Total Upkeep

Are you searching for the best WordPress backup plugin to safeguard your website?

We manage multiple WordPress sites so we’ve had plenty of time to test different backup solutions. Since we’ve tried so many plugins over the years, we’re in a great position to evaluate the features, benefits, and drawbacks of the latest WordPress backup plugins.

In this Total Upkeep review, we’re putting our first-hand experience to good use. We’ll be looking at this popular plugin’s features, support, and pricing, to see how it compares to the other backup plugins we’ve used across our various websites.

So, is Total Upkeep the right backup plugin for your WordPress website? Let’s find out, in this detailed Total Upkeep review.

Total Upkeep Review: Why Use It in WordPress?

Total Upkeep is a popular backup plugin that promises to restore your database and files if something goes wrong. It can create backups manually, or based on a schedule set by you.

In addition to creating backups, Total Upkeep comes with tools and features that can prevent crashes and WordPress errors from happening in the first place. This includes a Site Check that scans your site for any problems that might cause data loss or crashes.

Going further, Total Upkeep can automatically create a backup before updating your WordPress theme, plugins, or even WordPress core. It will then restore this backup for you, if something goes wrong.

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of Total Upkeep from WordPress.org.

This plugin lets you backup your site via FTP or SFTP. However, if you want to upload your archives to remote storage services, then you’ll need to upgrade to the premium plugin.

The premium plugin also lets you restore a single file, and even browse through your entire backup history to find a particular version of that file. You can then restore that exact version with just a few clicks.

Total Upkeep Review: Is It the Right Backup Plugin for You?

Regular backups are crucial for WordPress security. While you could create backups manually, a reliable backup plugin can automate this process, saving you time and effort.

With that said, in this Total Upkeep review we’ll see if it’s the right backup plugin for you.

1. Multiple Storage Locations

Typically, it’s a bad idea to save your backups in the same location as your website.

If you do, then you risk losing both your website and backup files if something goes wrong. Instead, Total Upkeep lets you save your backups remotely to Google Drive, Amazon S3, or DreamHost’s DreamObjects.

You can also backup to FTP or SFTP.

When you’re viewing your list of backups, Total Upkeep will show where each backup is stored. Depending on how you configured the plugin, it might even store a single backup in multiple remote locations.

2. Customizable Backups

By default, Total Upkeep creates a full file and database backup, but this may not always be the best choice for your website.

In that case, you can choose exactly which tables and files to backup.

Simply select the content you want to include or exclude, and Total UpKeep will handle the rest. By excluding unnecessary content, your backups will take up less storage space and have a minimal impact on your website’s speed and performance.

You can even specify custom files or database tables to include in the backup.

3. Preflight Check

For added WordPress security, Total Upkeep can check that your server has the necessary features to protect the integrity of your backups. As part of this preflight check, it’ll scan your backup directory, permissions, compressors, disk space, and more.

You can see the results of these tests directly in the WordPress dashboard.

If Total Upkeep finds an issue, then you’ll see a ‘Fail’ message along with some information about the problem. If the Preflight Check fails, then Total Upkeep won’t even attempt to make a backup, so you must address these problems before going any further.

4. Create Manual Backups

With Total Upkeep, you can create a manual backup at any point simply by clicking a button.

You can then choose whether to create a full backup or limit it to specific files, before typing in a title and a description.

We recommend creating a manual backup before making any big changes to your website. For example, you might create a backup before changing your WordPress theme or installing a new plugin. If something goes wrong, you can simply restore the latest backup and it’ll undo this change immediately.

5. Automated Backups

Total Upkeep lets you create backups on-demand. However, it’s easy to forget about this important WordPress maintenance task, especially when things get busy. This is bad news if you encounter a problem and need to restore an earlier version of your WordPress blog.

Thankfully, Total Upkeep can backup your site automatically. In the plugin’s settings, simply select the days and times when it should create a backup.

