How to backup WordPress site is not the question but a need for every WordPress site user. Your WordPress site might easily get corrupted and can lose data because of some malicious activity or hacking activities. Even a simple error while upgrading plugin or theme could lead you to lose your site sometime. To prevent that we must keep backup of our WordPress site on the regular basis.
So, if you are a WordPress user and don’t want to wreck your site and cause disaster because of some minor plugin update error then you must learn how to keep backup of your site. There are several ways to do so. You can restore your site with one click when you have a backup.
In this article, we will learn best-handpicked ways to keep manual and automatic backup of your WordPress site. We will learn where to keep backup and how to restore WordPress site with backup.
Also check: How to restore deleted messages on telegram.
What is a WordPress backup?
Backup means keeping a duplicate version of your original file in a secure place so that it can be used in place of the original file when the situation arises. WordPress backup is like an insurance policy for your site. It prevents further stress and money loss that can be caused by deletion of sites. WordPress backup can be divided into 2 parts on the basis of the components it includes. The first part of the backup includes website files such as theme, scripts, plugin files, and media which provide structure to your site whereas the second part includes a database which contains your website post, pages, comments and user access details.
Why does it need to keep WordPress backup?
There are several reasons why you should keep the WordPress site backup. Here are some of the reasons which I have listed.
- Some of the cheap hosting providers don’t provide proper backup service. It means you might not have access to your data if you accidentally lose.
- Sometimes you can accidentally delete your them or plugin data. To restore those deleted files you need backup.
- Your website can be a victim of hacking activities. Your WordPress site can even get corrupted sometimes while uploading and upgrading files and can cause an error. To restore back to the previous state you must need a backup of your WordPress site.
- Sometime you might want to transfer your hosting service. In such cases, backup is needed.
How to backup WordPress site?
Today we will mainly focus on 2 reliable methods to backup WordPress sites although there are several other methods. You can also backup your WordPress site through hosting though it isn’t available for every hosing services. Due to this reason, we will discuss how to backup WordPress site manually and by using the plugin.
Methods 1: Keeping the manual backup of WordPress site
We have separated the part of backing up of WordPress site into 2 part. In the first part, we will talk about backing up site files and in the second part, we will talk about backing up the database. If your hosting provider provides an option for backup of the site and database then you can use it to for avoiding long process.
Step 1: Downloading WordPress site files as backup
- Open your Cpanel of site or panel of hosting provider. Then open the file manager.
- Now open public_html folder. Then search for the WordPress section.
- Now select all the files and compress the files.
- After compressing, download the compressed WordPress files which will act as your manual backup.
Step 2: Downloading WordPress site database backup
- Open your Cpanel or login to your hosting account. Then search for database section.
- Now open the PHPmyadmin section.
- Then select the database of the WordPress site.
- Then select all the tables and click on the Export option.
- Then select SQL and click go. Your WordPress site database will be exported which you can use in case of emergency.
Method 2: Using a plugin to keep an automatic backup
There are several plugins which you can use for keeping backup of your WordPress site. I will provide you with one such plugin but you can use other WordPress backup plugins too as most of them have the same feature. You can use the plugin shown in this tutorial or take this demo as an example for using a plugin for backing up a WordPress site.
- Open the WordPress panel of your site. Then go to add plugin menu.
- Then search for UpdraftPlus WordPress backup plugin and install it. After that activate it.
- Then open the plugin. Now go to setting section of the plugin and select how frequently you want to backup your WordPress site.
- Then choose where you want to backup your WordPress site. I have chosen google drive as an option to store my WordPress site backup file. Scroll down then save your changes.
- Now authenticate your google drive or dropbox account if you have chosen google drive or dropbox as an option.
- Then either leave it or WordPress backup now your site. Your site will be back up frequently as per the time you have set.
Here are some of the FAQ’s related to WordPress site backup. Hope this might help you.
How frequently should we keep backup of WordPress site?
Well, this depends on how frequently you update your site. If you update your site daily then it is better to keep backup in about 5 days to 1 week and if you update your site on weekly basis then its better to keep backup on every 3 weeks.
Where should we keep the backup files?
You should always have 2 copies minimum of backup files. One you can store in your local storage and other copy you can store in cloud storage services like dropbox, mega and google drive.
Which type of WordPress site backup is better? Manual or with a plugin
In my opinion, nothing is more reliable than manually saving files. Nowadays backup plugins are also being advanced but even though by 0.1% chance if backup plugin file gets corrupted then there might be an error in a backup of a WordPress site. In some case of poor hosting service, a plugin can even slow down your site. But to restore the backup it is easy from a plugin. So, from my point of view its good to use a plugin for keeping backup because it makes the process easy and do automation but it’s better to save manually as it doesn’t leave a chance of doing a mistake.
Now, at the end of this article, I will like to say it’s always better to take precautions. Disaster can happen anytime. Rather than losing your beautiful sites, it’s better to keep backup. Feel free to try out any of the above-mentioned methods. Also, subscribe to our notification icon.
