Your WordPress website is one of your most valuable digital assets. Whether you’re running a personal blog, an online store, or a business website, losing your content, customer data, or website files can be devastating. Fortunately, regular backups make it possible to recover quickly from unexpected problems such as server failures, hacking attempts, failed updates, or accidental deletions.
In this WordPress backup guide, you’ll learn why backups are essential, how to install and configure UpdraftPlus, and how to create both manual and automatic backups. We’ll also cover restoring your website and share best practices to help keep your site protected.
Why Every WordPress Website Needs Regular Backups
Many website owners don’t think about backups until something goes wrong. Unfortunately, by then it’s often too late.
A WordPress website consists of two critical components: your files and your database. Your files include your themes, plugins, media uploads, and WordPress core files, while your database stores your posts, pages, comments, user accounts, and website settings. If either component becomes corrupted or is accidentally deleted, your website may stop functioning correctly.
Backups act as a safety net, allowing you to restore your website to a previous working state within minutes.
Common situations where backups can save your website include:
- A plugin or theme update causes your website to crash.
- Your hosting provider experiences server issues.
- Malware or hackers compromise your website.
- Important files are accidentally deleted.
- Database corruption causes errors throughout your site.
- You make changes that need to be rolled back.
Even if your hosting provider includes backups, it’s always a good idea to maintain your own independent copies. Having complete control over your backups provides extra peace of mind.
What Is UpdraftPlus?
UpdraftPlus is one of the most popular backup plugins available for WordPress. With millions of active installations, it has earned a reputation for being reliable, easy to use, and flexible enough for beginners and experienced users alike.
The free version allows you to create complete website backups, schedule automatic backups, and store them in cloud services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. The premium version adds features such as incremental backups, website migration, cloning, and additional cloud storage options.
Some of the features that make UpdraftPlus a popular choice include:
- One-click manual backups
- Automatic backup scheduling
- Cloud storage integration
- Easy restoration process
- Database and file backups
- Selective restoration options
- Website migration tools (Premium)
- Incremental backups (Premium)
For most small business websites and blogs, the free version provides everything needed to implement a reliable backup strategy.
Installing UpdraftPlus
Installing UpdraftPlus takes only a few minutes.
Log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins → Add New.
In the search field, type UpdraftPlus. Locate the plugin developed by UpdraftPlus.Com, David Anderson, and click Install Now.
Once installation is complete, click Activate.
You’ll now find UpdraftPlus under Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups, where you can manage your backup settings and create your first backup.
Tip: Before making major changes to your website—such as installing new plugins, changing themes, or updating WordPress—it’s a good habit to create a manual backup first.
Creating Your First Backup
Creating a backup with UpdraftPlus is straightforward.
Navigate to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups and click the Backup Now button.
A window will appear asking whether you’d like to include your database and website files. In most cases, you’ll want both options selected to create a complete backup.
Click Backup Now again to begin.
Depending on the size of your website, the process may take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Once complete, your backup will appear in the Existing Backups section.
At this stage, your backup is stored locally on your server. While this provides a quick recovery option, it’s best practice to configure remote storage so your backups remain safe even if your hosting account experiences problems.
Setting Up Automatic Backups
Creating manual backups is useful before making changes, but automatic backups ensure your website is protected without relying on memory.
Within the Settings tab of UpdraftPlus, you’ll find options to schedule both file backups and database backups independently.
The ideal schedule depends on how frequently your website changes.
| Website Type | Recommended Backup Schedule |
|---|---|
| Personal blog | Weekly |
| Business website | Daily database, weekly files |
| WooCommerce store | Daily or more frequently |
| Membership website | Daily |
| News or content-heavy website | Daily |
After selecting a schedule, choose how many backup copies you’d like to retain. Keeping multiple restore points gives you additional flexibility if a problem isn’t discovered immediately.
Don’t forget to click Save Changes once you’ve configured your schedule.