This makes it easy to create a schedule that suits your website. For example, if you run a busy online store then Total Upkeep can create a backup every single day. That way, you can avoid losing order information, customer payment details, and other important data.

6. Database Encryption

Backups contain everything needed to recreate your website. This includes your pages and posts, user data, and even sensitive customer information if you’re running an online marketplace or similar website.

With that said, it’s important to protect your backups against hackers and thieves. Thankfully, Total Upkeep offers database encryption, so your backups can only be restored using the provided Encryption Token.

By enabling encryption, people can only restore your backups with your authorization.

7. Detailed Backup Archive

To help manage your backups, Total Upkeep creates an archive that you can access and explore directly in the WordPress dashboard. This shows when each backup was created, the storage location, and the size.

To see more information about a backup, simply select it.

This takes you to a new page that shows the entire list of database tables and files included in the backup, along with the file name, and whether the database is encrypted.

8. Restore Backups with Ease

With Total Upkeep, it’s easy to restore WordPress from a backup. If the backup is on your web server, then you can install it with a single click.

Do you want to restore a remote backup? Then you’ll need to download the file to your web server first.

This can take a few minutes, depending on the size of the file.

Once the download is complete, you can check the file’s details and then restore it with just a few clicks.

9. Restore Specific Files

Sometimes, you may only need to restore a single file. In that case, you can browse through every file included in each Total Upkeep backup.

When you find the file you want to restore, simply click ‘Restore this version’ rather than restoring the entire backup. For example, you might use this feature to recover media files that you deleted by accident, or a previous version of your site’s .htcaccess file.

10. Historical Versions

Do you want to restore a particular file, but can’t remember the exact backup? In that case, simply find any version of that file, in any backup, and then select ‘Find other versions to restore.’

Total Upkeep will then show all the versions you can restore. You can search through these archives until you find the right version, and then restore it with a single click.

11. Restore an Unavailable Website

In the worst case scenario, Total Upkeep has a restoration script that can restore a backup from outside of WordPress.

If your site isn’t working at all, then this means you can still restore your website from the last full archive backup. This can be a life-saver if your WordPress installation is inaccessible or WordPress itself is corrupted.

12. Activity History

To help you track what’s happening across your WordPress website, Total Upkeep comes with a built-in history tool. This shows all the recent changes including plugin updates, backups created, and theme updates.

For each change, it shows the date, action, and the user who made that change. This is particularly useful if you share the dashboard with other people but don’t want to install a separate activity log.

13. Auto Update Themes, Plugins, and Core

Unlike some other backup plugins, Total Upkeep can automatically update your themes and plugins, or WordPress core for you. This can save you a ton of time and effort, while also improving your security by ensuring you always have the latest version.

In the plugin’s settings, you can choose to automatically install major, minor, development, or translation updates for WordPress core.

Total Upkeep can also automatically install the latest versions of all your plugins and themes.

Alternatively, you can choose the exact themes or plugins that Total Upkeep will auto-update. In this way, you can control exactly what software gets updated automatically.

Some updates may occasionally contain bugs or other errors. When this happens, users typically let the developer know so they can issue a fix. However, this process takes time, so installing a new release straight away can sometimes be risky.

With that said, Total Upkeep has a timely auto-update feature. This adds a delay between the initial release, and Total Upkeep installing the update on your website, so the developer has time to fix any potential issues.

To use this feature, simply specify the delay in the plugin’s settings. With that done, Total Upkeep will handle the rest.

14. Auto Rollback

You can configure Total Upkeep to create a backup before installing any updates.

If the update fails, then Total Upkeep will automatically restore your site from the latest backup.

15. Site Check

Unlike some other backup plugins, Total Upkeep attempts to proactively find potential problems on your site, before they result in data loss.

One of these features is the built-in Site Check tool, which scans your site at specific intervals. You can change this interval in the Total Upkeep settings, depending on the kind of coverage your site needs.

No matter what interval you select, Total Upkeep will record its findings to an error log that you can check at any time. This can provide useful additional information, especially if you’re troubleshooting a WordPress error.

