There are over 800 million WordPress websites online. Due to its high popularity, it is susceptible to attacks or vulnerabilities. That’s why you need to choose the best WordPress backup solutions to ensure the security of your website.
Hackers can try to access your dashboard and lock you out of your website.
You may also face WordPress vulnerabilities through installed themes, plugins, or extensions. Therefore, always uninstall plugins or themes that you are not currently using to reduce the chances of unwanted interception.
We will provide more information on using backup solutions to protect your WordPress website, top WordPress backup solutions, and what to look for in the best WordPress backup plugin.
Importance of a WordPress Website Backup
It is essential to back up your website often because of unforeseen events.
A malicious attack may mess up your website or have your passwords compromised. Having a backup can save the day! Considering there are various free WordPress backup solutions, ensure your site remains secure.
1. Protect Against Malicious Attacks
Malicious attacks like hacking, malware, spyware or phishing attacks are unforeseen and can destroy your website fast. That’s why you need to have a WordPress backup in place to ensure you are on the safe side and can restore your website to where it was before the attack.
Not only that, but also plugins with some vulnerabilities can put your website at risk, and if it gets destroyed, you will be counting losses.
2. Protect From Server Failures
Some human errors can greatly affect your WordPress website.
Therefore, you need to always have a current backup to ensure no system or server failures can affect your website.
Also, it can halt operations and more money will be required to restore the website. Moreover, it will prevent visitors from losing trust in your website in case they encounter downtime.
3. To Retrieve Back Your Website if Locked out
Having a WordPress site backup will ensure you can easily retrieve your website when locked out. When you make a WordPress backup, you are assured of having a copy of your files, folders, media, plugins, themes, images, videos, databases, etc.
Therefore, in case of any issues, you can restore your data in real time to prevent starting from scratch again.
4. Prevent Loss of Data
Another reason why you need to use reliable WordPress solutions is to prevent losing the website content. What would you do if you lost all your website’s data?
Get devastated, right? Well, back up your website often to prevent that.
Regardless of whether it is just a normal website, online store, or blog. Losing valuable data can be devastating.
Best Practices for a Secure Website
- Choose the right WordPress backup solution
- Backup the WordPress website regularly
- Store the backups in different, secure locations
- The WordPress backup should include all the site folders and linked databases.
- Test your backups on a staging environment
- Secure your backups
- Make regular updates on your website to prevent vulnerabilities.
- Have regular backup schedules and test the backups regularly.
Best WordPress Backup Solutions
There are a variety of WordPress backup solutions that you can utilize to ensure your website is always safe even when it encounters an issue.
You can use a WordPress backup plugin, back up through the cPanel, back up the database through phpMyAdmin, download the website files using FTP, and download the complete website.
These top WordPress backup solutions won’t fail you.
1. How to Backup WordPress Site Manually Using a Plugin
There are a wide variety of WordPress backup solutions plugins that you can utilize to ensure your website always remains secure. Some of the best WordPress backup plugins you can use include: UpdraftPlus, Jetpack Vaultpress backup, duplicator, Blogvault, BoldGrid Backup, BackWPup, Backuply, BackupWordPress, Backupbuddy, and more.
According to various positive reviews, the UpdraftPlus WP backup & Migration plugin is one of the best backup solutions for WordPress. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use it:
Step 1: Access the WordPress Website Dashboard
Use the right credentials to access your WordPress admin dashboard. Click on the plugins option on the left side menu.
While on the plugins page, select the Add New Plugin option.
Step 2: Search for the UpdraftPlus WP Backup & Migration Plugin
Proceed to type in UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration plugin in the search bar box.
Once you find it, install and activate it. It will now be easily accessible through the plugins page.
Step 3: Do Your First Backup
You will be redirected to the backup/restore page that allows you to do your first WordPress website backup.
Click on the Backup Now button to create your first backup.
The backup process will start, and once done, it will be saved there. You will also easily get access to other existing backups in the backup/restore settings page.
Step 4: Prompt to Backup
A prompt will appear asking you about the backup specifics. You should leave them as default or change the settings if need be.
Once satisfied, click the Backup Now option. This allows you to back up the website.
Step 5: Completed Backup
The backup folder will be available on the backup/restore page.
Moreover, you can choose to restore the backup, delete, or view the log. Also, it provides information on when the backup was made so you can know the latest.
Step 6: Choose Your Backup Storage and Backup Schedule
The UpdraftPlus Backup & Migration plugin allows users to choose a file backup schedule and storage location. Furthermore, you can choose the kind of content that you want to back up.
Once done modifying the settings, click on the Save button.
That’s it.
What to Check for When Choosing a Good WordPress Backup Plugin?