Connecting Cloud Storage
Storing backups only on your web server defeats much of their purpose. If the server fails or your hosting account becomes compromised, your backups may be lost alongside your website.
UpdraftPlus supports several remote storage providers, including:
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
- Microsoft OneDrive
- Microsoft Azure
- Amazon S3
- Backblaze B2
- FTP and SFTP servers
- WebDAV
Google Drive is one of the easiest options for most website owners.
To connect it, select Google Drive under the remote storage options, save your settings, and follow the authorization link provided by UpdraftPlus. After signing in to your Google account and granting permission, your future backups will automatically upload to your cloud storage.
Using off-site storage ensures your backups remain available even if your website becomes inaccessible.
Restoring Your Website
If your website encounters problems, restoring a backup with UpdraftPlus is a simple process.
Return to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups and locate the backup you’d like to restore.
Click Restore, then select which components you wish to recover. These may include:
- Plugins
- Themes
- Uploads
- Database
- Other files
For a complete restoration after a major failure, select all components.
Click Next, review the restoration options, and confirm the process.
Once complete, UpdraftPlus will notify you that the restoration has finished successfully. In many cases, your website will immediately return to its previous working state.
Best Practices for WordPress Backups
While installing a backup plugin is an excellent first step, following a few best practices will improve your overall website security.
Store Backups Off-Site
Always keep at least one copy of your backups outside your hosting account. Cloud storage services provide inexpensive and reliable protection against server failures.
Back Up Before Every Major Update
Although automatic backups are convenient, creating a fresh backup immediately before updating WordPress, plugins, or themes gives you an additional recovery point.
Test Your Restores
A backup is only useful if it works. Periodically test restoring your website on a staging environment to confirm your backups are complete and functional.
Keep Multiple Backup Versions
Avoid keeping only your most recent backup. If your website becomes infected with malware or develops problems over time, having several restore points gives you more recovery options.
Monitor Backup Success
Occasionally check your backup logs to confirm scheduled backups are completing successfully. A failed backup is easy to overlook until you need it most.
Common Backup Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced website owners can make mistakes when managing backups.
Some of the most common include:
- Relying entirely on hosting backups.
- Storing backups only on the same server.
- Never testing the restoration process.
- Forgetting to schedule automatic backups.
- Keeping only one backup copy.
- Ignoring failed backup notifications.
Avoiding these mistakes significantly improves your ability to recover quickly from unexpected issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is UpdraftPlus free?
Yes. UpdraftPlus offers a free version that includes manual backups, scheduled backups, cloud storage integration, and one-click restoration. Premium plans add features such as website migration, cloning, and incremental backups.
How often should I back up my WordPress website?
It depends on how frequently your website changes. A personal blog may only require weekly backups, while an ecommerce store or membership website should back up its database daily or even more frequently.
Can I restore only my database?
Yes. UpdraftPlus allows you to restore individual components such as your database, plugins, themes, uploads, or other files without restoring the entire website.
Where should I store my backups?
Cloud storage services such as Google Drive or Dropbox are recommended because they keep your backups separate from your hosting account. This provides additional protection if your server experiences problems.
Should I rely on my hosting provider’s backups?
Hosting backups are helpful, but they shouldn’t be your only backup strategy. Maintaining independent backups gives you greater control and ensures you can restore your website even if your hosting provider encounters issues.
Final Thoughts
Regular backups are one of the simplest yet most effective ways to protect your WordPress website. While no one expects their website to fail, unexpected updates, server problems, security incidents, and human error can happen at any time.
UpdraftPlus makes creating and managing backups accessible for beginners while offering advanced features for growing websites. By scheduling automatic backups, storing them in secure cloud storage, and periodically testing your restoration process, you’ll be well prepared to recover quickly if disaster strikes.
A few minutes spent setting up a reliable backup system today can save hours—or even days—of frustration in the future. If you’re serious about maintaining a secure and dependable WordPress website, regular backups should be a core part of your maintenance routine.
