How To Backup A WordPress Site

Introduction

Backing up your WordPress site is one of the most important things you can do as a site owner. Having a proper backup means that if anything ever happens to your site, such as a hacking attempt, server outage, or accidental deletion of content, you can quickly restore from your backup with minimal downtime. In this article, I will provide a step-by-step guide on how to properly back up your WordPress site.

Reasons To Backup Your WordPress Site

Here are some of the main reasons why you should backup your WordPress site:

• Restore deleted content – If you accidentally delete a post, page, plugin, theme, etc., having a backup allows you to restore the deleted content quickly.

• Recovery from hacking – In case your site gets hacked, a backup gives you a clean version you can restore from.

• Server failures – If your web host has server issues that impacts your site, a backup gives you the ability to restore on a new host if needed.

• Theme/plugin updates – Backups give you the ability to easily roll back from a bad theme or plugin update.

• Migrations – When migrating your site to a new host or platform, a backup is very useful.

WordPress Backup Options

There are a few different ways you can backup your WordPress site:

1. Plugin Backup

There are various WordPress backup plugins available such as UpdraftPlus, BackWPup, and BackupBuddy. These plugins allow you to backup your WordPress site with a few clicks right from your WordPress dashboard. This is the easiest option for most users.

2. Manual Backup

You can manually backup your WordPress site by downloading a copy of your WordPress files via FTP and exporting your database. This takes more technical skill but allows you to store backups wherever you want.

3. Managed Backup Service

There are services like BlogVault and VaultPress that offer managed WordPress backup services. For a monthly fee, they handle automatically backing up your site daily. This is a good option if you want automated offsite backups.

How To Backup Your WordPress Site With A Plugin

Using a WordPress backup plugin is the easiest way to backup your site for most users. In this section, I’ll walk through how to backup your site using UpdraftPlus which is a popular free option.

Step 1 – Install and activate UpdraftPlus

First, install and activate the UpdraftPlus plugin from the WordPress repository. You can search for it via Plugins > Add New > search for “updraftplus”.

Step 2 – Configure UpdraftPlus settings

Under the UpdraftPlus menu, go to Settings and configure:

• Files to backup
• Database tables to backup
• Backup schedule
• Remote storage locations

Enable whatever remote storage services you want to use to store your backups like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Step 3 – Run a manual backup

Go to the UpdraftPlus Backup/Restore page and click Backup Now to run a manual backup. The backup will run and be uploaded to the remote storage locations you configured.

Step 4 – Test restoration

To test your backup, you can restore the backup by going to the Backup/Restore page and clicking on Existing Backups. Click the restore icon for one of your backups to download and restore it.

Step 5 – Schedule automatic backups

Under Settings, go to the Backup Schedule tab. Here you can schedule automatic daily, weekly or monthly backups to run automatically.

And that covers the basics of using UpdraftPlus to backup your WordPress site! Always be sure to test your backups by doing a manual restoration every now and then.

Alternative Backup Plugins

Here are some other good backup plugin options:

• BackWPup – Provides free and paid options for WordPress backup. Can backup to various locations.

• BackupBuddy – Paid plugin ($80 license) but very full featured for WordPress backups and migration.

• VaultPress – Paid managed backup service starting at $14 per month. Automated cloud backups.

• BlogVault – Another paid managed WordPress backup service. Prices start at $13 per month.

Manual WordPress Backup Process

If you prefer to manually backup your WordPress site without a plugin, follow these steps:

Step 1 – Backup WordPress files

Use FTP to download a copy of your entire WordPress installation including all folders and files. It’s important to backup your plugins, themes, and uploads folders.

Step 2 – Export the database

Use phpMyAdmin or the command line to export your WordPress database. This will export a SQL file with all your database contents like posts, pages, settings, etc.

Step 3 – Download wp-config.php

Download a copy of your wp-config.php file which contains your database connection details and security keys.

Step 4 – Archive the backup

Compress the WordPress file copy, database SQL export, and wp-config.php into a single ZIP file. This is your full WordPress backup archive.

Step 5 – Secure the backup

Store the backup archive in a secure location like an encrypted hard drive or password protected cloud storage. Be sure to keep it protected.

And that covers how to manually backup WordPress without needing a plugin. The manual process takes more effort but allows you to fully control where backups are stored.

Final WordPress Backup Tips

Here are some final tips for backing up your WordPress site:

• Test your backups – Routinely restore backups to test that they work properly.

• Automate backups – Use automatic backups so you don’t have to remember to manually backup.

• Encrypt backups – Encrypt your backups for extra security against unauthorized access.

• Offsite storage – Use offsite storage like the cloud to protect against local disasters.

• Stagger backups – Take daily backups but also monthly and yearly staggered backups.

• Backup before changes – Always take a backup before making major theme, plugin or WordPress updates.

• Limit access – Limit access to your backups so only authorized people can access them.

Following proper WordPress backup processes is essential as a site owner to protect your data and ensure maximum uptime. Use this guide to implement a backup plan that fits your needs.