You do not need to install anything inside wp-admin. A single PHP Backup Module placed in your site root backs up your WordPress files, database and IMAP mailboxes. Everything runs on your own server and the backup goes directly to your own cloud storage.
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Before choosing a backup plan you need to know where each kind of data lives.
All your content lives in the database. Restoring theme files alone gives you an empty site.
Accounts, roles and password hashes are database-only; losing them resets your membership base.
Uploaded images and documents sit on the filesystem — a database dump does not include them.
Plugin configuration is stored in the database. Reinstalling a plugin does not bring settings back.
Direct edits to theme files live on disk and are wiped by updates.
Redirect rules live in the database; losing them directly hurts your search rankings.
Open a free account in the Yedekalma panel and add your WordPress domain. The module zip package is generated for that domain only: the folder name and access key are built into it.
Unzip the package you downloaded from the panel and upload the folder inside to your WordPress site's root directory (public_html) via FTP without renaming it. No plugin is installed in wp-admin.
Press Verify in the panel and the module connects itself. Because the access key already comes inside the package, there is no token to paste.
Pick frequency, components and storage target. Backups run automatically, and restores go through a 3-step wizard.
There are five common ways to back up WordPress, and they don't all do the same job. The table below shows the differences that really matter on the day you lose data: where the backup lives, whether it runs on its own, and whether you can actually get back.
| Criterion | Backup plugin | Hosting backup | cPanel backup | Manual FTP | Yedekalma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs automatically | Partly — often in paid tiers | Usually | Varies | No | Yes |
| Backup kept somewhere else | If you add a destination | Usually the same server | Usually the same server | Yes — your own disk | Yes — your own cloud |
| Database included | Yes | Depends on the plan | Yes | No — separate export | Yes |
| Email (IMAP) included | Not that we know of | Depends on the plan | In a full backup | No | Yes |
| Accessible while the site is down | No — needs wp-admin | If the hosting panel is up | If the panel is up | Yes | Yes — independent panel |
| Verified to open | Varies | Not usually | Not usually | No | Yes — 8-layer verification |
| Slows the site down? | Adds PHP load | No | While backing up | No | Light — runs in chunks, spreading the load |
Competitor columns reflect general practice to the best of our knowledge (August 2026); individual products and plans may differ. Competitor columns reflect general practice to the best of our knowledge (August 2026); individual products and plans may differ. If you'd like to start with a plugin, our free WordPress backup plugin takes a backup from inside wp-admin in one click. If you want a server-side, plugin-free and fully automatic setup, the PHP module on this page is the right choice. For a detailed breakdown against other tools, see the backup solutions comparison page.
The module runs on your own server. Your database and FTP credentials are never sent to our panel.
Backups go directly to your own server, Google Drive, Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, Cloudflare R2, MinIO), OneDrive, Yandex.Disk, Dropbox (max 150 MB per archive) or a Receiver Module on a separate server — up to 3 destinations for the same backup. Backup files are not stored on our servers.
Optional: only changed files (by modification time), changed tables and new emails (IMAP UID) are transferred, with a periodic full backup. How it works.
Restore from the panel in 3 steps (component · summary · confirm), in full or in part, with an option to run verification only first. When moving to a different server, connection settings are rewritten for you; the module must be installed on the target.
Optional file and database scan (off by default) runs during backup on your server and reports findings only. In email backups, messages carrying malicious attachments are always left out of the archive and reported. Cleaning is available only in the free WordPress plugin.
On S3-compatible buckets with Object Lock enabled, a locked copy can't be deleted or changed until the lock expires. Learn more.
The module needs PHP 7.1 or newer (8.1+ recommended) — virtually every current WordPress installation qualifies. On the database side MySQL and MariaDB are supported: WordPress uses MySQL by default, so no extra configuration is needed.
The module is installed as an independent folder in your web root. It does not touch WordPress core files and is not installed as a theme, plugin or extension — so it works independently of your WordPress version and core updates don't affect your backups.
exec() is disabled and memory and time limits are tight.
Try it free — in the current campaign, until the end of the year. No credit card, and nothing is charged when the trial ends.
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