WordPress Backup Plugin — Asteris Backups + Migration

What should a WordPress backup plugin do? Four jobs: (1) scheduled automatic backups so you don’t have to remember, (2) off-site storage so a server failure doesn’t take your backup with it, (3) one-click restore that actually works (an untested restore is hope, not insurance), and (4) encryption at rest so a compromised backup destination doesn’t compromise your site’s data.

Where should I store WordPress backups? Anywhere except the same server as the WordPress install. Modern cost-effective options: Cloudflare R2 (no egress fees, S3-compatible), Backblaze B2 (cheap hot storage, S3-compatible), Wasabi (~80% cheaper than S3 for cold storage), Amazon S3 (the canonical option, more expensive). Asteris supports all four natively, plus SFTP and local storage.

Can Asteris restore a backup to a different URL? Yes — that’s the cross-site migration feature. Restore your live-site backup to a staging URL to verify the restore works, or push it to a new production site to migrate hosting. Not gated to a paid add-on.

The complete feature set

Scheduled backups

• Hourly / daily / weekly / monthly schedules
• Multiple schedules per site (e.g. daily database, weekly full)
• Backup what — files only, database only, or both
• Per-folder exclusions (skip wp-content/uploads/cache/, custom dirs, etc.)
• Per-table exclusions (skip large analytics tables, etc.)
• Incremental backups — after the first full backup, only changed files + database deltas are uploaded

Storage destinations (all native, no add-ons)

• Amazon S3 — any region, IAM role or access key auth
• Backblaze B2 — native S3-compatible API
• Cloudflare R2 — native S3-compatible API (zero egress fees — great for backup storage)
• Wasabi — native S3-compatible API
• SFTP — to any SSH-accessible host
• Local — to a separate directory on the same host (low-quality option but available)

Encryption

• AES-256 encryption at rest — backup archives are encrypted with a key only you control
• Encryption key stored encrypted (AES-256-CBC) in the WordPress database
• Decrypt + restore requires the key — store a copy off-site (Asteris reminds you on setup)

One-click restore

• Restore to current site — replace current database + files with backup contents
• Restore to staging URL — point Asteris at a different URL; restore there
• Restore to a new site — install Asteris on the new site, point at the backup destination, restore — full site migration
• Per-folder or per-table restore — restore only specific parts (e.g. just the database, just the uploads folder)
• Restore preview — list what will change before clicking Restore

Cross-site migration (not a paid add-on)

• Push to staging — one-click clone from production to a staging URL
• Pull from production — staging can pull the latest from production
• URL rewrite — automatic URL replacement during restore (no separate Better Search Replace step needed)
• Domain change handling — switching from dev.example.com to example.com? Asteris rewrites every URL in the database during restore

Backup integrity verification

• Checksum verification — every backup archive has a SHA-256 checksum; Asteris verifies the archive at the destination matches the checksum
• Test restore — optional: every Nth backup is auto-restored to a sandbox URL and tested for boot success; failures alert via email
• Retention — keep the last N daily / weekly / monthly backups (configurable)

What this module does NOT do

• Real-time / live backups. Asteris backs up on a schedule. For real-time database replication, use a managed backup service like BlogVault or your host’s snapshot system.
• Manage backups across 100s of sites. Asteris is per-site. For agency-level multi-site backup management, ManageWP or MainWP are better.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best WordPress backup plugin? UpdraftPlus is the most-installed (3M+ active). BlogVault is the most-trusted managed option. BackWPup is free and competent. Asteris Backups + Migration is best when you want backups + the other 10 plugins a WordPress site needs in one bundle, with modern destinations (R2, Wasabi) and cross-site migration included (not as a $30 add-on).

Can Asteris back up to Cloudflare R2 or Wasabi? Yes — both natively. R2 (no egress fees) is the smart choice for backup storage; you pay storage cost only. Wasabi is the cheapest for long-term cold storage.

Does Asteris encrypt backups? Yes — AES-256 encryption at rest. The encryption key is stored encrypted in the WordPress database; you should also keep a copy off-site (e.g. in 1Password).

Can I migrate a WordPress site to a new host with Asteris? Yes — cross-site migration is built into the Backups + Migration module. Install Asteris on the new site, point it at your backup destination, restore. Asteris handles URL rewriting during restore so links update automatically.

Will Asteris back up to my existing UpdraftPlus storage? You configure Asteris with the same credentials. UpdraftPlus’s existing backup archives stay in their UpdraftPlus format — they’re restorable from UpdraftPlus’s UI, not from Asteris. Asteris starts a new backup chain in its own format.

What happens if a backup fails? You get an email alert. The failed backup is logged in the Activity Log with the error. Asteris retries on the next schedule (doesn’t bombard you with retries between schedules).

Asteris vs UpdraftPlus → · Migrate from UpdraftPlus → · Pricing →