How to Backup a WordPress Site Easily and Safely?

Picture this: You are going to your workplace on a boring Monday (though Mondays are always boring!), and you find that your WordPress site is affected by a malware attack, or maybe your colleague made a mistake. At that moment, Monday becomes even more frustrating, right?

Now, if you have a backup of your site, you don’t have much to worry about. But if you haven’t, then you need to know the importance of taking backups. With a proper backup, you can restore your data quickly and get your business running back again.

We have been providing WordPress development services for years and we always recommend backing up the website. Here, we are going to discuss its importance, methods to backup your WordPress site and best practices to follow. So, shall we start?

Why is a WordPress Backup Important?

A WordPress backup is like a safety net for your website. It safeguards your data from unexpected issues like hacking, malware attacks, server crashes, or accidental deletions. Without a backup, recovering your website can be time-consuming and complicated.

Backups store copies of your site’s essential files like content, themes, plugins, images, videos, and database settings. If something goes wrong, you can restore your website quickly without losing valuable data.

WordPress itself does not have automatic backups, so you will have to set them up manually. You can back up your site using your web host’s cPanel, an FTP client, or a backup plugin. The easiest thing to do is use a plugin because it provides automation and greater control over your backups.

How Often Should You Take a Backup?

The frequency of your backups depends on how often your site changes. There’s no universal rule—what works for one website might not be enough for another.

For static websites like portfolios or simple business pages, a weekly backup may be enough. Since the content doesn’t change frequently, the risk of losing data is minimal.

For blog sites, daily backups are recommended. If you publish multiple posts per week and get a lot of comments, losing even a small percentage of data could be a big problem.

For WooCommerce stores and high-traffic sites, real-time backups are the best option. Since orders, payments, and customer data change frequently, losing even one order can hurt your business.

To decide on a backup schedule, ask yourself:

• How often do I publish new content?
• How frequently do users interact with my site (comments, orders, form submissions)?
• How often do I update my website’s settings or design?

If your answer is a few times per week – go for daily backups. If it’s multiple times per day – consider hourly or real-time backups for complete protection.

How to Backup Your WordPress Site?

Now you know the importance of backing up your WordPress site and might have decided on an ideal backup schedule. The main question arises – ‘How do I backup a WordPress site?’ But you don’t need to worry; we are here to help.

To backup your WordPress Site, you have two options:

1. Use a plugin
2. Do it manually

We always recommend using a plugin because it saves time and gets the work done efficiently. However, if you prefer a manual method, we will discuss it as well. So, let’s start with a plugin method first:

Use a WordPress Backup Plugin

WordPress backup plugins make the process simple and beginner-friendly. There are several backup plugins available in the WordPress plugin directory.

One of the most popular options is UpdraftPlus. It helps you to create and restore backups with a single click.

Firstly, install the UpdraftPlus plugin. Here’s our guide on how to install WordPress plugins. Once you are done with installation, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups and click on Backup Now.

• Select the files you want to include in the backup and confirm.
• Wait a few minutes for the backup to complete. You can later restore it if needed.

If you want to schedule auto backups, you can select an ideal backup frequency in the Settings tab.

UpdraftPlus also supports automatic scheduled backups and cloud storage options like Google Drive and Dropbox.

Here are some other popular plugins for WordPress backups:

• BlogVault
• Jetpack VaultPress Backup
• Duplicator

Backup WordPress Manually Using cPanel

If your hosting provider offers cPanel, you can manually create a backup of your site files and database.

Here is how you can backup your site with cPanel:

• Log in to cPanel through your hosting provider.
• Go to Files > File Manager.
• Find the public_html folder. It contains your website files.
• Select your website’s folder and click Compress.

• Choose Zip Archive and click Compress Files to create a zip file.
• Once the compression is complete, download the zip file and store it in a safe location.

With cPanel, you can have great control over your site’s backup. But you need to do it manually at different intervals to keep your backup updated.

Backup WordPress Files via FTP

An FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client like FileZilla allows you to download your WordPress site files directly from the server.

Here’s how to do it:

• Open FileZilla and enter your FTP credentials (username, password, host IP, and port).

