How to Backup Your WordPress Site in 2024 (4 Methods)

Want to safeguard your WordPress site against disasters? Smart move. WordPress may power over 43% of the web in 2024, but that doesn‘t make it immune to hacks, hosting issues, and human errors that could wipe out your hard work.

Fortunately, by proactively backing up your WordPress site, you can protect your data and quickly recover when the unthinkable occurs. In this guide aimed at non-technical users, I‘ll dive into:

• Why you absolutely need WordPress backups
• What your WordPress backup strategy should include
• How to backup WordPress using plugins (the easiest method)
• How to manually backup WordPress via FTP and database exports
• How to restore your WordPress site from a backup
• Alternative WordPress backup methods to consider
• Other ways to increase your WordPress site‘s security and stability

I‘ve managed WordPress sites for over a decade and have seen firsthand how backups save the day. Trust me, this is one area where you don‘t want to cut corners. Let‘s ensure your site‘s data is fully protected.

Why You Absolutely Need WordPress Backups

First off, is backing up your WordPress site really necessary? Can‘t you just count on your web host to handle it?

While quality WordPress hosting is important, backups are ultimately your responsibility as a site owner. Even the WordPress.org team says so.

Relying solely on your host is risky for a few reasons:

1. Not all WordPress hosting plans include automatic backups. You may only get occasional snapshots or no backups at all.

2. Even hosts that do provide backups often have limitations. They may only back up core WordPress files or keep backups for a short time period.

3. Hosting platforms can and do make mistakes. A faulty update or human error on their end could corrupt or erase backups.

4. If your hosting account gets hacked or suspended, you could lose access to your backups entirely.

The only way to ensure you have full, secure backups is to manage them yourself. Don‘t make the mistake of assuming your host has you covered.

Still not convinced backups should be a priority? Consider these eye-opening statistics:

• 30,000+ websites get hacked every day
• Plugin vulnerabilities account for 55.9% of known entry points for hackers
• Roughly 60% of data losses are due to human error
• It takes an average of 46 days to resolve a cyberattack

If your site did get hacked, corrupted by malware, or accidentally deleted without backups, you could lose:

• 100% of your content, design, and functionality
• Search rankings and traffic
• User data and business records
• Ecommerce transactions and customer trust
• Countless hours spent rebuilding your site from scratch

That‘s a nightmare scenario for any business or serious website. But if you have complete, current backups, you can bounce back quickly with minimal lasting damage.

What Your WordPress Backup Strategy Should Include

Now that you grasp the importance of WordPress backups, what should your overall backup approach entail? Here are some key best practices to follow.

Back Up Your Entire WordPress Instance

A WordPress site consists of two main components:

1. The WordPress files – This includes WordPress core files, plugins, themes, uploads, etc.
2. The WordPress database – This stores your posts, pages, settings, user info, and other content.

You need backups of BOTH your WordPress files and database to fully protect your site. Most backup plugins handle this automatically, but if you‘re backing up manually, make sure to include both components.

Automate Regular Backups

Manual backups are better than nothing, but they‘re easy to forget. The best approach is to automate your WordPress backups to run on a consistent schedule.

I recommend:

• Daily backups kept for at least 1 week
• Weekly backups kept for 1 month
• Monthly backups kept for 1 year

Some backup plugins offer continuous incremental backups, which saves changes in near real-time for always up-to-date protection.

Always Backup Before Major Site Changes

Automated backups are great, but there are times when an extra manual backup is smart. Always perform an additional one-off backup before:

• Updating WordPress core, plugins, or themes
• Installing new plugins or themes
• Redesigning or migrating your site
• Making DNS or hosting changes

This provides an easy restore point if the change breaks your site.

Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule

For maximum safekeeping of your backups, follow the 3-2-1 rule:

• 3 total copies of your data
• 2 on different media/devices
• 1 offsite

So in addition to storing backups on your web server, keep copies on cloud storage services and/or local storage devices too. That ensures you can still access a backup copy even if one location gets wiped out.

Periodically Check Your Backup Integrity

Imagine going to restore a backup only to discover the files are corrupted. To avoid that disastrous scenario, spot check your backups periodically to confirm they‘re valid.

Manually download a backup file and try uploading it to a test site. If it works, great! You know your backups are in good shape. Try to test like this quarterly if you can.

Have a Tested Restoration Plan

Backups are only useful if you know how to restore them. Before a real disaster hits, ensure you have a clear, tested plan to get your site back online from each type of backup you maintain.

Note any dependencies like needing certain software or login credentials so you‘re not scrambling later. Consider writing an actual disaster recovery document for your most vital sites.

By building these practices into your backup strategy, you‘ll avoid common pitfalls and be well prepared for a worst case scenario.

How to Back Up WordPress Using Plugins

For most users, installing a backup plugin is the simplest way to comprehensively back up a WordPress site. You get automatic scheduled backups without having to manually access your server and database.

