WordPress Backup & Migration – User Guide

This is a complete documentation of the free version of the WordPress Migrator and Duplicator plugin that helps to migrate and keep a backup of your entire WordPress website.

The plugin comes with simple, flexible and quick export-import functionalities. Helps you to migrate or backup your WordPress website containing the wp-content and database with ease. 

• Move, migrate or clone a WordPress site between domains or hosts with zero downtime.
• Keep backup logs
• Pull down a live site to localhost for development
• Transfer a WordPress site from one host to another

The plugin can be installed:

• from the WordPress plugin directory
• as a zip downloaded from the WordPress.org website.

You can learn more about the installation procedure by reading the article How to Install a Free Plugin from WordPress.

For a detailed insight on how to migrate, do watch the below mentioned video.

On activating the plugin, a new menu, WordPress Migration, appears on your WP admin panel. It consists of three sub-menus:

• Migration & Backup
• Settings
• Logs

You can navigate to the plugin in two ways:

1. WordPress Migration menu from WordPress dashboard.
2. Plugins > Installed Plugins > WordPress Backup & Migration >Settings (the user will be taken to the Settings window.)

Backup and restore all that you want. All the export and import related activities are carried out here. This module consists of 3 tabs:

1. Create Backup
2. Import/Restore
3. Help

In this section, you can export and backup your WordPress contents. You can either create a quick backup or schedule the backup.

Export/Backup

To perform a quick backup, we choose: Export/Backup.

On clicking Backup Now, the export process will begin with the default configurations. To customise your selections on what to backup and where to backup, head on to Configuration options. Here, we have three sections. Let us have a look at each of them in detail.

What to backup?

Here you can select all that you want to backup. 

1. WordPress Database : Select this option if you want to take the backup of only the database. This selection will not include any kind of WordPress files in the backup.

   

2. WordPress Files : This option will export the theme, media library and plugins. No database will be included in the backup.
   Among these WordPress files, you can exclude backing up certain folders and files if required. Simply unselect the folders to exclude.
   

   

   
   

On selecting both options, you can export the theme, media library, plugins and the database. That is, the whole WordPress site.
However, you can specifically exclude certain folders and files if you do not wish to include them in the backup. Unselect the required to exclude from backup.

Where to backup ?

In this section, we can choose among different storage options. From local to cloud storage locations, you can select the preferred backup location under the option:  “Export file into”. If you want to export the file into the storage option:

1. Local: The backups will get downloaded locally. However, this storage option is not recommended as failure of the local-system in any manner will make you lose the backup.
   

   

   We suggest you to go for the other available cloud storage options unless you plan to manually copy the data to your computer.
   
2. FTP/SFTP: Choose the required FTP profile, specify the export path and file name.
   

   

3. Google Drive: Ensure that you have established the Google drive connection and specify the Google drive file name.
   

   

4. Amazon S3: Ensure that you have established the Amazon S3 connection and specify the Amazon S3 File Name.
   

   

Advanced options

Here, we can process our backup in a more advanced way with these options.

1. Data size limit per request: Here, we can specify the data size limit in mb per request.
2. Number of database records per request: This option will process the number of database records you want to backup per request.
3. Number of files to process per request:  In this option, we can specify the number of files you want to backup per request.

• Click on save to update the configurations.
• Now, we have to click on the Backup Now button at top of the screen.
  

  

• Verify the configurations. If you need to make any changes, click on Close the pop-up and change selections.
• Once the configurations are verified, click on Create Backup.
• Click on Stop export to end the process.
  

  

• On successful export, the following screen will appear.

Scheduling backup

To schedule the backup, click on the Schedule backup button. 

This will take you to the section: Schedule Configuration. In the section, Schedule automatic backup settings, choose the export storage location under the option: Export file into. 

Scheduling via FTP/SFTP

Choose the required FTP profile, specify the export path and file name. Select the interval at which you want the backup to occur and select the content you want to export. The available options in Export content are:

1. Files
2. Database

You can select both the options if you want to schedule the backup of the whole WordPress site.

Click on Schedule to finish.

Scheduling via Google Drive

1. Ensure that you have established the Google drive connection. Refer to the configuration instructions.
2. Select the interval at which you want the backup to occur.
3. Select the content you want to export.
4. Click on Schedule. 

Scheduling via Amazon S3

1. Ensure that you have established the Amazon S3 connection . 
2. Select the interval at which you want the backup to occur.
3. Select the content you want to export.
4. Click on Schedule. 

You can also use the advanced options for scheduling the backup. Refer to the section: Advanced options for more information.

This section is specifically for importing the data via Quick migration and for restoring the recent backups if needed.

Quick import

To import the exported content to the target website, you need to set up this plugin on it as well. Then expand the import tab, and import the data from the zip file, which includes all your website files and the database that needs to be migrated. 

In Import from, choose the location of your zip file from:

• Local
• FTP/SFTP
• Google Drive
• Amazon S3

Import from location: Local

1. Click on Upload backup file.
2. In the Upload files tab, drop or upload the file.
   

   

3.  Click the Import to finish.

Import from location: FTP

1. Choose the required FTP profile.
2. Specify the Import Path and Import file name.
3. Click the Import to finish.
   

   

Import from location: Google Drive

1. Ensure that you have established the Google drive connection.
2. Specify the Google Drive File Name.
3. Click on Import to finish.
   

   

Import from location: Amazon S3

1. Ensure that you have established the Amazon S3 connection.
2. Specify the Amazon S3 File Name.
3. Click on Import to finish.
   

   

Restore

All your recent backups will be listed here. You can either restore or delete the backup.

Advanced options

Here, we can restore in a more advanced way with these options.

1. Data size limit per request: Here, we can specify the data size limit in mb per request.
2. Number of database records per request: This option will process the number of database records you want to restore per request.

Click on Save to finish.

The Help tab contains links to plugin documentation and support.

Here you can establish all the cloud storage connections which caters to easy migration. The sub module: Settings has three tabs:

1. FTP Settings
2. Google Drive 
3. Amazon S3

We can create and maintain multiple FTP profiles that can be used for the import/export of site backups. The section has 2 tabs:

• FTP Profiles
• Add new

Viewing FTP Profiles

Click on FTP Profiles to view the added FTP profiles and edit them.

Creating a FTP Profile

Click on Add new to create a new FTP profile and Save settings.

To get connected :

1. Enter the Client ID and Client secret.
   These data can be collected from the Google developer console. Refer Google developer documentation, for more details.
2. Click on Authenticate to finish.

To get connected :

1. Collect the Access key, Secret key and S3 location from your IAM console.
   Refer to Amazon developer documentation, for more details.
2. Click on Authenticate to finish.

To reach the Logs section: Click on the menu: WordPress Migration > LogsThe Logs section lists developer logs mostly required for debugging purposes with the following options:

• View: to view detailed logs 
• Delete: to remove the log
• Download: to share the log report with the support team in case of issues

Check where to find the PHP error logs.

Know more in more about the plugin.