Backups
WordPress backup strategy: the 3-2-1 rule
2 August 2024 · 6 min read
One backup is no backup. That is the credo of every professional IT administrator. A good backup strategy ensures your WordPress website can be restored in any situation — whether it is a server crash, a ransomware attack or an accidentally deleted database.
At WP Maintainer we install the 3-2-1 rule as the gold standard for all our clients.
The 3-2-1 rule
The 3-2-1 rule is a proven backup strategy: **3 copies** of your data **2 different media** (e.g. server + cloud) **1 off-site location** (physically separated from the source)
For WordPress this means: 1. The live website (production) 2. A local backup on the server 3. An external backup in the cloud (e.g. Google Drive, AWS S3)
Backup frequency
The right frequency depends on how often your website changes: | Type of website | Recommended frequency | Retention | |---|---|---| | Static informational site | Weekly | 4 weeks | | Blog with regular posts | Daily | 4 weeks | | WooCommerce webshop | 4x per day | 8 weeks | | Membership site | Daily | 8 weeks | | Mission-critical site | Real-time | 12 weeks |
What must be in the backup?
A complete WordPress backup contains: **Files:** - WordPress core (optional, can be re-downloaded) - Themes and child themes (essential!) - Plugins (essential!) - Uploads (images, downloads — essential!) - wp-config.php (essential — passwords!) - .htaccess and other configuration files
Test backups
A backup that does not work is worthless. Test monthly: 1. Restore on a staging environment 2. Check whether all pages work 3. Test forms and dynamic content 4. Check whether images load correctly 5. Verify database integrity
Backup automation
Automate backups with: **Plugins:** UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, Jetpack Backup, Duplicator Pro **Server-level:** cPanel backups, Plesk backups, VPS snapshots **External services:** ManageWP, InfiniteWP, MainWP
Backup monitoring
Monitor whether backups actually succeed: - Email notifications on success and failure - Periodic check of backup size - Schedule test restores - Alert when backups take too long or are too small
WP Maintainer backup service
Our maintenance plan includes daily backups according to the 3-2-1 rule. We monitor, test the restore procedure monthly and guarantee that your website can always be restored.