Do you want to create a time machine for your website? Having an automatic cloud backup of your WordPress site is the first step in securing your website because it gives you the option to revert changes should something go wrong. In this article, we'll show you how to set up an automatic WordPress backup with CodeGuard and share our honest review of CodeGuard, so you can make an informed decision.
CodeGuard is a website backup service that can automatically backup your WordPress site and save it to the cloud. It also allows you to track your changes on a daily basis.
There are many WordPress backup plugins available, and we have created a list of the best WordPress backup plugins.
However, using a plugin means you'll need to keep it up to date, and in most cases backups aren't properly stored offsite.
If you are managing client websites, managing all the backups separately is quite difficult. Not to mention customers can accidentally disable backups.
CodeGuard is a paid backup service that works on all website platforms, including WordPress. Their monthly plans start from $5/mo for 1 site and unlimited databases with up to 5GB of storage. They also offer a 14-day free trial on all their plans.
We decided to give CodeGuard a try because it makes a bold claim to be "a time machine for your website." In this CodeGuard review, we'll put that claim to the test.
Let's start with setting up WordPress backups via CodeGuard.
If you don't like the video or need more instructions, continue reading.
The first thing you need to do is visit the CodeGuard website and click the Start your free trial button.
This will take you to the registration form. Fill it out and click the "Start my free trial" button. You will be prompted to enter a password for your account.
It is essential that you use a strong password (see the password management guide for WordPress users) and then click the next step button.
This will take you to the add website page. You must first enter your website URL and then provide your FTP information.
If you don't know your FTP username or password, contact your WordPress hosting provider. You can also find this information in the email your WordPress hosting provider sent you when you signed up. Alternatively, you can also locate this information using cPanel by clicking on FTP or FTP manager.
After entering your FTP/SFTP information, click the test connection button. CodeGuard will display a success message. Now you can click the Connect your website button.
CodeGuard will connect to your website and show you all the files stored on your server.
You will need to select the folder that contains all your WordPress files and then click the 'select root directory' button to continue.
Now scroll down a bit and you will see the 'Select Website Content' section. You need to select all your files and folders.
Just click on the top folder and all the files inside it will be selected automatically. Then click on the first backup button to continue.
You will see a success message. CodeGuard will automatically start downloading your WordPress files to their cloud servers in the background.
You will be prompted to add your WordPress database for backup.
The next step is to connect your database and for this you will need the following information.
You can find this information in the wp-config.php file of your WordPress website. Alternatively, you can contact your web host to provide them with this information.
If you connect to your host using localhost as your hostname, you will need to enter your domain name as the hostname.
On the other hand, if you use a hostname like mysql.example.com, you will have to enter it or add the IP address of your MySQL server.
Enter your database connection information. Before clicking the button for the next step, you will need to copy the IP addresses shown in the Helpful Tips box to the right.
Your web host will not allow an external IP to connect to your database unless you explicitly allow it. To do this, you need to whitelist these IP addresses.
Simply login to your cPanel account and click on the remote MySQL icon.
Copy and paste an IP address and then click the Add Host button. Repeat for all IP addresses given by CodeGuard.
Once you are done, go back to the add CodeGuard database screen and click the next step button.
CodeGuard will connect to your database now. If you have more than one database, it will ask you to select one. Choose your WordPress database and click the Add Database button.
CodeGuard will now start backing up your database to their cloud servers. Upon completion, it will display your database and some basic WordPress stats.
That's all you've successfully backed up your WordPress site and database to CodeGuard's cloud servers.
As a website owner, you need to make sure that the backup solution you are using for your site is easy to restore. CodeGuard offers automatic restore options that allow you to restore your WordPress files and databases with a single click.
You can also download your backups to your own computer for manual recovery.
CodeGuard really lives up to being a time machine for your website. Using the FTP/MySQL method, you can backup almost any website, including WordPress and your other sites.
We always recommend storing your backups on third-party cloud servers, making CodeGuard an ideal backup solution for anyone just starting out.
While having backups is an option, we strongly recommend that you have one vs. not. We've had too many users whose sites were hacked and had no backup (meaning literally losing years of content).
Regular site backups are the best insurance policy you can buy for your web-based business.
We highly recommend that you use a WordPress backup solution, and CodeGuard is definitely at the top of our list.
See the full list of our recommended WordPress backup plugins.
That is all. We hope this article helped you set up automatic WordPress backups with CodeGuard and that you found our CodeGuard review helpful. You may also want to see our guide on 11 things to do before launching a WordPress site.
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