FAQ

Straight answers. Including the limits.

If something isn't covered here, ask us when you join early access. We'd rather you know exactly what you're getting.

During an outage

What actually happens when my site goes down?

AlwaysUp checks your site from the outside, the way visitors see it. Whatever the cause (a host outage, a traffic flood, a fatal error, a database crash), we confirm the failure from several independent locations so a blip or a slow page never triggers a switch. About a minute in, visitors see a verified saved copy of your pages on your own domain, on every plan including Free. On paid plans, a fully working copy of your WordPress site takes over a few minutes later: logins and forms work, and on Business and Scale checkout and payments keep running too. When your host is back, everything that changed is brought back to your server and checked before traffic returns, and an AI incident report tells you what happened.

Is the backup site a real WordPress site or just a cached copy?

It's real. For the first minute or so visitors see your saved pages. Then, on paid plans, a working WordPress copy of your site runs on our infrastructure, on your domain: logins, forms, comments and your custom plugins work, and on Business and Scale so does checkout. It's a working site, not a picture of one.

How quickly does it take over?

Fast. Your saved pages go up about a minute after your site goes down, once the failure is confirmed from several places. On paid plans, the fully working copy of your site takes over within about four to five minutes of the crash.

What does the AI actually do?

It does the reading and explaining for you. After every incident it writes a plain-English report with the likely root cause. When an update crashes your site it names the plugin or theme responsible and offers a one-click fix. It checks pages before they go into your saved copy, so an error page dressed up as "OK" never gets served. It walks you through setup, writes your readiness report, explains slowdowns and traffic spikes, and answers questions about your sites in plain language. Every AI answer is labelled as AI-generated.

Will visitors ever see an error?

For a moment, possibly. We deliberately confirm a failure before acting, so a hiccup or a slow page doesn't flip your site. That takes about a minute. And if a form or order can't be delivered during a switch, the visitor gets an honest "please try again", never a fake "thank you".

Does my online store keep selling during an outage?

Yes, on Business and Scale. On the backup site your WooCommerce store keeps working: customers browse, add to cart, check out and pay. Every order taken during the outage is brought back to your server afterwards and verified, and your AI incident report tells you what you sold while your host was down.

On Essential with a store? Keep accepting payments even when your hosting goes down. Activate AlwaysUp Business for checkout and payment continuity.

What happens to orders, sign-ups and edits made on the backup site?

They're saved continuously and brought back to your server. Before traffic returns, we archive your server's own state, copy everything over, and verify it table by table and file by file. If that check can't pass safely, the backup site simply keeps serving until it can.

Setup and your site

Do I need to change hosts, create API keys or a storage account?

No. Your host stays exactly where it is. Install the plugin, connect, and point one DNS record to us. AI tells you exactly what to click at your DNS provider. No API keys, no storage accounts, no server configuration and no tickets to your host.

What is the DNS change, and will it break my email?

You copy one record (some sites two) into your DNS settings and paste it. That's it. The AI setup assistant tells you exactly where to click for your provider, and a live check turns green the moment it works. There's virtually zero downtime while you switch, and you can switch back any time. If your provider can't do what's needed, we can host your DNS for you and you change it once. We check your mail records first and keep them working; if we can't prove your email stays safe, setup stops and tells you exactly why.

Can every WordPress site be protected?

Almost every site on any host, but not all, and we say so up front. We can't protect a site yet if:

  • nobody can get into the domain's DNS settings (for example, a former developer holds the login),
  • DNSSEC is switched on and can't be changed,
  • a company's IT team won't allow the DNS change, or
  • the host's firewall blocks our traffic (we expect this to be rare).

The free readiness check tells you before you pay anything.

Can I leave whenever I want?

Yes, any time. Your site never moves: it stays on your host, under your domain. Leaving means changing one DNS record back, and you're exactly where you started.

Backups and recovery

Where are my backups stored, and how often are they taken?

Offsite, away from your host. Each backup is encrypted on your own site before it leaves, with a key unique to your site. After the first full upload, only what changed is sent, so it stays light even on large sites. Backups adapt to your server's load and pause before they could slow your site down. How often depends on your plan, and your dashboard always shows your actual latest recovery point.

How do I know my backups actually work?

Every night we restore a sample of backups on separate machines and record the result. Every restore is checked over the web afterwards and rolled back automatically if anything fails. You can also undo a restore yourself for 72 hours.

Does AlwaysUp protect me from hackers?

No, and we won't pretend otherwise: AlwaysUp isn't a security firewall. What we do is help you recover: restore your site to a clean, verified point, onto your current server or a brand-new one, and undo the restore if you need to.

Plans and pricing

What do I get on the Free plan?

Real protection at no cost. When your site goes down, visitors see a saved copy of your important pages instead of an error. You get basic encrypted offsite backups, uptime and WordPress health monitoring, and AI that explains fatal errors and guides you through the fix. A personalized Crash Test shows exactly what your visitors would see during an outage, and your Protection Report keeps you informed.

How is AlwaysUp billed?

Per site, per month, in US dollars. No setup fees, no storage bills and no add-ons to configure. Start on Free and move up whenever your site needs more.

What if an outage lasts a long time?

Your backup site keeps running while your own hosting recovers. In the rare case of an unusually long incident, we contact you to agree next steps. We never switch off a working backup site without notice.

How do I get started?

Pick a plan and leave your email. We'll get in touch to set up your site, and AI walks you through every step.

Is AlwaysUp part of WordPress?

No. AlwaysUp is an independent product built for WordPress sites. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the WordPress Foundation.

Your site crashes. Your business doesn't.