How to Backup Website WordPress Effective Guide for Total Security 0

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Learn how to backup website WordPress completely with step-by-step instructions, plugin reviews, cloud storage options, and manual methods. Discover how to keep your site safe from hacks, crashes, and server failures.

Why Every WordPress Site Owner Must Learn to Backup

Building a WordPress website isn’t just about launching a digital presence — it’s about investing your time, creativity, and sometimes even your livelihood. Whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, freelancer, or enterprise user, your website represents hours, days, and even years of dedicated work. It stores valuable content, customer data, SEO progress, product pages, media files, and configuration settings tailored exactly to your needs.

Now imagine losing all of that in a matter of seconds.

It could be a result of a malicious hacker injecting malware, a server hardware failure, a faulty plugin update that breaks your layout, or even a simple human error. Without warning, everything you’ve created could vanish — and unless you know how to backup website WordPress, recovery can be impossible.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a rare scenario. Thousands of WordPress websites crash, get hacked, or suffer fatal errors every single day. Some recover quickly — thanks to smart owners who know how to backup a WordPress website properly. Others lose months or even years of hard work due to lack of preparation.

That’s why learning how to backup website WordPress should be a top priority for every site owner. Whether you run a blog, an eCommerce store, a portfolio, or a membership site, having a secure, complete backup is your digital safety net.

Backups are more than just technical tasks — they’re your defense against data loss, downtime, and digital disaster. When you understand how to backup your WordPress website correctly, you gain peace of mind and freedom to scale, update, and experiment.

This guide was created to give you everything you need to get started:

Why backups matter for every type of WordPress user
How frequently to perform a WordPress website backup based on your site’s needs
Free and premium plugins that simplify the WordPress backup process
Manual steps for those who want complete control
Integration options with Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud solutions
How to restore a WordPress backup safely when something goes wrong
Best practices for beginners and experienced WordPress admins alike

By the end, you’ll not only understand why to backup your WordPress site, but you’ll also master how to backup website WordPress like a professional — ensuring your site is secure, stable, and ready for anything.

What Does a WordPress Backup Include?

A complete WordPress backup includes two critical components:

Website Files – These include your theme, plugins, media files, core WordPress files, CSS, JS, etc.
Database – This holds all your posts, pages, comments, settings, and user data.

Without both, your backup is incomplete. Some tools only back up one or the other — so be careful.

Methods to Backup WordPress Websites

Method	Difficulty	Tools Needed	Best For
Plugin-based	Easy	UpdraftPlus, Jetpack, Duplicator	Beginners and intermediate users
cPanel Manual	Medium	Hosting Panel	Shared hosting users
FTP + phpMyAdmin	Advanced	FileZilla + Hosting Database	Developers and tech-savvy users
Cloud-based backup tools	Easy/Advanced	BlogVault, ManageWP, WP Time Capsule	Agencies and WooCommerce sites

How to Backup Website WordPress Using Plugins

Let’s start with the easiest and most recommended method.

1. UpdraftPlus (Free + Premium)

Steps:

Go to your WordPress dashboard
Navigate to Plugins > Add New
Search for UpdraftPlus, install, and activate

Then:

Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups
Click Backup Now
Choose whether to include database and files
Schedule automatic backups (daily, weekly, monthly)

Storage Options: Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, FTP

Pros: Easy interface, cloud support, restore with one click

Cons: Limited automation in the free version

2. Jetpack Backup

Steps:

Install Jetpack and connect it to WordPress.com
Enable Jetpack Backup (paid plan)

Features: Real-time backups, 1-click restore, WooCommerce support

Pros: Set-and-forget convenience

Cons: Paid feature only

3. Duplicator

Perfect for both backup and site migration.

Install and create a new backup “package”
Download both the archive and installer.php

You can later upload these to restore or migrate the site

Manual Backup Using cPanel

If you don’t want to rely on plugins, do it manually:

A. Backing Up Files

Log into your hosting cPanel
Go to File Manager > public_html
Compress the folder into a .zip file
Download the zip file to your local machine

B. Backing Up Database

Go to cPanel > phpMyAdmin
Select your site’s database
Click Export > Quick > SQL format
Download the .sql file

You now have both files and database for full recovery.

Backup Using FTP + phpMyAdmin

Advanced users can use FileZilla:

A. FileZilla Steps:

Connect via FTP
Navigate to public_html
Download all site files to your computer

B. phpMyAdmin Steps:

Same as above (manual export)

Best Cloud Storage for WordPress Backups

Never store backups on your server. Instead, use:

Google Drive – Easy and free for up to 15GB
Dropbox – Great for small sites
Amazon S3 – Reliable, scalable
OneDrive – Integrates well with Windows users
Wasabi Cloud – Budget-friendly for larger sites

Most plugins integrate with these platforms. Always store your backups in two locations.

How Often Should You Backup Your Site?

Site Type	Frequency
Blog (2-3x weekly)	Weekly full + daily DB
News site	Daily full backup
WooCommerce store	Real-time or hourly
Portfolio site	Weekly full backup

Also backup:

Before any major update
Before switching themes or hosts
Before migrating

How to Restore WordPress from a Backup

Plugin Restore (UpdraftPlus)

Go to UpdraftPlus > Existing Backups
Click Restore and choose files/database

Manual Restore

Upload files using FTP or cPanel
Import .sql database via phpMyAdmin
Update wp-config.php with database info

Automate the Process (Pro Tip)

Schedule backups weekly/daily
Choose cloud storage destination
Enable email notifications
Test restoration monthly

Case Study: A Freelancer Saved by a Timely Backup

Ali, a freelance designer in Lahore, lost his portfolio after a plugin update broke the layout. Luckily, he had set UpdraftPlus to weekly backups. With a single click, his site was restored.

Conclusions

Learning how to backup website WordPress isn’t a technical luxury — it’s a necessity. Whether you run a personal blog, a digital agency, or an eCommerce store, setting up automatic, secure backups is one of the most responsible actions you can take. You’ve worked hard to build your site. Let’s keep it safe.

For a deeper understanding of WordPress site management, you may also want to explore how hackers mine WordPress for admin email addresses to strengthen your site’s security. Stay informed by learning how to get notifications for form submissions in WordPress. If you’re customizing your theme, here’s a simple guide on how to change the background color of your site header in WordPress. And if your site ever becomes unresponsive, find out how to check if WordPress is down and what steps to take.

FAQs

Q1: Can I backup my WordPress site for free?

Yes. UpdraftPlus and Duplicator offer free versions.

Q2: Will hosting providers back up my site?

Some do, but always keep your own backup.

Q3: How do I check if my backup works?

Test by restoring it on a staging or subdomain.

Q4: Can I backup WooCommerce sites?

Yes, use Jetpack or BlogVault for real-time backups.

Q5: Where should I store backups?

Use Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 — never just your server.