're talking about here Edward. What is Website Express Website Builder?
That's a valuable information Marion, thank you. I should stick to the FTP method. I appreciate it!
Use All-in-One WP Migration. Marion had too much vegemite and isn't giving the best of advice. :-)
Toby, what you’re doing (slagging off someone and pasting the same pessage to everyone...visible to others) is bullying & harassment. WA doesn’t torelate that.
Wise post, Marion! Great information to know! It sounds like that plugin had you in a tail spin! Glad you figured it out--good job!
Use All-in-One WP Migration. Marion had too much vegemite and isn't giving the best of advice. :-)
This a great help to me. I need to get my sites backed up quickly. I am a newbie but I would not want to lose what I have started.
Rick
Then use All-in-One WP Migration, because Marion doesn't know what the hell she's talking about, and if you're a newbie, you surely won't figure out FTP.
I must admit, this is a highly entertaining post! So far, I've counted 32 instances of "Welcome back.." by Marion. A few other "surprises" too. Vintage!!
The truth is, WA does not like posts that cause a discordance or "flame wars" with the community, which this post clearly does. If it were anyone else but Marion's or a few chosen others, the post would have been long taken down.
Bottom line is listen to both sides of the argument, go to the plugin and try it yourself (or anything else) and learn to make your own decisions. Also get 2nd and 3rd opinions from others outside of WA.
That's what makes you better.
WA is a great place for learning, a place to "air out" sensible disagreements, and certainly a place that can be entertaining!
The post was certainly not intended to upset anyone or start a flame war. I posted it here to inform people about a plugin that doesn't do what it claims without an upsell.
I totally agree with you that people should do their own research and try things out for themselves. That's the best way to learn.
Yes I know that Marion, I believe your intent was sincere. However, sometimes what we don't intend turns out that way anyway. We don't always have control of this.
There have been many posts over the past 6 months taken down over much less that also weren't intended to discord, mine included.
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I like your advice Marion. :) ~mark
And you're top 50 and can't discern this for yourself? Wow....what the hell did I join up here for? You make me realize that the top bunch of people are fools. Thanks for saving me some money!