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How to Back Up Your WordPress Site (3 Methods)

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You've heard it a hundred times: back up your WordPress site. And yet, a significant proportion of WordPress site owners still don't have reliable, tested, automated backups in place.

Then something goes wrong — a plugin update breaks the site, a hack corrupts files, a server error wipes data — and the absence of a backup turns a recoverable problem into a catastrophe.

This guide covers three reliable methods for backing up your WordPress site: a plugin-based automated method, a hosting provider method, and a manual method. By the end, you'll have at least one method working automatically — so you never face a crisis without a safety net.

What a Complete WordPress Backup Includes

A full WordPress backup has two components:

Files

Everything in your WordPress installation directory — WordPress core files, themes, plugins, and most importantly, the wp-content/uploads/ folder which contains all your media (images, PDFs, videos, documents).

Database

The MySQL database that stores your posts, pages, comments, settings, user accounts, and all dynamic content. Without this, your site content is gone even if the files are intact.

Both must be backed up. A files-only backup misses all your content. A database-only backup misses all your media files.
Where Backups Should Be Stored
  • Not on your web server — if your server fails, your backups fail with it
  • Remote storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, OneDrive, or similar
  • Your local computer as an additional copy for critical moments
1
UpdraftPlus Plugin
Recommended — Automated, Free
Recommended

UpdraftPlus is the most widely used WordPress backup plugin with over 3 million active installs. The free version provides everything most sites need: scheduled automated backups stored in remote locations.

Installation and Basic Setup

Go to Plugins → Add New
Search for UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin
Install and activate
Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups

Configure Backup Schedule

In the Settings tab:

  • Files backup schedule: Weekly is the minimum for most sites. For sites with frequent content changes or file uploads, daily is better.
  • Database backup schedule: Daily is recommended for almost all sites. Your database changes every time you publish, edit, receive comments, or process orders.
  • Retain these backups: Set to at least 4–8 copies — this gives you 4–8 weeks of backup history to roll back to if needed.

Connect Remote Storage

Under Choose your remote storage, select your preferred service:

Google Drive Easiest to set up
Dropbox Simple auth flow
Amazon S3 Most reliable at scale

Google Drive setup (easiest):

Click the Google Drive icon
Click Authenticate with Google
Log in to your Google account and grant access
Google Drive will store your backups in an UpdraftPlus folder

Run Your First Backup

Click Save Changes then scroll down and click Backup Now. Select both "Include your database in the backup" and "Include your files in the backup." Click Backup Now again.

Wait for the backup to complete — you'll see progress indicators for each component (database, plugins, themes, uploads, other). When finished, verify the backup appears in your Existing Backups list and check that it has been uploaded to your remote storage.

Test the Restore Process

This step is critical and almost always skipped. A backup you've never restored from is a backup you can't trust.
In UpdraftPlus → Existing Backups, find your most recent backup
Click Restore
Select all components (database, plugins, themes, uploads)
On a staging site: complete the restore and verify the site works
On a live site: only do a partial restore to test the mechanism (e.g., restore just the database to a test installation)
Tip: Quarterly restore tests catch any issues with backup integrity before you need the backup in a real emergency.
Best method for most sites. Free, automated, remote storage, and well-tested restore process.
2
Hosting Provider Backup
Second Layer — Not a Replacement

Most reputable hosting providers include automatic daily backups as part of their hosting plans. This is a valuable second layer of backup — not a replacement for UpdraftPlus, but an additional safety net.

How to Access Hosting Backups

cPanel
Files → Backup Wizard or Files → Backup. Also check Softaculous/Installatron for WordPress-specific options.
SiteGround
Site Tools → Security → Backups. Daily backups for 30 days on Business plans and above.
Cloudways
Servers → your server → Backups. Daily automated backups with configurable retention.
Kinsta
MyKinsta → Sites → Backups. Automatic daily, hourly available on higher plans.
WP Engine
User Portal → Backup Points. Daily automated with 40-day retention on Startup plans.