Here are some of the top rated WordPress backup plugins in 2024:

For this tutorial, we‘ll use the free version of UpdraftPlus. It‘s one of the most popular and reliable options with over 2 million users.

To get started:

1. Install and activate the free UpdraftPlus plugin.
2. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in your WordPress admin dashboard.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Choose your backup schedule and retention period under Files backup schedule and Database backup schedule. Keep the default setting to back up All your files and Database.
5. Under Remote Storage, select a cloud storage service to keep offsite copies of your backups. UpdraftPlus supports options like Google Drive, Dropbox, and more.
6. Click the Save Changes button.

Boom! You‘re all set. UpdraftPlus will now automatically back up your WordPress files and database on the schedule you selected. To manually run a backup anytime, just click the Backup Now button on the Current Status tab.

When it‘s time to restore, go to the Existing Backups tab. You‘ll see a list of your previous backups. For the one you want to restore, click the Restore button and follow the prompts to complete the process. It‘s really that easy!

While plugins are convenient, they can‘t cover all situations. If a plugin fails or your site is totally inaccessible, you may need to restore manually.

How to Manually Back Up WordPress via FTP and Database Export

Even if you use a backup plugin, it‘s smart to periodically download full backups yourself as an extra precaution. Here‘s how.

Backup Your WordPress Files via FTP

1. Use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your WordPress site.
2. Navigate to your WordPress root directory (usually public_html).
3. Download all the files and folders to your local device.
4. Upload the backup to remote storage for safekeeping.

Quick tip: Compress the files into a ZIP archive first to save space and make uploading faster.

Backup Your WordPress Database via MySQL Export

1. Log into your hosting control panel and open phpMyAdmin.
2. Click to select your WordPress database on the left.
3. Go to the Export tab.
4. Choose Quick as the Export Method and SQL as the Format.
5. Click Go to download the database export file.
6. Upload the export file to remote storage along with your WordPress files backup.

You can also backup your WordPress database via the command line. Connect to your server via SSH and run:

mysqldump -u username -p databasename > backup.sql

Replace username and databasename with your actual database credentials.

With these manual backups and your automated plugin backups, you‘ll have multiple copies to rely on if trouble strikes.

Restoring Your WordPress Site From Backups

So the worst happened and you need to restore your WordPress site from a backup. The process will vary some based on your backup method.

For backup plugin restores, look for a dedicated restore or clone tool in the plugin settings. It will likely be a matter of clicking a button and walking through some prompts.

If restoring from manual backups, follow these basic steps:

1. Delete all files in your WordPress directory EXCEPT wp-config.php and any non-WordPress directories.
2. Upload the backed up WordPress files via FTP, overwriting existing files.
3. Open phpMyAdmin, select your WordPress database, and go to the Import tab.
4. Choose the database backup file and click Go to restore the database.
5. Update the siteurl and home values in the wp_options table if your domain changed.
6. Refresh your WordPress site and you should be back in action!

For a more detailed restore walkthrough, see the official guide from WordPress.org.

Alternative WordPress Backup Methods

Beyond backup plugins and manual backups, there are a couple other ways to safeguard your WordPress site.

Backups via Hosting Control Panel Tools

Some web hosts provide backup tools right in their control panels. For example:

• cPanel has a Backups section where you can generate backups on demand or automatically.
• Plesk has a Backup Manager extension to schedule backups.
• Some hosts use their own custom dashboard backup tools.

These tools are handy for quick backups, but I still recommend backup plugins for more control and redundancy.

Backups from Managed WordPress Hosting

If you use managed WordPress hosting, robust backups may be included in your plan. For instance:

• WP Engine performs daily backups and lets you create restore points with one click.
• Kinsta offers free automatic daily backups and stores them for 14 days.
• Flywheel creates nightly backups and keeps them for 30 days.

Check your hosting plan details to see what level of backup support you have. You may not need a separate backup plugin.

Other Ways to Secure Your WordPress Site

Backups are a key component of WordPress security, but they‘re more of a cure than a prevention. There are plenty of other steps you can take to harden WordPress and stop disasters before they happen.

Some top WordPress security best practices:

• Keep WordPress core, plugins, and themes updated
• Delete unused plugins and themes
• Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication
• Install a security plugin to detect and fix vulnerabilities
• Implement SSL/HTTPS across your entire site
• Limit login attempts to prevent brute force attacks
• Use a managed WordPress host with strong security measures
• Monitor your site for malware and suspicious activity

Get more WordPress security tips in our guide to locking down WordPress.

Never Neglect WordPress Backups Again

I know you have a mile-long to-do list for your WordPress site. But please, make rock-solid backups a top priority. The stakes are simply too high to risk it.

Schedule those automatic backups, download manual copies, spread them around, and test your restores. With a reliable backup system watching your back, you can run your WordPress site with much more peace of mind.

Have any WordPress backup methods or tools I missed? Tweet them at me @yourhandle. Now go check on those backups!