Want to send your WordPress backup to Amazon S3?

Using Amazon S3, you can store your website backups and keep them safe from crashes or errors. Since this cloud service is scalable, it can be a reliable backup option for website owners.  

In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll show you how to save a WordPress backup to Amazon S3! 

Why You Should Back Up Your WordPress Site to Amazon S3

Amazon S3 is an object storage service that is hosted by Amazon. It allows you to store and organize data for mobile apps, cloud-native applications, and even website backups:

As a website owner, it’s a good idea to send your WordPress backups to the cloud. This can prevent any data loss if your server crashes. Since backups will be stored off-site, they also won’t overload your web hosting plan. 

However, there are many cloud-based storage providers available. Unlike options like Google Drive or Dropbox, Amazon S3 can evolve with your business’s data operations. 

Amazon S3 works by storing data in files called objects. These objects are organized into buckets. You can have an unlimited number of objects in a bucket and up to 100 buckets, making Amazon S3 a flexible remote storage service for your site backups.

Here are some more features you can expect from Amazon S3:

• 99.999999999% data durability
• Storage for any type of data backup
• Security measures like data encryption and access control
• Scalable resources
• Diverse tools available in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform
• Unlimited server capacity

To use Amazon S3, you can start with the free tier. Amazon S3 also offers pay-as-you-go pricing that allows you to only access the services that you need.  

How to Save Your WordPress Backup to Amazon S3

It might seem complicated to connect your WordPress site to Amazon S3 and start creating cloud backups. However, it’s easy with the right steps. Let’s show you how to quickly save WordPress backups to Amazon S3!

Step 1: Install Duplicator

You could create a backup in WordPress and manually upload it to Amazon S3. However, to save time, consider installing Duplicator Pro. This is a powerful WordPress backup plugin that can instantly save backups to cloud services like Amazon S3:

First, be sure to select a subscription for Duplicator Pro. Although you could start using the free version, you’ll need to upgrade to connect to external cloud storage locations.

After this, download the plugin and copy your license key. Open the dashboard for your WordPress website and install Duplicator. If you’re not sure how to do this, here’s a beginner-friendly guide on installing WordPress plugins.

As a final step, you’ll need to activate your license. Navigate to Duplicator Pro » Settings » Licensing and paste your license key:

Once you finish setting up Duplicator, go to the next step!

Step 2: Create an Amazon S3 Bucket

If you haven’t already set up an account for Amazon S3, visit the AWS website. Click on Create an AWS Account and follow the onboarding instructions.

After this, you’ll be able to sign in to your AWS dashboard. Here, click on Services and find S3:

To get started with Amazon S3, you’ll need to create a bucket. Put simply, this is a storage area that can group different pieces of data together. To build one, select Create bucket:

At the top of the page, name the bucket. It should be something memorable that features your domain name:

Underneath this, select the AWS region closest to your web server to finish creating the bucket. 

Step 3: Add a Security Policy

Next, you’ll want to create a security policy. This will describe what a user will be able to do with the bucket. Go back to the AWS services list and find Security, Identity, & Compliance » IAM:

Then, head over to the Policies page. Here, select Create Policy:

Click on the JSON option. Paste this policy into the editor:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:ListBucket",
                "s3:GetBucketLocation",
                "s3:ListBucketMultipartUploads"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::BUCKETNAME",
            "Condition": {}
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:AbortMultipartUpload",
                "s3:DeleteObject",
                "s3:DeleteObjectVersion",
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:GetObjectAcl",
                "s3:GetObjectVersion",
                "s3:GetObjectVersionAcl",
                "s3:PutObject",
                "s3:PutObjectAcl"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::BUCKETNAME/*",
            "Condition": {}
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "s3:ListAllMyBuckets",
            "Resource": "*",
            "Condition": {}
        }
    ]
}

Remember to replace BUCKETNAME with the unique name for your bucket. 

After hitting Next, name your policy. For example, you could use Duplicator-Backup-Policy:

Finish by clicking Create Policy. 

