Backup WordPress with UpdraftPlus and hide the WordPress login url with WPS Hide Login.

Web Hosting Podcast

Today on episode 23 Web Hosting Podcast.

Google Chrome 68 is now out and marking sites that do not use https as not secure. We cover a great backup plugin for wordpress called UpdraftPlus, this free plugin with premium options is a great way to ensure you have a regular backup of your WordPress site. Have you ever wanted to know how to hide the login url for wordpress, we go over how to do this in this episode.

Google Chrome 68 is now out and marking sites that do not use https as not secure. If you are not using https or SSL/TLS for your site you really need to get on this. Listen to episode 13 if you are not sure how to achieve this.

On the update front, wordpress 4.9.8 was released. This is just a maintenance release which squashes 46 bugs. They have also added the ability to try the new Gutenberg editor. I would strongly caution anyone that if you plan to try it, to do so on a test copy of your site and make sure you have a full backup of your site before attempting anything on a live website.

UpdraftPlus backup plugin for WordPress

UpdraftPluse Website or the plugin page at WordPress.
Classified as “The Worlds most trusted wordpress backup plugin”
Currently lists 1.0M active installs with a overall rating of 98% for the premium version.

Free and paid “Premium” version of this WordPress plugin.
Here are the differences between the two versions:
Both of the versions do the following;
Backup wordpress files and databasess
Translated to over 16 languages
Restore from backup
Backup to remote storage
Destinations – Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP, S3, Rackspace, Email are supported
Basic email reporting
Scheduled backups
Browse backup contents in WordPress

Not included in the free version and requires a premium license;
Free 1Gb stirage for UpdraftVault
Additional Destinations – WebDAV, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, SFTP/SCP, encrypted FTP, BackBlaze
Backup extra files and databases
Migrate / clone (i.e. copy) websites
Advanced reporting features
Automatic backup when updating WP/plugins/themes
Send backups to multiple remote destinations
Database encryption
Restore backups from other plugins
No advertising links on UpdraftPlus settings page
Fix backup time
Network/Multisite support
Lock settings access
Download individual files from backup in WordPress
Personal support
Run From WP-CLI

Cost for premium plugin version for one year. This includes update and support for one year. You can then renew after the year at a 40% discount.

Personal Plan for 2 sites – $70
Business Plan for 10 sites – $95
Agency Plan for 35 sites – $145
Enterprise Plan for unlimited sites – $195

Installation was simple, just like most wordpress plugins. Login to your wordpress install, goto plugins then add plugins. Search for updraftplus, click install and then activate. Could not be simpler. I hooked my install into dropbox, I am a big fan of dropbox but if you prefer google drive that should be just as easy. Once I connected to dropbox, I chose to do an immediate backup. This created several separate files in zip format.
1 for the database
1 for the others
1 for plugins
1 for themes
1 for uploads
This is handy for doing a single file restore, but you can easily restore the entire backup with a single click.
Next you want to schedule your backups. Go into the updraftplus settings, wordpress -> settings -> updraftplus backups -> settings. You will want to choose a files backup schedule and a database schedule (See Pic).

UpdraftPlus Settings

For being a 100% free backup utility, I would highly recommend this. If you need additional features, then the $70 Premium version might be worth looking at for 2 sites. I am also very fond of backups, they have saved me my sites many times. Updates go wrong, sites get hacked, a simple backup and restore is a much needed wordpress website tool that everyone should have in their toolbox. If you do not have a one click installer like installatron that does regular backups, then this is the tool to use. Even if you are using the free version of managewp.com, this will come in handy. Add them all together, like I do, and you should have all of your backup needs will be taken care of. Do not rely on any web host to do the backups for you, I can’t stress this enough. Take this critical step into your own hands and do it right. If you decide to use managewp.com services, make sure to use the coupon code WHPOD to get $10 applied to your balance after you enter your paymen details.

Change login url for wordpress with WPS Hide Login.
WPS Hide Login
This is a great way to add additional security. This simple step keeps the commonly known wp-admin/wp-login URL hidden by using a URL of your choice. By hiding the login page, you help prevent brute force attacks from happening and increase the security of your wordpress website.

It is simple to setup the WPS Hide Login plugin from inside of wordpress. Before you make any changes to wordpress always be sure to get a full backup first. You can use UpdraftPlus, ManageWP, or any other method to generate a full backup of your site. Once the backup is done and safe, login to your wordpress site and go to Plugins -> Add New. In the search bar type in “WPS Hide Login” and click on the “install now” button, then click activate after it is installed. Once activated goto Settings -> WPS Hide Login. Here you need to choose the new URL you will use to login to wordpress. Make this something specific that you will know and remember. When using this URL you need to ensure you include the trailing “/” when accessing it. Otherwise you will end up with a 404 error message. Now that it is active, make sure nothing on your site has broken.