A hacked site, an update that breaks everything or a page deleted by accident: with a good backup, it’s simply a matter of restoring. Without one, you may have to start all over again. In this article you’ll learn how to back up your WordPress site, where to store the backup and, just as important, how to restore it.

What’s in a WordPress backup?

A WordPress site consists of two parts, and a good backup contains both:

  • The database: your pages, posts, settings, users and, for a webshop, your orders and customers too.
  • The files: WordPress itself, your theme, your plugins and everything you’ve uploaded, such as photos and PDFs.

A backup of only the database or only the files is not enough to fully restore your site.

The golden rule: 3-2-1

Keep at least 3 copies of your site, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 of them away from your server. The most common mistake is a backup that only sits on the same server as your website. If that server fails or gets hacked, you lose your site and your backup.

Option 1: your host’s backups

Many hosts make backups automatically. Ask how often that happens, how long they’re kept, whether they’re stored off the server and how you restore one. Useful as a basis, but don’t rely on them blindly: some hosts only keep backups for a few days, or charge for a restore.

Option 2: back up yourself with a plugin

With a free plugin such as UpdraftPlus you can make automatic backups to external storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Here’s how to set it up:

  1. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin, search for UpdraftPlus, install and activate it.
  2. Open the UpdraftPlus settings (under Settings in the left-hand menu) and go to the settings tab.
  3. Set the files backup schedule to weekly and the database backup schedule to daily. A webshop with lots of orders? Then choose a shorter interval for the database.
  4. Choose how many backups to retain, for example 14 of the database and 4 of the files.
  5. Choose your remote storage (for example Google Drive), connect your account and save the settings.
  6. Make your first backup straight away with the Backup Now button, and check that it appears in your remote storage.

Restoring a backup

If something goes wrong, use the same plugin to restore an earlier version:

  1. Open UpdraftPlus and go to the overview of your existing backups.
  2. Choose the backup from before the problem and click Restore.
  3. Tick what you want to restore: usually everything (database, plugins, themes, uploads and other files).
  4. Start the restore, then check your most important pages: the homepage, the contact form and, for a webshop, the checkout.

Is your site so broken that you can no longer log in to WordPress? Then restore the backup through your host’s control panel, or ask your host to do it. That’s another reason why the backup should be stored off your server.

Test your backup

A backup you’ve never restored is a promise, not a certainty. At least once a year, restore a backup to a test environment (a copy of your site, also called staging). Then you know for sure it works when it really matters.

Common mistakes

  • The backup is only stored on the same server as the website.
  • Restoring has never been tested.
  • Only the files or only the database are backed up.
  • Backups are kept for just a few days, while a hack is often only discovered weeks later.
  • No extra backup is made before a major update.

How we do it: with our maintenance plans we make a backup every day and keep it for 14 days. With Verploy, our own platform, every update is also tested on a copy of your site first. If something does go wrong, the previous version is restored automatically. You don’t have to do a thing.

Not sure whether your backups are in order?

Leave your website address below. We’ll look at how your site is doing on security, backups, speed and findability, and you’ll receive a personal report by email with the three improvements that will make the biggest difference. Free and without obligation.

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