Step 4: Create a User

Once you create a new security policy, you’ll also need a new user. On the IAM page, find Users » Add users:

Choose a username for the IAM user before continuing to the next step:

Under the Permissions options, select Attach policies directly. Then, find the policy you just created and check the box next to it:

Don’t add any tags. Finally, hit Create User. 

Now, click on the user and navigate to the Security Credentials tab. Here, create an access key:

Since Duplicator will have to manage your Amazon S3 backups, select Third-party service as your use case:

After you hit Next, you’ll see your access key IDs:

Save both the access key and the secret access key for later. You can also download this information as a CSV file. 

Step 5: Connect Amazon S3 to Duplicator

After you fully configure your Amazon S3 account, you can connect it to Duplicator. This way, your backup will automatically import into the cloud.

First, go to Duplicator Pro » Storage » Add New:

Name the new storage location. Under Type, select Amazon S3 – Direct:

Next, scroll down to the Authorization section. Paste both the access key and the secret access key:

After this, enter the name of your bucket. You can also customize the maximum number of packages stored in the bucket. This prevents you from saving too many backups and accidentally increasing the Amazon S3 storage limit:

You can now save the new Amazon S3 storage location! 

Tip: Once you connect Amazon S3 to Duplicator, hit Test S3 Connection. If the connection is successful, Duplicator will store and retrieve a test file. 

Step 6: Create an Amazon S3 Backup

It’s time to create your first site backup and send it to Amazon S3! To do this, head over to Duplicator Pro » Packages » Create New:

Give your package, or backup, a name so you can easily find it later. Expand the Storage section and select Amazon S3:

For a complete backup, don’t make any changes to the archive or installer files. After clicking Next, Duplicator will scan your site to make sure the backup can run successfully:

Lastly, hit Build. Duplicator will automatically build your backup and transfer it to Amazon S3. 

Step 7: Set Up Automatic Backups

If you don’t want to waste time creating manual backups every time you need to back up your site, you can set up an automatic backup schedule. Using Duplicator Pro, you can choose a date and time to always run backups and save them to Amazon S3.

To get started with automated backups, open the Schedules page and hit Add New:

Name the schedule. Then, select Amazon S3 as your storage location:

Now you can customize when your backup runs. Duplicator supports all of the following schedules:

• Hourly backups
• Daily backups
• Weekly backups
• Monthly backups

Next to Repeats, select one of these options. You’ll also need to set a Start Time:

Finally, enable the schedule and save it!

How to Restore Your Amazon S3 Backup

If your website is functioning properly, you may never need to touch your backups. However, there’s always the possibility of a hack, server crash, or other error. When this happens, you’ll need to restore a recent backup.

Fortunately, Duplicator has both backup and restore functionality. To get your site back to normal, open your Amazon S3 account and select the bucket with your Duplicator backup files. Under the Objects tab, you’ll see an archive and installer file:

Select the archive file. Then, download it:

If you can access your WordPress dashboard, go to Duplicator Pro » Import. This will allow you to upload your archive file:

Note: Some errors will lock you out of your dashboard. If this happens to you, use cPanel or an FTP client to upload both the archive and installer files to your website.

After it uploads, you’ll see an overview of the package. At the bottom, click on Continue:

Next, select Launch Installer to start the installation:

This will pull up the Duplicator installation wizard, which will help you replace the broken site with your backup. The Install Type should be Restore single site:

Then, accept the terms and notices and hit Next. Before the installation runs, you’ll need to confirm the chosen settings:

Now Duplicator will install your backup! Once it’s finished, use the Admin Login button to sign back into your restored site. 

FAQs About Saving WordPress Backups to Amazon S3

Conclusion

That’s it! You’ve saved your WordPress backup to Amazon S3.

Here are some extra WordPress tutorials you can use to maximize your website’s potential:

• How to Migrate a WordPress Site
• How to Create a Cloud WordPress Backup
• 11 WordPress Maintenance Tasks You Won’t Want to Forget
• How to Back Up WordPress to OneDrive
• How to Back Up WordPress Multisite

Ready to quickly connect your WordPress site to Amazon S3? Download Duplicator Pro to instantly transfer site backups to the cloud!