• Click Quickconnect to establish a connection to your site’s server.
• Navigate to the root directory (contains folders like wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes).
• Select all files and folders you want to back up.
• Download the files to your local computer and store them securely.

This method is useful for advanced users but does not include database backups, which must be done separately.

Backup WordPress Database via phpMyAdmin

Your WordPress database contains all your posts, settings, comments, and user data. You need to back it up separately so you can recover all your data if any issue comes up.

Follow these steps:

• Log in to cPanel and open phpMyAdmin.
• Select your WordPress database from the left panel.
• Click the Export tab at the top.

• Choose SQL format and enable Save output to a file.
• Click Export and save the database file to your computer.

Now, you have a backup of your database that can be restored if needed.

Backup WordPress Using Managed Hosting

If you are using managed WordPress hosting, your provider may offer automatic backups stored in a secure location.

Here, we have taken the example of Kinsta’s managed hosting services:

• Log in to your hosting dashboard.
• Open your website’s settings and go to the Backups tab.

• Find the manual backup option and click Backup Now.
• Wait for the backup to complete—it will be stored securely by your host.

Some managed WordPress hosting service providers also allow you to download backups for extra security.

Best Practices for Backing Up Your WordPress Website

As we all know already, malware attacks are increasing day by day. According to a report by AVG AntiVirus, around 190,000 new malware attacks are noted every second. So, just taking a backup of your site is not enough. You need to be smart when it comes to WordPress backups because even a small chunk of data breach can lead you to huge business loss.

Here, we have suggested some WordPress backup best practices you must follow:

• Use a Backup Plugin: A backup plugin makes the process easy and automated. Download the plugin of your choice such as UpdraftPlus or BlogVault and ensure regular backup configurations. Always keep your backup copy in a safe place away from your website.
• Test Your Backup: If it does not work, then a backup is of no use. Test restoring backups onto a test website or a local setup so that you can check if it works fine. Troubleshoot any possible issues and create a fresh backup.
• Backup Both WordPress Files and Database: Some plugins only backup the database, but a complete backup should include both WordPress files (themes, plugins, media uploads) and Database (content, settings, user data).
• Keep an External Backup: Relying only on cloud storage isn’t safe. Keep an extra copy on an external hard disk, USB, or some form of offline storage. Doing this ensures you have a backup even if your cloud storage fails.
• Use Automatic Backups When Possible: Manually backing up your site can be time-consuming. Use a plugin with automatic backups, or choose a hosting provider that offers daily backups to ensure your site is always protected.
• Don’t Store Backups on Your Website: Keeping backups on your WordPress server takes up storage and can slow down your site. Instead, store them on an external service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 for better security.
• Backup Before and After Major Changes: Before making any big changes, like updating a plugin or changing the theme, take a full backup. If something goes wrong, you can easily restore your site to its previous state.
• Keep Your Backups Secure: Backups contain all your website’s data, so they must be protected. Use strong passwords and encryption to secure them. If possible, store them in a password-protected folder or drive.
• Label Your Backups Properly: Instead of using auto-generated names, give your backups clear names like “Before_Homepage_Update” or “After_Plugin_Install“. This makes it easy to find the right backup when needed.
• Store Backups in Multiple Locations: Never trust only one location for storage. At least, take a backup and save it in two different locations like a cloud service and an external hard disk. If one fails, you get another copy for restoration.
• Schedule Backups During Low-Traffic Hours: Performing backups during peak hours will slow your site considerably. Schedule for early morning or late at night to ensure maximum uptime.
• Keep WordPress Updated: Keeping your WordPress core, plugins, and themes updated helps reduce security risks and ensures your backups are useful if you ever need to restore your site.

FAQs on WordPress Backup

Conclusion

Backing up your WordPress site is important because it keeps your data safe from being lost in crash, hack, or accidental error. A recent backup can assist you in getting back up and running again.

To keep your site fully secure, establish an automatic schedule, have backup copies in different places, and check them out regularly. Backup Policy keeps your website safe and worry-free. You can also hire a WordPress development company to ensure the best results for your site.

With years of experience in the industry, our WordPress developers can help you take regular backups of your site and resolve any issue that comes your way. Let’s connect on a call to discuss your needs!