That’s why there exist tons of backup and security plugins for WordPress. But again choosing a good backup plugin for an online store is not as easy as it may seem. There are certain factors which you have to consider e.g.\u00a0site speed<\/strong>,\u00a0quality<\/strong>, and\u00a0ease of use<\/strong>. In particular, you have to be smart while considering a plugin for your WooCommerce powered online store.<\/p>\n While working on a backup plan for WooCommerce store of a client, I came across this amazing backup plugin for WordPress called\u00a0BlogVault<\/strong><\/a>. In fact, it’s far more than just a backup plugin. Its packed with some bold features for WordPress which include\u00a0user management<\/strong>,\u00a0security<\/strong>,\u00a0site migration<\/strong>,\u00a0smart malware scan<\/strong>,\u00a0site restore<\/strong>, and much more.<\/p>\n It’s been a while since I have had been toying around with BlogVault and I am pretty excited to share my experience. In this piece, I will be reviewing exclusively their real-time backup services with the perspective of running an online store with WooCommerce. I am using their real-time backup plan because it includes\u00a0WooCommerce real-time order sync feature<\/strong>. So, let’s get started!<\/p>\n BlogVault<\/a> is a premium<\/strong> real-time backup<\/strong> and<\/strong> security<\/strong> service for WordPress. It’s developed by the awesome WordPress folks\u00a0Akshat Choudhary<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pritesh Vora<\/a>. Their incredible solution led to the partnerships<\/strong> with big names like Pantheon<\/strong>, WPEngine<\/strong>, and Cloudways<\/strong>. It’s\u00a05+ years\u00a0<\/strong>old and currently rocks over\u00a020,000+\u00a0<\/strong>active installs.<\/p>\n When you install the WooCommerce<\/a> plugin, it adds additional tables<\/strong> in the database which account for custom post types and data. So, a regular backup plugin can’t do this job and you need to make sure that these tables are being backed up.<\/p>\n On the other hand, BlogVault ensures taking backups of all the tables including the additional database ones. So, it’s a first tick mark which makes it unique to several other backup solutions in the market.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n While talking about the traditional working of a normal backup plugin, then the approach is that:<\/p>\n Online store owners can surely not afford these issues and seek for an optimized solution which BlogVault<\/a> handles efficiently.<\/p>\n It immediately tracks<\/strong>\u00a0changes in your site<\/strong> since BlogVault servers\u00a0check for the changes <\/strong>after regular intervals, like 5 minutes or so<\/strong>. If it detects any changes, it pulls those to the server. This minimizes the possible data loss and makes this solution ideal for WooCommerce sites. \ud83c\udfaf<\/p>\n There is a BlogVault plugin<\/a>\u00a0available on WordPress plugins repository, but as a matter of fact, it’s a SaaS<\/strong>-based product. And it provides a zero configuration setup model. In fact, backing up your site with BlogVault is easier than you can imagine. Follow the quick steps below to get started.<\/p>\n The very first step is to head over to BlogVault<\/a> and buy a suitable package<\/a>. There are a variety of plans to choose from. You can also sign up<\/a> for a\u00a07-day free trial<\/strong> to give it a shot.<\/p>\n Once you have successfully purchased\u00a0a plan, log in to your BlogVault account. It will take you to your BlogVault dashboard. Click on the Add Site\u00a0<\/strong>button to add the site.<\/p>\n When you click on the\u00a0Add Site\u00a0<\/strong>button, it will take you to a new screen. Here, you need to enter your website URL. Once done, click on the Next<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n After adding the site, it will take a few moments to check the site. After that, it will ask you for the login credentials<\/strong> to install the plugin<\/strong>. You can either simply enter the credentials and it will automatically install<\/strong> the plugin or you can manually install the plugin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It will take a few moments before it finally installs the plugin. Once done, it will show you a success message and you’re good to go. Head to your\u00a0Dashboard<\/strong> and you will notice that it will be automatically taking the first backup.<\/p>\n So, that’s it, just two simple steps and you are done with creating the backup. Real-time backup is on<\/strong> by default, so your future updates will be tracked and backed up automatically.\u00a0\ud83d\udcaf<\/p>\n Another major feature of BlogVault is Test Restore<\/strong>. It allows you to create a staging site rather than directly restoring the backup. This way, you can actually check out the things before restoring them. Like creating a backup, test restore is also pretty simple.<\/p>\n To run a Test Restore, go to your BlogVault dashboard and open details of the site you want to restore. After that, in the Backup section, click on the Restore Test\u00a0<\/strong>option.<\/p>\n Once you have clicked the Restore Test button, it will redirect you to a new screen asking the PHP version and the backup that you want to stage. Select appropriate options and click\u00a0Submit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It will take a couple of minutes before it creates a staging site. You can continue other tasks in your dashboard, it will continue in the background and will notify you once it is done. On completion, it will provide you with a staged site link and credentials to take a look at your site before you actually make it live.