If it discovers an error, then Total Upkeep will notify your WordPress admin email, and give you the option to auto restore your site from the latest backup.

16. Easy Site Migration

Do you want to move your website to a new WordPress hosting provider? To make sure everything goes smoothly, many website owners use a WordPress migration plugin.

However, Total Upkeep lets you migrate a website without using an additional plugin. Instead, you can simply move your WordPress website to the new location or build a new site from an existing backup archive.

Simply choose the download you want to use and Total Upkeep will create a download link.

You can then use this link to import the backup into any other website where Total Upkeep is installed. Simply copy and paste the link into the new destination website.

Finally, you can either inspect the backup files or go ahead and select Restore, which will replace all the files and database content on the new destination website.

Are you storing your backups to a cloud storage service? In that case, you’ll need to download the backup to your web server before creating a download link, so there are some extra steps involved with remote backups.

17. Save a Copy

WordPress has a plugin editor that lets you change the code of any plugin installed on your site. While we recommend using a code snippet plugin instead, some developers use this editor to make simple changes, or to work with hooks and filters.

Editing code files directly can cause unexpected behavior, especially if you make a typo or mistake in the code. To protect against this, Total Upkeep adds a button to the plugin editor, so you can quickly save a copy of the plugin files before making any changes.

If you encounter any problems, then you can restore this copy with a single click.

18. Community and Professional Support

With its automated backups and one-click restore, Total Upkeep is designed with ease of use in mind. However, regular backups are crucial for your website’s security, so you’ll want to make sure Total Upkeep is set up and working correctly.

If you need some extra support, then there’s online documentation that you can access 24/7. Here, you’ll find detailed guides on how to configure Total Upkeep, along with advice on how to resolve common WordPress errors you may encounter when using it. This includes the Upload_Max_Filesize Error.

Beyond that, there’s a forum where you can see questions asked by other users.

This is a quick and easy way to find answers to common problems and questions, so you don’t need to ask them yourself and wait for a response.

If your question hasn’t already been asked, then you can start your own thread. The Total Upkeep team monitors their forums Monday-Friday, 9am-5PM (Denver time).

Are you using the free plugin? Then you can also post to the plugin’s forum on WordPress.org.

No matter what forum you use, it’s always a good idea to include as much information as possible, so the experts can understand your problem fully and post a helpful response. For more on this topic, please see our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support.

Total Upkeep Review: Pricing and Plans

If you’re just getting started or have a limited budget, then you can download the lite version of Total Upkeep from WordPress.org. This plugin lets you create complete backups on-demand or schedule them to happen every day, automatically.

You can also create full backups or specify the exact database tables and files to include in each backup. However, you can unlock additional features by upgrading to the premium plugin, for $2.50 per month.

After upgrading, you can backup your site to Google Drive, Amazon S3, or DreamObjects automatically. You can also encrypt your backups for extra security, restore a specific file only, and add a delay to your automated plugin, theme, and WordPress core updates.

With all that said, the premium plan is a must-have if you want to backup your site remotely, or need some extra flexibility when it comes to restoring specific files.

Total Upkeep Review: Is It the Right Backup Plugin for You?

In our Total Upkeep review, we looked at the plugin’s features, ease of use, support, and pricing. To sum things up, we’re confident that it’s a great backup plugin.

With Total Upkeep, you can backup your site to multiple remote storage locations, or backup to FTP or SFTP if you prefer. You can also encrypt your database for added security, or use Total Upkeep as a ‘set and forget’ solution by scheduling automatic backups.

Going further, Total Upkeep comes with some added extras that you don’t always see in backup plugins, such as auto updates. Total Upkeep will also proactively scan your site and let you know about any errors it discovers, so you can act before disaster strikes.

We hope this Total Upkeep review helped you decide whether it’s the right backup plugin for you. Next, you may want to see our guide on how to get a free SSL certificate, or check out our expert pick of the best contact form plugins.

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