⚡ Quick Start: Backup in 5 Minutes
- Install UpdraftPlus plugin
- Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups
- Click "Backup Now"
- Save backup to cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox)
Why Backups Are Essential
Imagine waking up and your website is gone. Hacked, server crash, failed update – the reasons are many. Without a backup: weeks or months of work lost. With backup: one click and everything is restored.
Common data loss scenarios:
- Hacker attack with malware infection
- Failed plugin/theme update
- Accidentally deleting content
- Server hardware failure at host
- Human errors (wrong click in admin)
Many hosts do backups, but: restoration often takes days, costs extra, and sometimes backups are incomplete. Always create your own backups!
What Needs to Be Backed Up?
A complete WordPress backup consists of two parts:
1. Files (WordPress Installation)
/wp-content/– Themes, plugins, uploads (images, PDFs)/wp-content/uploads/– All uploaded mediawp-config.php– Database credentials, salts.htaccess– Server configuration
2. Database (MySQL)
- All posts, pages, comments
- Users and their settings
- Plugin settings
- Theme customizer settings
- WooCommerce: Products, orders, customers
Method 1: Backup with UpdraftPlus (Recommended)
UpdraftPlus is the most popular backup plugin with over 3 million active installations. The free version is sufficient for most websites.
Install Plugin
Go to Plugins → Add New and search for "UpdraftPlus". Install and activate.
Connect Cloud Storage
Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Settings. Choose cloud storage:
- Google Drive – 15GB free, easy to set up
- Dropbox – 2GB free, very reliable
- Amazon S3 – For larger websites, cost-effective
Set Up Automatic Backups
Recommended settings:
- Files: Weekly, keep 4
- Database: Daily, keep 7
For WooCommerce shops with many orders: Database daily or even every 12 hours.
Create First Backup
Click "Backup Now". Select "Files" and "Database". The first backup can take 5-30 minutes depending on website size.
Method 2: Manual Backup via FTP
Sometimes you need a manual backup – e.g., if you no longer have admin access or before a critical update.
Establish FTP Connection
Use FileZilla or Cyberduck. You need: FTP server, username, password, port (21 for FTP or 22 for SFTP).
Download Files
Navigate to WordPress directory. Download: entire /wp-content/ folder, wp-config.php, .htaccess
Export Database
Open phpMyAdmin (in hosting panel). Select your WordPress database. Click Export → Quick → SQL. Save the .sql file.
The 3-2-1 Backup Rule
Professionals use the 3-2-1 rule for maximum security:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different storage media (e.g., cloud + local drive)
- 1 copy at another location (e.g., different cloud region)
☑️ Automatic backups configured
☑️ Cloud storage connected
☑️ Test restore performed
☑️ Backup notifications enabled