KeenWP

Curated resource guide

WordPress Backups and Disaster Recovery

Build a WordPress backup system around recoverability, not the appearance of successful jobs. This collection covers files, databases, configuration, retention, off-site and immutable storage, encryption, restore testing, WooCommerce and multisite concerns, recovery objectives, provider limitations, and documented disaster runbooks.

Scope

What this guide covers

  • Backup strategy
  • files, database and configuration
  • full versus incremental backups
  • frequency
  • retention
  • off-site storage
  • encryption
  • access control
  • immutable backups
  • automated verification
  • restore testing
  • recovery time objective and recovery point objective
  • large sites
  • WooCommerce transactional data
  • multisite
  • object storage/media
  • server snapshots
  • database point-in-time recovery
  • staging restores
  • disaster scenarios
  • ransomware/compromise considerations
  • provider backups versus independent backups
  • and documented recovery runbooks

Selected references

Curated resources

Links open the original publisher so you can use the complete, current material in context.

  1. 01
    5
    Recommended starting point

    WordPress Backups

    Start with the official model for protecting both the database and files required to reconstruct a WordPress site.

    developer.wordpress.org
  2. 02
    5

    Backing Up the WordPress Database

    Practical database backup paths for common tools, command-line access, automation, and verification.

    developer.wordpress.org
  3. 03
    5

    Backing Up WordPress Files

    Identify the configuration, uploads, themes, plugins, and other filesystem data a complete recovery needs.

    developer.wordpress.org
  4. 04
    5

    WP-CLI Database Export

    Create scriptable SQL exports with database credentials and table context taken from the WordPress installation.

    developer.wordpress.org
  5. 05
    5

    WP-CLI Database Import

    Restore SQL through a documented command that fits repeatable recovery and environment-migration procedures.

    developer.wordpress.org
  6. 06
    4

    Restic Documentation

    A clear guide to encrypted, deduplicated backups across local and remote storage with integrity checks and retention.

    restic.readthedocs.io
  7. 07
    4

    BorgBackup Documentation

    Reference documentation for encrypted deduplicated archives, pruning, verification, mounting, and restores.

    borgbackup.readthedocs.io
  8. 08
    5

    MySQL Point-in-Time Recovery

    Combine full backups with binary logs to recover transactional data to a precise point before an incident.

    dev.mysql.com
  9. 09
    5

    Amazon S3 Object Lock

    Protect off-site backup objects with retention controls that resist accidental deletion and ransomware.

    docs.aws.amazon.com
  10. 10
    5

    Checking Restic Repositories

    Verify repository structure and stored data instead of assuming a successful backup process produced recoverable data.

    restic.readthedocs.io
  11. 11
    5

    NIST Contingency Planning Guide

    Translate business impact, recovery objectives, testing, and runbooks into a defensible continuity plan.

    csrc.nist.gov
  12. 12
    5

    CISA Ransomware Guide

    Plan resilient backups, containment, and recovery around the failure modes of destructive compromise.

    cisa.gov