Since most plugins are free WordPress backup solutions, you should check the features thoroughly.
| No. | Requirement | Why do you need it? |
| 1. | Automated backups | Manually backing up a website can be time-consuming, however, when you set a designated interval for backups, you are assured to always be on the safe side. |
| 2. | Real-time backups | If you regularly update your website, you ought to have a setting that allows backing up of the latest data to prevent data loss or when a risk occurs. For instance, a blog site, forum, or online store. |
| 3. | Flexible storage | Check for a plugin that allows you to save backups in flexible storage and not just on the server. Offsite backups can also come in handy. Also, having multiple backups on the server can slow it down. |
| 4. | Activity log | An activity log provides information on the website, and any logging-in, or hacking issues. Therefore, you can know when the issue began to be able to back up the site from the right point. |
| 5. | Easy restore process | The plugin should also have an easy restore process to reduce the downtime period to prevent losing customers, orders, or other important website details. |
| 6. | Incremental backups | This capability allows saving of the most recent changes, rather than backing up the whole website. Therefore, it remains updated all the time without utilizing too much storage space. |
2. Manually Backup a WordPress Website Using cPanel
The cPanel or your hosting control panel can be used to back up your WordPress website. It is a free WordPress backup solution that you can utilize. The process is easy.
Step 1: Access the cPanel
Based on your hosting provider, access the cPanel and log in with the required credentials. When you log in, you will be redirected to the dashboard with a couple of settings options.
Step 2: Navigate to the File Manager
While on the cPanel dashboard, scroll till you find the File section.
Among its options, choose File Manager. On the folder page, you will be able to see all the domains being hosted. Right-click on the specific website that you want to back up, and on the dropdown that appears, choose Compress.
Step 3: Compress Your Website to Download.
Choose the compression format you wish to use and wait for the process to end. Once it is fully compressed, right-click on the zipped folder, and the drop-down menu, and choose the Download option.
You can choose to save it on your local computer storage, external drive, or cloud storage.
3. How to Backup Your WordPress Database
Once done backing up your website, you will need to also back up its database. If you are not sure of the specific WordPress database file, go to File Manager → yourwebsite’s folder → wp config.php → check the file to see the database details.
Step 1: Log in to Your cPanel
The first step is to log into cPanel. On the dashboard, scroll down till you find the database section. Click on phpMyAdmin.
Step 2: Choose Your Database File
On the left side menu bar of the phpMyAdmin dashboard, click on your specific website’s database. Its content will be displayed on the right side of the screen.
To download, click on the export option at the top of the screen.
Step 3: Export the File
On the next page, choose whether you want to do a custom export or a quick export.
The default export type is SQL, don’t change that, unless otherwise.
Once done, click on the Export button. The database file will be downloaded immediately. Save the database file in a secure place together with the compressed zipped website.
4. Manually Backup a WordPress Website Using FTP
The other method would be to manually back up your WordPress website using FTP clients.
One FTP client you can use is FileZilla. However, you will need to have connected your site to the FTP software for the process to happen.
The method is a bit technical.
Step 1: Download the FTP Client
The first step is to download and install the FTP client of your choice, like FileZilla. You will then need to connect to your web server using the FTP credentials.
Step 2: Navigate to Your Website Directory
Once you are connected, navigate to where your WordPress website directory is installed. Mostly, you will find it in the public_html folder. Unlike on cPanel, you can’t compress the whole site, instead, you can download all the files by selecting all those you want to download.
Step 3: Download the Files
Once selected, right-click your mouse and select the Download option to download the files to your local storage.
Save the files well in your local storage, cloud storage, or external hard drive. You can always restore your website through the FTP client in case of an issue.
5. Manually Do a Full Backup of the Websites in Your Hosting
You can also do a communal backup of all the websites in your hosting.
Step 1: Login to cPanel
First access, cPanel, and log in with your credentials. You will be redirected to the cPanel dashboard with many settings.
Step 2: Click the Backup Option
While on the cPanel dashboard, scroll till you find the files section, and click the Backup option. You will be redirected to another page that will allow you to do a partial or full backup.
Step 3: Choose to Do a Full or Partial Backup
While on that page, you can choose to do a full backup of all the sites in your hosting or a partial backup of the home directory. You can also back up your database from the page or download email forwarders.
As easy as that!
You can then save the backups in safe storage.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where can you store your WordPress backups?
The backup can remain within WordPress, in your local computer storage, external hard drive, or preferred cloud storage.
2. How often should you back up your WordPress website?
You can do it daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on how often you update your website or the processes occurring on your website. Having automated daily backups is recommended and most WordPress plugins allow that.
3. What other ways can you use to keep your WordPress site safe?
You need to use a strong username and password for your cPanel & WordPress dashboard, install plugins & themes from reliable sources, use a security plugin to ensure the safety of your site, always update & keep your WordPress site version up to date, use an SSL certificate and monitor server logs.
Conclusion
Using an appropriate WordPress backup plugin is ideal to ensure you always have a plan B in case of a website attack or downtime.
Once you make a backup, always test it by restoring the files in a staging site to see whether the website still has its functionalities. Additionally, never forget to back up the database since your WordPress website can’t work without it.
Also, always remember to make a backup before and after major site changes, and name them appropriately.
You should now be well-equipped on how to back up your WordPress site manually. These free WordPress backup solutions won’t fail you.
Secure your site today!
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