What You Need to Know About Backing Up Your WordPress Website

Backing up your WordPress website isn’t just a best practice; it’s essential. It’s essential. With cyber threats evolving daily and malware attacks affecting millions of websites each week, having a reliable backup can be the difference between recovery and complete data loss.

Whether you manage a business site, a personal blog, or an eCommerce platform, maintaining backups protects your work, your users, and your reputation. We’ll guide you through what you need to know about backing up your WordPress website, including how to do it effectively and which tools or services to consider.

There are many ways websites can break, including plugin conflicts, outdated updates, server issues, or malicious software. Without a solid backup strategy, these problems could wipe out everything you’ve worked hard to build. Being proactive saves you from costly downtime and stressful troubleshooting.

For business owners focused on growth, security should never be an afterthought. A dependable backup strategy serves as your safety net and is a key component of any well-structured computer system management plan.

Why Backups Matter for WordPress Websites

WordPress powers over 40% of all websites online, making it a prime target for attacks. While security tools like firewalls and antivirus software help, no defense is foolproof. Backups serve as your ultimate safety net, allowing you to restore your site to a stable version quickly.

Imagine installing a plugin that causes your site to crash. Or worse, getting locked out due to a hacker exploiting a vulnerability in your theme. Without a backup, you’re left scrambling to recover lost content, restore functionality, and rebuild your online presence.

Backups protect against:

• Malware attacks
• Data loss from human error or plugin conflicts
• Hosting failures or corrupted databases
• Unauthorized access or file deletions
• Compatibility issues with updates

Essential Backup Components

A proper WordPress backup consists of two key parts:

1. WordPress Root Directory

This includes all the files necessary to run your website, including themes, plugins, uploads, and the core WordPress files. It also stores your configuration files, which define how your site interacts with its server and connected services.

2. Website Database (MySQL)

This is where the real content lives. Your posts, user accounts, comments, and site settings are stored here. It’s organized into tables, such as wp_posts, wp_users, and wp_options. Without a database backup, your site can’t function.

Manual Backups: Taking Full Control

One of the most straightforward ways to back up your site is by doing it manually. Although it requires more hands-on work, it gives you complete visibility and control over what’s being saved and where.

Backing Up Files via cPanel:

1. Log in to your hosting account and access cPanel.
2. Go to File Manager and find the public_html folder.
3. Right-click your WordPress folder and compress it (ZIP format recommended).
4. Download the compressed file to your local device.

Backing Up Files via FTP:

Use an FTP client like FileZilla.
Connect using your FTP credentials (provided by your host).
Navigate to your WordPress directory.
Select and download all the files to your secure storage.

Backing Up the Database via phpMyAdmin:

1. Access phpMyAdmin from your hosting control panel.
2. Select your WordPress database.
3. Click the Export tab.
4. Choose the Quick export method and SQL format.
5. Save the exported file.

Manual backups are ideal for one-time saves before major updates or for creating snapshots that you store across multiple locations, such as external drives or cloud services. They’re also helpful when migrating your site to a new host, which we cover in our 10 Things to Consider When Building a Website.

Plugin-Based Backups: Automate and Simplify

If you prefer a less technical approach, WordPress plugins can automate the entire backup process. These tools are easy to use and come with scheduling options, cloud integration, and restore functionality.

Popular options include:

• UpdraftPlus
• BackupBuddy
• VaultPress
• WPvivid Backup Plugin

Steps to Set Up a Plugin Backup:

• Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Go to Plugins and click “Add New.”
• Search for your chosen plugin and install it.
• Activate the plugin and navigate to its settings.
• Configure backup frequency, files to include, and storage location (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc).
• Run a manual backup to test functionality.

Most backup plugins allow partial or complete site backups, and some even provide one-click restore options. These features save time and reduce human error. If you’re redesigning your site, plugins can help you easily back up key elements before making changes. You can learn more in our post on How to Choose the Right Web Design Company.

Web Host Backups: A Built-In Safety Net

Some web hosting services provide automatic backups as part of their hosting plans. Depending on your provider, these backups may run daily, weekly, or during critical updates. They’re helpful as a secondary layer of protection.

To check if your host provides backups:

• Log in to your hosting dashboard.
• Look for a Backup section or ask your support team.
• Review the backup frequency, storage duration, and recovery process.

Relying solely on host backups isn’t recommended. You should always keep a personal copy of your site’s data for quick access in emergencies or if your host experiences technical issues. For additional insight into website performance and reliability, our post ‘Why Website Speed Matters’ is a good next read.

Backup Storage Tips

Regardless of your method, storing your backups properly is crucial. Spread them across multiple secure locations to protect against single points of failure.

Recommended storage options:

• External hard drives
• Cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3)
• Secure file servers
• Encrypted USB devices

For sensitive data and login credentials, always use encryption and password protection to ensure security. Consider enabling multi-factor authentication for access to cloud storage locations. You should also maintain a schedule for auditing these backups to ensure they’re working correctly and up to date.

Perform regular checks to verify file integrity, update storage credentials as needed, and ensure only authorized users have access. These extra layers strengthen your cyber resilience and reduce the risk of losing your site when it matters most.

