Safeguard Your Site: 5 Foolproof Steps to WordPress Backups
As a WordPress website owner, I know the feeling of dread that comes when something goes wrong with your site. Whether it’s a hacker, a plugin conflict, or a simple human error, the thought of losing all your hard work is enough to keep you up at night.
But fear not, my fellow WordPress warriors! I’m here to share with you a simple, five-step process to backup your WordPress site, ensuring that you never have to experience the heartbreak of a crashed or compromised website.
Step 1: Choose Your Backup Plugin
The first and most crucial step is to select a reliable WordPress backup plugin. While WordPress doesn’t offer a built-in backup solution, there are plenty of amazing plugins to choose from. [1] One of the most popular and beginner-friendly options is Duplicator Pro.
Duplicator Pro is a comprehensive backup and migration tool that makes the entire process a breeze. With features like scheduled backups, cloud storage integration, and one-click restores, it’s no wonder it’s used by over 1.5 million professionals. [2] And the best part? There’s a free version to get you started.
Step 2: Customize Your Backup Settings
Once you’ve installed and activated Duplicator Pro, it’s time to dive into the settings and customize your backup. Don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds! [2]
First, head to the Duplicator Pro dashboard and click on the “Create New” button to start a new backup package. Give your backup a meaningful name, and then decide where you want to store it. Personally, I’m a big fan of cloud storage options like Dropbox or Google Drive, but you can also stick with the default local storage.
Next, you can customize what you want to include in your backup. The plugin will automatically select everything by default, but you can choose to exclude certain files or folders if you’d like. Just be careful not to remove anything crucial!
Step 3: Schedule Automatic Backups
One of the best features of Duplicator Pro is its ability to schedule automatic backups. [2] This means you never have to worry about manually creating a backup – the plugin will do it for you, on a schedule that you set.
Head back to the Duplicator Pro dashboard and click on the “Schedules” tab. Here, you can create a new backup schedule, choosing the frequency (hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly) and the start time. You can even select a specific package template to use for these scheduled backups.
Once you’ve set everything up, Duplicator Pro will take care of the rest, ensuring that your site is regularly backed up without any additional effort on your part.
Step 4: Create a Recovery Point
Duplicator Pro takes things one step further by allowing you to set up a “recovery point” for your website. [2] This is essentially a save-state that you can use to quickly restore your site in the event of a catastrophic failure.
To set up a recovery point, simply head to the “Packages” tab, expand the details of your latest backup, and click the “Recovery Point” option. From there, you can copy the recovery URL and save it in a secure location. If disaster strikes, you can simply enter this URL in your browser, and the plugin will guide you through the restoration process.
Step 5: Test Your Backups
The final step in the process is to make sure your backups are actually working as intended. [3] After all, what good is a backup if it’s not reliable?
You can test your backups by attempting to restore them on a separate test site, such as a staging environment or a local development environment. This will help you identify any potential issues or incompatibilities before you need to rely on the backup in a real-world scenario.
And there you have it, my friends! Five easy steps to ensure that your WordPress site is safe, secure, and ready to bounce back from any disaster. With Duplicator Pro and a little bit of proactive maintenance, you can rest easy knowing that your website is protected.
Now, go forth and backup with confidence! Your future self will thank you.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmx39y_8tOs
[2] https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-backup-your-wordpress-site/
[3] https://blogvault.net/backup-wordpress-site/