\u00a0\ud83d\udcaf<\/p>\n Another interesting feature of the Real-Time Backup plan is WooCommerce Order Sync. Whenever an order is initiated<\/strong>, it immediately tracks that order<\/strong> and those changes are synced with the BlogVault servers<\/strong>. This way, it makes sure that you never lose an order.<\/p>\n Now, remember that (at the time of writing this piece) WooCommerce Order Sync is not enabled by default<\/strong> probably because not every site is a store. So, you have to get in enabled by asking their support<\/strong>, which is super awesome<\/strong> by the way. They also told me that they’re planning to fix this in their next update<\/strong> and enable it by default. \u270c<\/p>\n BlogVault is literally jam-packed with super awesome backup and security features. Apart from the features, I really liked the way its dashboard has been laid out. It’s well thought, properly designed, and provides a great experience.<\/p>\n Now, let’s take a brief look at the features of BlogVault.<\/p>\n Apart from the simple backup and Test Restore feature, there are also some other intuitive features which make the backup experience worthwhile. They are briefly explained below:<\/p>\n Another amazing feature of BlogVault is site management. It shows stats of all the installed plugins, themes, and site users at one place. You can easily manage all the things from one place.<\/p>\n Another important feature of the BlogVault is security. It provides a smart malware scan for your WordPress site. The interesting part is, instead of checking\u00a0keywords<\/strong> and\u00a0signatures<\/strong> like other malware scanning plugins, it scans based on what a method does<\/strong>. Which results in better malware control.\u00a0\ud83d\udcaf<\/p>\n BlogVault has a very well designed knowledge base<\/a> to help users get started right away. You can find details on almost every topic to get things up and running. If you go ahead and check out, you’ll notice that everything is explained very neatly through proper screenshots<\/strong> and guides<\/strong>. So, thumbs up for it.\u00a0\ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n Another thing that impressed me a lot is the properly worked out dashboard of BlogVault<\/a>. It provides easy navigations, minimal design, and easy to use features. Apart from this, it’s well optimized and very fast. These all things add up to a great user experience.\u00a0\ud83d\udcaf<\/p>\n BlogVault<\/a> plans ranges from $89\/year for one site<\/strong> to $799\/year for 100 sites<\/strong>. There are almost 12 plans\u00a0<\/strong>that you can choose from. They vary in features and number of sites supported. Also, there’s a\u00a0free 7 days trial<\/strong> that you can avail<\/a> to check out the features.<\/p>\n![\"BlogVault-Main-image\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Main-image.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\ud83d\udd30\u00a0BlogVault<\/h2>\n
\u2705<\/h2>\n
\n
\ud83d\udd25\u00a0Zero Configuration Backup Setup<\/h2>\n
\u2192 Step #1<\/h3>\n
\u2192 Step #2<\/h3>\n
![\"BlogVault-Add-a-new-site\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Add-a-new-site.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"BlogVault-Add-Site-Name\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Add-Site-Name.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"BlogVault-Install-Plugin\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Install-Plugin.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"BlogVault-Auto-Backup\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Auto-Backup.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\ud83c\udfaf\u00a0Test Restore<\/h2>\n
\u2192 Step #1<\/h3>\n
![\"BlogVault-Test-Restore\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Test-Restore.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\u2192 Step #2<\/h3>\n
![\"BlogVault-Stage-Site\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Stage-Site.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"BlogVault-Staged-Site\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Staged-Site.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\ud83c\udf55\u00a0Real-Time\u00a0 WooCommerce Order Sync<\/h2>\n
\ud83c\udf52\u00a0BlogVault Features<\/h2>\n
\u2192 Backup Features<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"BlogVault-Backup-Features\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Backup-Features.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\u2192 Management<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"BlogVault-Site-Management\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Site-Management.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\u2192 Security<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"BlogVault-Security-Scan\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Security-Scan.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\ud83d\udcd6\u00a0Documentation<\/h2>\n
![\"BlogVault-Knowledge-base\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Knowledge-base.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\ud83c\udf6d\u00a0User Experience<\/h2>\n
\ud83e\udd11\u00a0Pricing<\/h2>\n
![\"BlogVault-Pricing\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-Pricing.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n![\"BlogVault-RealTime-Backup\"](\"https:\/\/thedevcouple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/BlogVault-RealTime-Backup.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n