WordPress Backup Guide: How to Protect Your Site

A WordPress backup could be the difference between a minor inconvenience and a catastrophic loss of your website. Whether it is a hacker attack, a failed update, or human error, things can go wrong. Having a reliable backup means you can restore your site quickly and get back to business.

In this comprehensive WordPress backup guide, we will cover everything you need to know: what to backup, how often, which plugins to use, and how to store your backups safely.

Why WordPress Backups Are Essential

Many site owners do not think about backups until disaster strikes. By then, it is too late. Here are common scenarios where a WordPress backup saves the day:

Hacking attacks that corrupt or delete your content. Plugin or theme updates that break your site. Server failures or hosting issues. Accidental deletion of important pages or posts. Database corruption from various causes.

Without a backup, recovering from these situations can be impossible or extremely expensive. With a good backup strategy, recovery takes minutes instead of days.

What to Include in Your WordPress Backup

A complete WordPress backup includes two main components: your files and your database. Missing either means an incomplete backup that cannot fully restore your site.

WordPress Files

Your WordPress files include: wp-content folder (themes, plugins, uploads), WordPress core files, .htaccess and wp-config.php configuration files, and any custom files you have added.

WordPress Database

Your database contains all your content: posts, pages, comments, user accounts, settings, and plugin data. Without the database, your site would be an empty shell.

How Often Should You Backup WordPress?

Your backup WordPress frequency depends on how often your site changes. Here are general guidelines:

Daily backups for sites updated daily, e-commerce stores, membership sites, and news/blog sites with frequent posts. Weekly backups for business sites with occasional updates and portfolio sites. Monthly backups for static sites that rarely change.

When in doubt, backup more frequently. Storage is cheap compared to the value of your content.

Best WordPress Backup Plugins

Several excellent plugins can automate your WordPress backup process. Here are our top recommendations:

UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus is the most popular WordPress backup plugin with over 3 million installations. The free version includes scheduled backups, cloud storage integration, and easy restoration. Premium adds incremental backups and more cloud options.

BlogVault

BlogVault is a premium WordPress backup solution with real-time backups stored on BlogVault's servers. Features include one-click staging, easy migrations, and excellent support. Ideal for high-traffic sites.

BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy is a veteran backup plugin offering complete site backups, cloud storage, and site migration tools. Includes malware scanning in higher tiers. Solid choice for agencies managing multiple sites.

Where to Store Your WordPress Backups

Never store backups only on your web server. If your server fails or gets hacked, you lose your backups too. Always use offsite storage:

Cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, or Backblaze B2. Your local computer as an additional copy. A separate hosting account or server. Multiple locations for critical sites (the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 different media types, 1 offsite).

How to Restore a WordPress Backup

Having backups is pointless if you cannot restore them. Test your WordPress backup restoration process before you need it in an emergency.

Most backup plugins include one-click restore functionality. The process typically involves: accessing your backup from storage, uploading it to your site or plugin, running the restoration process, and verifying everything works correctly.

If your site is completely down, you may need to restore manually via FTP and phpMyAdmin. This is why testing restoration in a non-emergency is so important.

WordPress Backup Best Practices

Follow these best practices to ensure your WordPress backup strategy is solid:

Automate your backups so they happen consistently. Store backups in multiple locations. Test restorations periodically. Keep multiple backup versions (do not just overwrite). Backup before major updates or changes. Document your backup and restoration procedures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my hosting provider backup my site?

Many hosts provide basic backups, but they are often limited and not guaranteed. Always maintain your own independent backup WordPress strategy. Do not rely solely on hosting backups.

How much storage do WordPress backups need?

This depends on your site size, especially your uploads folder. A typical site might be 500MB-2GB per backup. Plan for at least 10GB for storing multiple backup versions.

Should I backup the entire wp-content folder?

Yes, always backup the complete wp-content folder including uploads, themes, and plugins. This ensures you can fully restore your site exactly as it was.

Can I backup WordPress manually?

Yes, you can download files via FTP and export your database via phpMyAdmin. However, manual backups are tedious and easy to forget. Automated backups are much more reliable.

How long should I keep backups?

Keep at least 30 days of backups for most sites. For sites with infrequent changes, keeping 90 days or more is wise. Some malware can go undetected for weeks, so older backups may be needed.

Conclusion: Backup WordPress Today

Do not wait for disaster to strike before implementing a WordPress backup strategy. Set up automated backups today, store them securely offsite, and test your restoration process.

At The WordPress Team, we include automated daily backups with 30-day retention in all our maintenance plans. We store your backups securely in the cloud and can restore your site in minutes if anything goes wrong. Focus on your business—we will protect your website.