How to Backup WordPress site (With & Without Plugin)

Hey there! So, you’re here because you want to back up your WordPress site – smart choice! Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way how important it is to back up your site regularly.

I’ve been running WordPress sites for years, and there was a time when I didn’t back things up as often as I should have. That one day, when everything crashed due to a bad plugin update, I swore I’d never let it happen again.

I lost a ton of work that day, but it taught me a valuable lesson: always, always back up your WordPress site.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to back up your WordPress site, both with plugins (easy and hands-off) and without plugins (for those who like getting their hands a little dirty). Either way, you’ll have a solid backup strategy in place to protect all your hard work.

Why Backing Up is Important

Before we dive into the steps, let me quickly explain why backing up your WordPress site is crucial. Your WordPress site is made up of two key parts:

1. Files: This includes your theme, plugins, images, and everything else that makes up your site’s design and functionality.
2. Database: This holds all your content (like blog posts, pages, comments, etc.).

If anything happens to these (a server crash, a hacking attempt, or even a simple mistake), you’ll be glad you have a backup to restore from. Trust me, there’s no worse feeling than realizing that your site is gone, and you have nothing to fall back on.

How to Backup Your WordPress Site With a Plugin

Alright, let’s start with the easy way – backing up with a plugin. Plugins make this whole process so much smoother and faster, and there are some really good options out there. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Choose a Backup Plugin

There are a lot of WordPress backup plugins out there, but let me tell you about my personal favorite: UpdraftPlus. It’s simple, reliable, and has both a free and premium version.

Another good one I’ve used in the past is BackupBuddy, but for now, let’s go with UpdraftPlus because it’s free and does everything you need.

Step 2: Install and Activate the Plugin

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard. Click on Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for “UpdraftPlus” in the search bar.
3. Once you find it, click Install Now and then Activate.

Step 3: Configure Your Backup Settings

1. Once activated, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups.
2. You’ll see a button that says Backup Now – go ahead and click it. But before you do that, take a moment to set your backup schedule:
   • Backup contents: Choose what you want to back up (files, database, or both).
   • Backup schedule: I recommend setting up automatic backups, especially if you’re regularly adding content. You can back up your files weekly and the database every day.
   • Remote Storage: It’s also a good idea to store your backups offsite (like Google Drive, Dropbox, or even Amazon S3). This adds an extra layer of security in case your hosting provider has an issue.

Once you’ve configured your settings, click Save Changes.

Step 4: Run Your First Backup

Now that you’ve set everything up, go ahead and click Backup Now. It’ll start backing up your site right away, and you’ll get a notification when it’s done.

After the first backup, you’ll have everything you need to restore your site in case anything goes wrong.

Step 5: Download the Backup

Once the backup is complete, you can download the backup files (database and site files) to your computer, just in case you want to store a local copy. You’ll find the options to download under the Existing Backups tab.

How to Backup Your WordPress Site Without a Plugin

Now, I know some of you might not want to use a plugin, and I get it. I was a little skeptical myself when I first started managing WordPress sites.

But after using it for a while, I realized that backing up manually gives you full control over what’s being backed up.

Let’s go through it step-by-step.

Step 1: Backup the Files (Via FTP or File Manager)

1. Access Your Site Files:
   • Use an FTP client like FileZilla (or access the file manager in your hosting control panel).
   • Connect to your site using the FTP details provided by your hosting provider (you can get these from your cPanel or ask your hosting support).
2. Download the Entire WordPress Folder:
   • You’ll want to back up the entire WordPress root folder (public_html or www, depending on your host).
   • Right-click on the folder and choose Download. This will back up all your themes, plugins, and media files.

Step 2: Backup the Database (Using phpMyAdmin)

1. Log into Your Hosting Control Panel (like cPanel or Plesk).
2. Find and open phpMyAdmin.
3. In phpMyAdmin, on the left, select the WordPress database (it’s usually named after your website or something like wp_database).
4. Click on the Export tab at the top.
5. Choose the Quick export method and select SQL as the format. Click Go.
6. Your database will be downloaded as an .sql file. This is your backup of all the posts, pages, and settings for your WordPress site.

My Backup Journey

Let me share a little story. When I first started running my WordPress sites, I was a bit clueless about backups. I used to rely solely on the hosting provider’s backups, and I figured that’d be enough.

But then came the day when my site crashed due to a plugin update gone wrong. I called up support, but guess what? The backups they had were outdated by a couple of weeks.

I was devastated – I had lost recent posts and important site updates.

After that incident, I made it a habit to back up my sites regularly. And, over time, I started using plugins like UpdraftPlus to automate the process.

Now, I never have to worry about losing data, and I sleep easy knowing I have multiple backups stored in different places. It’s a lifesaver!

Wrapping It Up

So there you have it – two ways to back up your WordPress site: with a plugin (easy and automatic) or manually (for the hands-on folks).

Either method works great, but the key takeaway is that you should back up your site regularly. You never know when something might go wrong, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry!

I hope this guide helps, and if you ever run into any issues or have questions, feel free to reach out. I’ve been there, and I’d love to help you out! 😊

Happy backing up, and good luck with your site!