What Is Backup in WordPress
WordPress backups are copies of your website made for security reasons. If something goes awry with your website, you can restore the backup with a few clicks and be up and running again. Just as you’d back up your computer, it’s best to store WordPress backups in a different location than your actual site. WordPress backups and other data allow you to transfer your website to a new server or hosting provider. You can also use them to create a local copy of your site for development.
Backup Your WordPress for Security Reasons
Your website is susceptible to security risks if you don’t take the proper precautions. By paying attention to WordPress security best practices, you can avoid being hacked, losing data, or experiencing server disasters.
Having a backup is your best chance at warding off any WordPress attack. Whenever you make changes to your website, for example, installing new themes or plugins or updating WordPress, create a backup first. That way, if something unfortunate happens, you can quickly and easily revert your site back to its original state.
When you back up WordPress, the two types of backups are the database and the files.
- Database: The WordPress database includes all your posts, pages, comments, settings, and more. You’ll lose everything in your database if you only have a file backup.
- Files: Your WordPress files include the themes and plugins you’ve installed, images, and other media. If you only have a database backup, you won’t be able to restore your site to its original state without losing data.
To safeguard your WordPress site, you can backup your database and files either manually or with a plugin.
Although doing it manually is an option, we recommend using a plugin for ease and reducing the likelihood of error.
WordPress Files That Need to Be Backed Up
Your website consists of content stored in a MySQL database and files stored directly on your host, like your WordPress media library.
Your WordPress site has three kinds of files: posts, pages, and media. It also has one database.
- Core WordPress files
- wp-content folder (theme, plugins, and uploads)
- WordPress configuration files
- WordPress database
Manually backing up your files and database can be painstaking, so we recommend doing it regularly. Make sure you don’t miss any key files in the process.
The most efficient way to create backups is by automating the process with a plugin. We’ll next explore the best WordPress backup plugins available.
WordPress Backup Plugins
If you use WordPress, there are plenty of plugins (both free and paid) that will back up your site for you–most of them very user-friendly.
Jetpack for WordPress
Jetpack is a WordPress plugin that automatically backs up your site. It stores your backups in the cloud, so your data will be safe even if your server goes down. Jetpack also makes it easy to restore your site if something goes wrong. Just install the plugin and activate it, and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that your data is safe.
UpDraft Plus
UpDraftPlus is a WordPress backup plugin that makes it easy to create backups of your site and store them safely off-site. With just a few clicks, you can schedule regular backups and rest easy, knowing that your site is safe. In the event of a crash or other disaster, you can quickly and easily restore your site from a backup. UpDraftPlus is an essential tool for any WordPress site owner who wants to protect their investment.
How to Back Up and Restore Your Website
Now that you know the importance of backing up your WordPress site, it’s time to learn how actually to do it. This section will show you how to back up and restore your WordPress site manually and with a plugin.
Manually Backing Up WordPress
First, you need to connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client like FileZilla or Cyberduck. Once you’re connected, download the following files and folders to your computer:
- wp-content folder
- uploads folder
- wp-includes folder
- wp-admin folder
- index.php file
- license.txt file
- readme.html file
- xmlrpc.php file
You can also export your WordPress database using phpMyAdmin. Once you’ve logged in, select your WordPress database from the left sidebar. Then, click the Export tab at the top of the page and choose the Quick option. Finally, click Go to download your database as a .sql file.
Now that you have all the necessary files, it’s time to compress them into a .zip file. To do this, open the folder containing your WordPress files and select all of them. Right-click on the selection and choose Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder.
You should now have a .zip file containing all the WordPress files you need to backup. Store this file in a safe place, like an external hard drive or cloud storage service.
Manually Restoring WordPress from a Backup
If you ever need to restore your WordPress site from a backup, the process is similar to backing up. First, connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client and delete all the existing files on your server. Then, upload the backed-up WordPress files to your server and replace the existing ones.
Finally, you need to import your database from the .sql file you downloaded earlier. To do this, log in to phpMyAdmin and select your WordPress database from the left sidebar. Then, click on the Import tab at the top of the page. Choose the file you want to import and click Go.
Your WordPress site should now be restored from the backup.
Using a Plugin to Back Up WordPress
Backing up your WordPress site with a plugin is much easier than doing it manually. In most cases, you must install and activate the plugin, which will take care of everything for you.
One of the most popular WordPress backup plugins is UpDraftPlus. UpDraftPlus makes it easy to create backups of your site and store them safely off-site. With just a few clicks, you can schedule regular backups and rest easily, knowing that your site is safe. In the event of a crash or other disaster, you can quickly and easily restore your site from a backup.
Another popular WordPress backup plugin is Jetpack. Jetpack is a WordPress plugin that automatically backs up your site. It stores your backups in the cloud, so your data will be safe even if your server goes down. Jetpack also makes it easy to restore your site if something goes wrong. Just install the plugin and activate it, and you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that your data is safe.