How Often Should You Back Up Your Website?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to backup frequency. The ideal schedule depends on how often you update your website and how critical the data is to your operations.

Here are general guidelines to consider:

• Daily backups for active websites with frequent updates, such as blogs or eCommerce platforms
• Weekly backups for sites with moderate changes, like portfolio or service websites
• Monthly backups for static sites with little to no regular updates

If your site handles transactions or customer interactions, aim for more frequent backups. It’s also smart to schedule database backups more often than full site backups, especially if you’re adding content daily.

You should also consider event-based backups. These are backups triggered by specific actions, like publishing a new post, installing a plugin, or updating your theme. Event-based backups are handy when your site remains static, but significant changes occur. This helps you protect your site before and after risky updates.

Versioning and Retention Strategy

Backing up is one part of the equation. The other is retaining enough versions to account for unnoticed errors or delayed malware detection.

Tips for retention:

• Keep at least 3 to 5 recent versions of your site
• Store backups for a minimum of 30 days
• Use timestamped filenames for easy organization

Some organizations take it a step further and implement rotational retention. This strategy stores backups on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to ensure you always have a broad range of restore points. It’s beneficial if your business is growing and you want to have layered fallback options.

Having multiple restore points gives you more flexibility and a greater margin for error when troubleshooting unexpected issues.

Creating a Staging Site for Safe Testing

A staging site is a copy of your live website that you use for testing updates, new plugins, or design changes. It allows you to troubleshoot issues without risking your public-facing site.

Many backup plugins and managed hosts now offer staging tools. Clone your live site to a staging environment, test your changes, and then push updates once everything checks out.

This approach can prevent a large number of cybersecurity incidents caused by unstable updates or untested code. It also gives your team room to experiment and iterate without the pressure of going live immediately.

Restoring Your WordPress Backup

When disaster strikes, a solid backup means little unless you can restore it quickly and correctly.

Manual Restore:

1. Use FTP to upload your compressed files to your server.
2. Import your SQL database through phpMyAdmin.
3. Update your wp-config.php file if needed to match new credentials.
4. Clear your cache and test the site.

Plugin Restore:

1. Open your backup plugin in the WordPress dashboard.
2. Locate your most recent backup and click “Restore.”
3. Follow prompts to complete the process.

Host-Based Restore:

1. Log in to your hosting panel.
2. Navigate to backups and choose your restore point.
3. Execute the restore and verify all pages and functions.

Ensure that you test all key areas of your site after restoration, including logins, forms, and shopping carts. You should also notify your users in case of any temporary service interruptions.

Backup Security Best Practices

Your backups can become a vulnerability if not appropriately secured. Follow these security best practices to protect your saved data:

• Use encrypted connections when transferring files (SFTP over FTP).
• Store backups with access controls, limiting visibility to authorized team members only.
• Enable two-factor authentication on cloud storage services.
• Perform regular malware scans on backup files before restoring.
• Set permissions correctly so backups aren’t exposed to public access.

For further advice on building a more secure site architecture, visit our guide to optimizing your WordPress backend.

Signs Your Current Backup Setup Isn’t Enough

Even if you already have a backup system in place, it’s worth revisiting your setup periodically. These red flags may indicate it’s time to update your strategy:

• You don’t know where your backups are stored.
• You’ve never tested a full restore.
• Backups aren’t running on a regular schedule.
• You only have one copy saved locally.
• You rely solely on your web host for backups.

If you’re experiencing any of these issues, it’s time to rethink your process. The cost of an inefficient backup strategy is often realized only when it’s too late. Instead, treat your backup system like any other mission-critical component of your business.

Keeping your process up to date and diversified can prevent major headaches when things go wrong. It’s also a key part of staying compliant with data protection best practices.

Integrating Backups into Broader Security Measures

Backups are most effective when integrated into a comprehensive security strategy. Combine them with these critical measures:

• Regular plugin and theme updates
• Strong password enforcement and user roles
• Use of SSL certificates and site-wide HTTPS
• Hosting with a provider offering built-in DDoS protection

You should also conduct periodic cybersecurity assessments to identify gaps and vulnerabilities. This isn’t just for large enterprises. Even small business websites hold sensitive information that can be compromised.

To learn more about our ongoing maintenance and monitoring services, visit our website management services page.

Putting Your Backup Strategy Into Action

Creating consistent, well-secured backups is more than a technical task. It’s a business safeguard. The ability to restore quickly can save your site from extended downtime, protect your customers’ data, and maintain your brand’s credibility.

Start simple. Choose a reliable backup method, schedule it correctly, test your restores, and store copies in multiple locations to ensure data security. Over time, refine your strategy in response to your website’s evolving needs.

Use what you’ve learned to design a workflow that’s not just reactive, but proactive. Make backups a regular part of your content updates, security checks, and overall digital strategy. Assign clear roles to team members so that the backup process isn’t overlooked or left to chance.

A good backup plan isn’t something you notice until it’s the only thing that saves your site. By then, you’ll be glad you had it.