WPCloud’s WordPress Failover Service

Website downtime is costly and disruptive. WPCloud’s Failover Service adds an extra layer of protection to minimise downtime and maintain business continuity during a server outage. This service complements (and is in addition to) our standard Disaster Recovery (DR) procedures.

What is Failover?

Failover is a backup operating mode where a secondary system automatically takes over when the primary system is unavailable (e.g., server failure, network outage, or other unexpected events).

How the Service Works

1. Replication
   Your WordPress site (files and database) is replicated to an offsite server in a separate data centre (different province). Replication runs hourly and is incremental (only changes are copied).
2. Monitoring
   WPCloud provides and manages Constellix DNS for participating domains. We continuously monitor your primary site’s uptime and health from multiple global locations. No separate Constellix account or purchase is required.
3. Automatic Failover
   If our Constellix monitors detect your site is down (~1–5 minutes), Constellix updates the DNS A record to point your domain to the offsite failover server, directing visitors to the backup copy.
4. Automatic Restoration
   When the primary server is back online and stable, Constellix repoints DNS to the primary server and traffic returns to normal.

Key Benefits

• Minimised downtime: Failover occurs within minutes.
• Fully managed by WPCloud: Constellix DNS is provisioned and administered by WPCloud.
• Data protection: Hourly replication ensures a near-current copy.
• Geographic redundancy: Offsite location reduces localised risk.

Requirements & Options

• WPCloud Hosting: Available to WordPress sites hosted on WPCloud.
• DNS with WPCloud (recommended): For automated failover, delegate DNS to the WPCloud-managed Constellix zone we provide (no extra Constellix account needed).
• If you keep third-party DNS: You can still use Failover, but you must change the DNS A record during an outage and switch it back after restoration. WPCloud will notify you about outages; automation is not available without WPCloud-managed Constellix.
• Included storage: 10 GB offsite storage included; add more in 10 GB increments.

Post-event restoration: After failover, once the primary is restored, DNS points back automatically. Any new content on the failover server is migrated back to the primary automatically.

Pricing (per live WordPress install / month)

• Base (includes up to 10 GB): $17
• Additional storage add-ons:
  • 11–20 GB: +$5
  • 21–30 GB: +$10
  • 31–40 GB: +$15
  • 41–50 GB: +$20
  • 51 GB+: Contact us for a custom quote

Each install counts as one live WordPress website.

How to Enable

Contact WPCloud Support to add the Failover Service. We’ll provision your WPCloud-managed Constellix DNS zone (if not already in place), complete initial replication, and guide you through testing.