SitesSaver – WordPress Backup & Migration Plugin

SitesSaver – a free, open-source WordPress plugin I designed and built for full-site backup, one-drag restore and domain migration, with no file size cap, no restore paywall and no migration upsell.

SitesSaver is a WordPress backup and migration plugin I designed, built and maintain myself. It packages the database and site files into a single ZIP, restores that archive through wp-admin and rewrites URLs when moving to another domain. I also built the product website, so the download, installation steps and documentation have a home of their own.

The brief

After years of looking after client websites, I wanted a backup tool that covered the whole job. Making an archive was only the start. A site owner also needed to restore it, move it and know whether a scheduled run had completed. SitesSaver grew out of that practical need. I built it for people maintaining their own business website, freelancers and small agencies that have to look after several WordPress installations.

What I built

• Full-site archives – One export includes the database and files in a ZIP. The work is processed in chunks, rather than holding the entire site in memory. SitesSaver does not impose an artificial archive size cap.
• Drag-and-drop restore – The Import screen accepts a backup ZIP, or an archive already on the server. The same backup can restore its original site or move onto a fresh WordPress installation.
• Domain migration – The restore process rewrites URLs for the destination domain, including values inside serialized data. I included this handling because changing a domain involves more than replacing visible links in page content.
• Independent backup schedules – Hourly through monthly frequencies can run together on separate timers. A private trigger URL supports server cron, and a manual schedule test lets the owner check the destination and email without waiting for the next run.
• Incremental restore points – Scheduled runs can archive changed files while taking a full database copy. Restoration replays the required chain and checks that the backups it needs are present before it starts.
• Google Drive storage – Scheduled archives can be sent to the owner’s Drive. SitesSaver supports resumable uploads and can restore an archive stored there, with a choice to retain or remove the local copy after upload.
• A backup manager and reports – Owners can label, download and remove archives, then apply a retention limit. Branded email reports distinguish the archive result from the upload result, rather than treating them as the same operation.
• Background processing and tests – Large exports run in a server-side worker. Automated tests cover SQL splitting, serialized-data rewriting and incremental restore chains, including a restore test that compares the recovered site byte for byte.

How SitesSaver works

The SitesSaver website starts with the central task: put the whole site in one file, then restore it. It explains the functions before walking through installation by ZIP upload in wp-admin. Requirements and documentation are close to the download, and the site pulls release information and the changelog from GitHub automatically.

Inside WordPress, the owner uses Export for a first archive, Schedule for recurring runs and Settings to connect Drive. I wrote SitesSaver in PHP using WordPress APIs, without a separate build step or third-party runtime. Updates come from GitHub releases through the Plugins screen. The product website also explains operational limits, including the need for cron to run and extra backup-directory protection on Nginx.

Result

SitesSaver brings backup, restore and domain migration into one maintained plugin. A website owner can create an archive, choose a schedule, keep an off-site copy and review the report from the run. The public product site explains both the workflow and the precautions. It gives users a way to read the source and documentation rather than relying on a short feature list alone.

Need a custom WordPress plugin?

I build tools around the work they need to do, including the less visible parts such as imports, background jobs and recovery. If an existing plugin leaves an important gap in your process, that is worth discussing. Tell me what you need and I will scope it properly.

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