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WordPress Multisite Backup Strategy: Network-Wide Protection

By Krasen Slavov Backup & Disaster Recovery

WordPress Multisite networks require specialized backup strategies beyond single-site approaches. Network-wide protection must account for shared resources, multiple databases, per-site variations, and complex restoration scenarios. This comprehensive guide teaches multisite backup strategies ensuring complete network protection and flexible recovery.

Multisite Backup Challenges

Unique Multisite Considerations:

  • Shared wp-content/uploads with site-specific folders
  • Network-wide plugins and themes
  • Shared database with per-site tables
  • Network configuration in wp-config.php
  • Domain mapping complexity
  • User table shared across network
  • Per-site restoration complexity

Standard backup approaches often fail multisite networks.

Understanding Multisite Structure

Database Tables:

  • Shared: wp_users, wp_usermeta, wp_sitemeta
  • Per-Site: wp_X_posts, wp_X_options, wp_X_postmeta (where X = site ID)

File Structure:

  • /wp-content/uploads/sites/2/ (site ID 2 uploads)
  • /wp-content/blogs.dir/ (legacy structure)
  • Shared plugins and themes

Network-Wide Backup Strategy

Backup entire network including all sites:

Using UpdraftPlus Network:

  1. Install UpdraftPlus on network
  2. Network activate
  3. Configure backup schedule
  4. Enable “Backup all sites”
  5. Select cloud storage

Backs up all sites simultaneously.

Per-Site Backup Approach

Backup individual sites separately for granular control:

Manual Per-Site Method:

  1. Switch to specific site
  2. Export that site’s database tables
  3. Backup that site’s uploads folder
  4. Document site configuration

Allows independent site restoration.

Database Backup Strategies

Complete Network Database Export:

wp db export full-network.sql --network

Includes all network and site tables.

Individual Site Database Export:

wp db export site-2.sql --url=site2.example.com

Exports only tables for specific site.

Critical Network Tables Only:

mysqldump -u user -p database wp_users wp_usermeta wp_sitemeta wp_site wp_blogs > network-core.sql

File Backup Approaches

Complete wp-content Backup:

tar -czf wp-content-backup.tar.gz /var/www/html/wp-content/

Includes all sites’ uploads, themes, and plugins.

Per-Site Uploads Backup:

tar -czf site-2-uploads.tar.gz /var/www/html/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/

Isolates specific site’s media.

Network Configuration Backup

Backup critical network configuration:

wp-config.php:

  • Database credentials
  • Multisite constants (MULTISITE, SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL, etc.)
  • Domain mapping configuration

.htaccess or nginx.conf:

  • Rewrite rules for multisite
  • Domain mapping rules

Sunrise.php (if using domain mapping):

  • Domain mapping configuration

Subdomain vs Subdirectory Networks

Subdomain Network (site1.network.com):

  • DNS configuration critical
  • Wildcard SSL certificate backup
  • DNS zone file backup

Subdirectory Network (network.com/site1):

  • Simpler restoration
  • No DNS dependencies
  • URL structure preservation important

Domain Mapping Considerations

Sites with custom domains require additional backup:

Domain Mapping Table:

wp db export --tables=wp_domain_mapping domain-map.sql

DNS Records Documentation:

  • Document all A records
  • CNAME configurations
  • SSL certificate details

Plugin Compatibility

Multisite-Compatible Backup Plugins:

  • UpdraftPlus Premium: Full multisite support
  • BackupBuddy: Network-wide and per-site backups
  • BackWPup: Multisite aware
  • Snapshot Pro: WPMU DEV’s multisite solution

Verify multisite compatibility before use.

Restoration Strategies

Complete Network Restoration:

  1. Provision new hosting
  2. Install fresh WordPress multisite
  3. Import complete database
  4. Restore all wp-content files
  5. Update wp-config.php
  6. Update network URLs if changed

Single Site Restoration:

  1. Import site-specific database tables
  2. Restore site’s uploads folder
  3. Update site_url and home_url for that site
  4. Verify site isolation

Testing Multisite Backups

Network-Wide Test:

  1. Clone entire network to staging
  2. Import database
  3. Restore files
  4. Test all sites
  5. Verify inter-site functionality
  6. Check network admin

Per-Site Test:

  1. Restore individual site to standalone WordPress
  2. Convert multisite tables to standard WordPress
  3. Verify site functionality independently

Storage Requirements

Multisite networks require substantial storage:

Example 10-Site Network:

  • Database: 500MB-2GB
  • Uploads: 10GB-100GB+
  • Plugins/Themes: 1-5GB
  • Total: 15GB-110GB+

Plan cloud storage accordingly.

Automated Multisite Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
# Multisite Network Backup Script

NETWORK_PATH="/var/www/html"
BACKUP_DIR="/backups/multisite"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)

cd $NETWORK_PATH

# Full network database
wp db export $BACKUP_DIR/network-db-$DATE.sql --network

# Each site individually
for site_id in $(wp site list --field=blog_id --network); do
    wp db export $BACKUP_DIR/site-$site_id-$DATE.sql --url=$(wp site list --field=url --blog_id=$site_id)
done

# All uploads
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/wp-content-$DATE.tar.gz wp-content/

# Compress database
gzip $BACKUP_DIR/*.sql

# Upload to S3
aws s3 sync $BACKUP_DIR s3://multisite-backups/

# Cleanup old backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -mtime +30 -delete

Network Admin Backup Settings

Configure network-wide backup policies:

Network Settings → Backup Configuration:

  • Minimum backup frequency per site
  • Required backup retention
  • Approved backup plugins
  • Backup storage requirements

Enforce consistency across network.

Performance Impact

Multisite backups strain resources:

Optimization Strategies:

  • Stagger site backups throughout day
  • Use off-peak hours for network-wide backups
  • Implement incremental backups where possible
  • Exclude cache directories
  • Use server resources wisely

Disaster Recovery for Multisite

Recovery Priority:

  1. Critical sites (main site, revenue-generating)
  2. Active sites (regular updates, traffic)
  3. Archive sites (minimal activity)

Prioritize restoration based on business impact.

Enterprise multisite networks require:

  • Data residency compliance (GDPR)
  • Retention policy documentation
  • Audit trails for backups
  • Encryption for sensitive data
  • Regular backup verification

Conclusion

WordPress Multisite backup requires network-wide strategies addressing shared resources, per-site variations, and complex restoration scenarios. Implement both full network and per-site backups, automate with WP-CLI scripts, test restoration procedures regularly, and use multisite-compatible backup plugins. Comprehensive backup strategy ensures any site or entire network can recover quickly from disasters.

  1. WordPress Multisite Documentation
  2. UpdraftPlus Premium
  3. WP-CLI Multisite Commands
  4. BackupBuddy
  5. Multisite Network Admin

Call to Action

Multisite networks deserve enterprise protection. Backup Copilot Pro provides network-wide automated backups with per-site restoration capabilities. Comprehensive multisite protection—start your free 30-day trial today!

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