Best way to backup a WordPress Site

Backups are safety nets for your website. It is just a copy of your site that you can use to fix things if they go wrong.

This guide will show you the best way to back up a WordPress site.

You will learn how to keep your website safe and sound. Let’s begin securing your digital treasure chest!

What Is The Best Way To Backup WordPress Website

Backing up your WordPress site is like having a safety net for your valuable website data. Let’s break it down into simple parts:

Manual Backups

Manual backups are similar to making copies of important documents by hand. You take charge of the entire process when you use manual backups.

This means you have to go into your website’s files and database, create duplicates of them, and then keep these copies in a secure place. This safe location could be your computer’s hard drive or an external storage device like a USB drive.

Manual backups give you more control but require more effort than automated backup solutions.

Step-By-Step Guide On Manual Backup By FTP:

1. Look for a server IP or hostname, username, and password. You might also need the port number. You may find them in your host’s dashboard of your site.

2. You need to install the FTP client. You can choose FileZilla or Cyberduck.

Now you need to connect to the server. Click on Open Connect. Select the correct protocol from the dropdown section. Now paste the copied credentials and click connect.

Step-By-Step Guide On Manual Backup By Cpanel:

The steps to manually back up your WordPress website using cPanel are given below. We used Bluehost as an example.

• Sign in to your hosting provider’s cPanel. Look for this in your hosting account
• Click on the ‘Advanced’ tab on the left-hand menu in cPanel, then select ‘File Manager’ under the ‘Files’ section.

• A new window will open, displaying the file manager.

• In the file manager, click on ‘public_html’ in the menu on the left. To open it, click the ‘+’ button.

• Find and select the folder with your website’s name.

• At the top, click on ‘Compress’ to create a backup. A new window will appear.

• Choose the ‘Zip Archive’ option in the new window and click ‘Compress Files.’
• Your website files will begin compressing into a zip file. Wait for this process to complete.
• Your hosting service will display a compression result. Click ‘Close’ to exit this window.
• Find the zip file you just created. It should be in the ‘public_html’ folder. Select it and click ‘Download’ from the top menu.

• Save the compressed backup file in a secure location on your computer or cloud storage.

Automatic Backups

Automatic backups work like magic tools for your website. Once you set a schedule, they copy all your website stuff by themselves, including files and important data.

You can pick where to keep these copies, like in the cloud or on your own computer. Most backup plugins allow you to choose from various remote storage options like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3.

Steps to Configure a Backup Plugin:

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Goto the new plugin install page. And get a Backup Plugin: Install a plugin like UpdraftPlus.

• After installing the chosen plugin, go to the plugin’s Settings page within the dashboard.

• In the plugin settings tab, you’ll typically find options for configuring backup frequency. This lets you specify how often your site should be automatically backed up.
• You can also choose what components of your site to include in the backups, such as files, the database, or both.

• Remember to select a secure location for your backups; many plugins offer cloud storage options for enhanced security.

How To Restore Your WordPress Site

When things go wrong with your WordPress site, your backups are like superheroes that can save the day. But, before they can rescue you, they need to be in good shape.

You need to test the backups work correctly and can actually restore your site. Because if your backups are broken, they won’t be able to help you.

Steps To Restore Your Site

Restoring your site is like putting those pieces back together. Here’s a simple guide to help you do that:

• Log in to your hosting account.
• Use the file manager in your hosting account or an FTP client (like FileZilla) to access your website’s files.
• Remove all the old files and folders from your website directory.
• Upload the backup you want to restore.

• If needed, use a tool like phpMyAdmin to restore your database.

• Check and update settings, like your website address and login credentials, if they’ve changed.
• Open your website and make sure everything looks and works as it should. Test it thoroughly!
• After a successful restore, create a new backup copy for the future.
• Ensure your website is secure by updating passwords and plugins.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes, even when you follow all the steps, things might not go smoothly. Here are some common problems you might face when restoring your site: