Every PMPro-hosted site is backed up automatically every day. Nothing to install, nothing to configure, no extra fee. If something goes wrong, like a bad plugin update, accidental content deletion, a compromised site, we have a recent copy to restore from.

This page covers what’s backed up, where backups live, how long we keep them, and how to request a restore.

What Is Backed Up

Daily backups capture your full WordPress installation:

• All files in your WordPress directory (core, themes, plugins, uploads, custom code)
• Your complete database (every table, every row)
• Your wp-config.php and other configuration files

A restore puts your site back exactly the way it was at the time of the backup: members, orders, content, settings, all of it.

Two Backup Paths

We run two independent backup layers so there’s always more than one way to recover your site.

Daily Off-Site Backups

Every day, your full site is backed up to a separate, encrypted S3 bucket. These backups live on infrastructure that’s independent of the server your site runs on, so even if your Droplet failed completely, the backups would still be available.

This is the primary backup we use for most restores. Files and the database are stored separately, which lets us restore one without the other when that’s the right fix.

DigitalOcean Droplet Snapshots

DigitalOcean takes a nightly snapshot of your entire Droplet at the infrastructure level: a complete image of the server, including the operating system, web stack, and your site. It’s a second recovery path we can fall back on if the off-site backup isn’t the right fit, or to rebuild a Droplet from scratch if hardware fails.

You won’t see Droplet snapshots in any customer-facing dashboard. They’re managed by us.

Retention

We retain backups on this schedule:

• 7 daily backups (the last week of nightly backups)
• 4 weekly backups (the last month, one per week)
• 6 monthly backups (the last six months, one per month)
• 1 yearly backup

That gives us a recovery window of just over a year. The further back you go, the less granular the options become. If you realize today that something went wrong four months ago, we can probably restore from a monthly backup near that date, but not from a specific day in that window.

Requesting a Restore

Restores aren’t self-service. They go through our support team, and that’s intentional. A restore replaces real customer data, so we want to confirm exactly what you need before running one.

To request a restore, contact support and let us know:

• What you want restored. A full site? Just the database? Specific files? We can do any of these.
• What date you want to restore from. The most recent good state, ideally. If you’re not sure when things broke, we can help you figure that out.
• What you’ve already tried. This helps us decide whether a restore is the right fix or if there’s a faster path (sometimes there is).

We’ll reply with what’s available, confirm the restore plan with you, and only then run it. We never restore without your explicit approval.

Files vs. Database

You can restore the database alone, the files alone, or both together. The right answer depends on what went wrong:

• Bad plugin update broke the site: usually a file restore alone. Your database is fine; you just need the old version of the plugin’s files back.
• Accidental content deletion or settings change: usually a database restore alone. Your files are fine; you just need the old database state back.
• Compromised site, file system damage, or you’re not sure: a full restore (files + database) puts everything back to a known good state.

We’ll help you decide which fits when you contact us.

Timing

There’s no firm SLA on restore speed. The actual time depends on:

• The size of your site (a 50 GB media library takes longer than a 500 MB site)
• Which backup we’re restoring from (recent off-site backups vs. older snapshots)
• Whether it’s a full restore or a targeted one
• Current support team workload

For most sites, a restore can be initiated and completed within a business day of approval. Larger sites take longer. We’ll give you a realistic estimate when we confirm the plan with you.

Site Availability During the Restore

Depending on the type of restore, your site may be briefly placed in maintenance mode while files are swapped in or the database is reloaded. We’ll let you know in advance if downtime is expected and how long it should be.

Common Reasons to Request a Restore

The two situations we see most often:

• A plugin or theme update broke something. An update went sideways and now part of your site isn’t working. A file restore from the day before the update usually puts things back.
• Accidental content or settings deletion. Someone deleted a post, removed a membership level, changed a critical setting, or made a bulk change that turned out to be a mistake. A database restore from the day before usually fixes it.

Other reasons we handle:

• Site compromise or malware (often paired with the malware cleanup process)
• Database corruption from an interrupted operation
• A botched custom code change

Whatever the situation, contact support and describe what happened. We’ll help you figure out whether a restore is the right move and which kind.

Before You Request a Restore

A restore overwrites your current site with the backup. Anything that happened between the backup date and now will be gone. Before approving a restore, think through:

• New members who signed up since the backup. They won’t exist after the restore. You may need to manually re-create them.
• New orders or subscriptions. These will disappear from your database. (The actual charges in your payment gateway are unaffected, but the site’s record of them will be gone.)
• Content you’ve published. Posts, pages, and media uploaded since the backup will be gone unless you have copies elsewhere.
• Settings you’ve changed. Any configuration changes since the backup will revert.

If any of these matter, mention them when you reach out. Sometimes the right fix is a partial restore (just the broken plugin’s files, for example) instead of a full one.

Requesting a Copy of Your Backup

If you want your own copy of a backup (for archival reasons, to migrate elsewhere, or just for peace of mind), contact support and ask for a backup download.

We’ll package the most recent backup (or one from a specific date if you ask) and send a download link. The package is large for most sites, so plan for real download time and storage space on your end.

This is your data. You’re entitled to a copy whenever you want one.

What Backups Cannot Recover

Backups capture your site. They don’t capture things that happen outside it:

• Payment gateway transactions. If a charge went through your gateway, the gateway has the record. The record on your site can be restored from backup, but the actual charge is independent.
• Email already delivered. If a transactional email already sent to a member, restoring the database won’t un-send it.
• DNS settings. Your domain’s DNS records are managed at your DNS provider, not in your site. Backups don’t include them.
• Account information at Paid Memberships Pro. Your hosting account, license, and support history live in our systems and aren’t part of your site backup.

For everything inside your WordPress installation, backups have you covered.