Backing up a WordPress website is essential to prevent data loss, especially in cases of server failures, hacking attempts, accidental data deletions, or problematic software updates. These backups serve as a safety net, ensuring you can recover your website’s content and functionality in the face of various unexpected events, from security breaches to technical issues. Backups are also recommended for any WordPress sites prior to version updates and plugin updates.
Here are the various ways you can backup your WordPress website to ensure you do not lose any of your data or rankings if a security breach happens or a recent update breaks your website.
Make Sure Your Hosting Provider Makes Regular Backups
Firstly, it’s essential to have a hosting provider that offers regular daily or weekly backups of your WordPress website for both security and ease of use. These routine backups serve as an insurance policy against various unforeseen circumstances. In the event of a security breach or a critical error, these backups can quickly restore your site to a previously stable state, minimizing downtime and data loss. Moreover, it simplifies the process of managing your website since you can rely on these backups to revert to a known-good configuration with ease, ensuring that your online presence remains consistent and secure.
To ensure your hosting provider offers regular backups, check their backup policy in your hosting account or on their website. Look for information on the frequency of backups and whether they include both website files and databases. Many reputable hosting providers offer user-friendly control panels that allow you to access and download backups. To download backups for local storage, navigate to your hosting control panel, locate the backup section, and follow the instructions for downloading backups. Be sure to store these backups in a secure location, preferably on a different server or storage medium, to safeguard your data even if your hosting server experiences catastrophic failure.
Using a WordPress Plugin to Make a Backup of Your Site
Using a WordPress plugin to create backups of your website is a convenient and accessible method for safeguarding your site’s data and content. These plugins typically offer user-friendly interfaces, making the backup process accessible even for those without extensive technical knowledge. You can customize backup settings, select where to store the backups (e.g., cloud storage, your local server, or external servers), and easily restore your site to a previous state in case of data loss, security breaches, or site errors. Here are two backup plugins that we recommend you make use of for keeping local versions of your site available.
All-in-One WP Migration: Launched in 2013 and employed by more than 60 million websites, All-in-One WP Migration has firmly established itself as one of the most reliable and widely adopted plugins in the world of WordPress, offering unparalleled simplicity for seamlessly transferring websites.
UpdraftPlus: WordPress Backup & Migration Plugin: The UpdraftPlus Backup & Migration Plugin enjoys the trust of the WordPress community for backing up, restoring, and migrating their WordPress websites. With over 3 million active installations globally, UpdraftPlus is a widely relied-upon choice.
Manually Backing Up Your WordPress Website
Manually backing up a WordPress website provides an extra layer of control and security, allowing you to safeguard your website’s data and content. One of the methods to achieve this is by utilizing your hosting provider’s cPanel. Within cPanel, you can access backup features that allow you to create backups of your entire website, including files, databases, and emails. These backups are typically compressed and stored on your server. It’s important to note that cPanel backup options may vary depending on your hosting provider, so it’s a good practice to consult their documentation or support for specific instructions. Once you have generated these backups, you can download them to your local storage for safekeeping.
In addition to cPanel backups, manually backing up your website may involve managing files through FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Using an FTP client, you can connect to your web server and download all your website files to your local computer. This process ensures that you have a copy of your site’s themes, plugins, media, and other essential files. Moreover, don’t forget to back up your website’s database using phpMyAdmin or a similar tool. These MySQL database backups should also be stored locally. By combining these methods, you’ll have a comprehensive manual backup strategy that covers both your website’s files and its core data.
If you need assistance ensuring your WordPress website is backed up and ready in case of any unforeseen issues contact our Website Development Services team today and don’t lose any data or rankings in the future.
