Can you get a complete backup of your wordpress.com blog?

Question

I'm about to start a new blog. I'm hesitating between using a paid version of Wordpress.com, or just install the open-source version on a VPS.

I am a web developer, and have all the knowledge necessary to provision a server, install Wordpress, handle updates, backups, and whatnot.

It's just that I already have to maintain a number of apps/servers, and for just a Wordpress blog, I'm not against paying to have it all maintained for me. One less hassle.

That being said, if I go this route, I want to be sure that I can change my mind later on; should issues arise (performance, availability of themes, plugins, etc.) I need to be able to grab a full backup of the website, and install it effortlessly on my server.

So the main question is: can I get a full backup of a wordpress.com hosted blog? And are there any differences in the database schema / application code in the commercial and open-source versions, that would complicate the migration?

Are there any other considerations I should take into account, before buying a wordpress.com plan?

Answer 1

You certainly can backup a whole Wordpress site. Its done by using a plugin. There are plenty to choose from and some are favorites of people, some are not. I always used to think 'Duplicator' was great. Now I changed my mind and think WP Clone is the one. No sooner do I think like this and along comes an update for Duplicator!

Go to your wp-admin folder and in the menu you'll find 'Plugins' that's where you install your backup software. Both of the plugins I mentioned are capable of moving your site to a different host or creating a duplicate on wamp server that you get from Bitnami to create a webserver on your (Windows) workstation. You don't need a WAMP on your local PC if you only want a backup in case there is a need to restore your site.