Why Hosting Backups Alone Are Not Enough

  • Housing backups are on the same infrastructure as your site — a catastrophic data centre failure could affect both
  • Most hosting backup systems aren't tested as thoroughly as UpdraftPlus
  • Restore processes vary in reliability and speed between providers
  • Some hosts charge for backup restoration
  • You're dependent on the host's retention schedule, not your own
Use hosting backup as a second layer alongside UpdraftPlus, not instead of it.
3
Manual Backup via FTP and phpMyAdmin
Most Control — For One-Off Backups

Manual backups are the most control you can have over the backup process. They're also time-intensive — which is why they're suitable for one-off backups (before major changes) rather than routine automated backups.

Step 1: Back Up Files via FTP

Open your FTP client (FileZilla)
Connect to your server with your FTP credentials
Navigate to your WordPress root directory (usually public_html or www)
Select all files and folders → Right-click → Download
Choose a destination folder on your computer (label it: backup-site-2026-01-15-files)
Wait for the download to complete — this can take time for large sites
Most important folder: wp-content/uploads/ contains all your media. If you're doing a selective backup, prioritise this folder.

Step 2: Back Up Database via phpMyAdmin

Log in to your hosting control panel (cPanel or equivalent)
Find and open phpMyAdmin
In the left sidebar, click your WordPress database name
Click Export in the top navigation
Keep export method as Quick and format as SQL
Click Go — save the downloaded .sql file alongside your files backup

When to Use Manual Backups

  • Before major changes: Switching themes, major plugin updates, WordPress core major version upgrades, or any significant customisation work
  • After important content creation: If you've just spent two days writing 10 blog posts, a manual backup ensures that work is preserved regardless of your automated backup schedule
Use for one-off snapshots before major changes. Not suitable as your primary automated backup method.

WordPress Backup Best Practices

Follow the 3-2-1 Rule
3
Copies of your data
2
Different storage media
1
Offsite copy

In practice: UpdraftPlus backup on Google Drive + hosting provider's backup + quarterly download to your computer.

  • Test your backups quarterly. An untested backup may not actually restore. Schedule a quarterly restore test to a staging environment.
  • Back up before every update. Before major plugin updates, WordPress core updates, or theme changes, confirm a fresh backup exists.
  • Keep at least 30 days of backup history. Some compromises (particularly SEO spam injections or malware) are only discovered weeks after they occurred. A 30-day history ensures you can restore to a pre-compromise state.
  • Back up both files and database. This seems obvious but bears repeating. Many site owners back up one without the other.
  • Store backups separately from your server. A remote storage service ensures your backups survive server failures, account suspensions, or hosting provider issues.

Backup Schedule Recommendations by Site Type

Site Type Database Frequency Files Frequency Retention
Personal blog (low update rate) Weekly Weekly 4 copies
Business site (regular updates) Daily Weekly 14 copies
Active blog (daily publishing) Daily Daily 30 copies
WooCommerce store Daily or 2x daily Daily 30 copies
High-traffic / high-stakes site 2x daily or hourly Daily 30 copies
For WooCommerce stores: Order data lives in the database. Every order placed between backups is unrecoverable if something goes wrong. More frequent database backups reduce that risk window.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How large will my WordPress backup be?
A: Depends on your content. A basic site might be 100–500MB. A media-heavy site with thousands of images could be 5–20GB or more. For large sites, consider using UpdraftPlus Premium which supports incremental backups (only backing up new/changed files rather than the entire site every time).
Q: Can I restore a WordPress backup to a different host or domain?
A: Yes, but it requires additional steps. You'll need to update the database's siteurl and home values (in the wp_options table) to the new domain. Using UpdraftPlus's restore process and then running Better Search Replace to update all database URLs is the standard approach.
Q: Does my hosting backup count as a proper backup?
A: As a second layer, yes. As your only backup, no — for the reasons outlined above. Always have at least one independently managed backup via UpdraftPlus or equivalent.

Final Thoughts

Backup is the WordPress safety net you hope you never need and desperately need when something goes wrong. The ten minutes to set up UpdraftPlus and connect Google Drive today is the insurance against hours or days of recovery work later.

Set it up now. Test the restore. Sleep better knowing your content is protected.

Contact us to discuss professional WordPress maintenance and backup management
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