Creating a backup of your website is arguably the most important task you have as a website administrator. Even if you don’t do it yourself, the golden rule is to make sure someone specifically has the responsibility of backing up your site. Don’t just assume your hosting will take care of it.

And a backup is not very useful to you, without knowing how to restore it in the case of an emergency. In this article, we will look at a few of the most popular backup plugins and services available for WordPress users. Let’s get started!

If you want to ensure your website will be able to cope with all potential issues going forward, then taking backs is simply a no-brainer. There are numerous situations where backups will be useful Here are just a few.

So it’s clear there are many situations where a backup would not only be useful, but would be critical for your website. Now, let’s look at a couple of the most popular options for taking and restoring backups.

UpraftPlus is a free WordPress plugin (there’s also a Premium version) for taking and restoring backups. It’s by far the most popular backup plugin around with over 3 million active installations.

To get started with Updraft Plus is basically a two-step process.

– Select how often you want your files and database to be backed up.

– Select Where you want them to be backed up.

You can make a manual backup, but the strength of UpdraftPlus is in the scheduling, so you’ll want to take advantage of that.

Step 1. To set up your backups using UpdraftPlus, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups from your WordPress menu. This will open the UpdraftPlus settings page.

Step 2. Select the Settings tab at the top.

Step 3. Here you can schedule how often UpdraftPlus creates a new backup. You can pick whichever schedule suits you and your site. For example, if you regularly update your site with new pages and posts, then a more frequent backup may be more suitable. The backup is in two parts – the files, and the database. These should both be backed up at the same time.

Step 4. You can also adjust how many of these backups should be stored at one time. Any new backups will then override the older ones, so as not to use too much storage space.

Step 5. Next, select where you would like your backups to be stored. Scroll down the page and you can choose where you’d like your files to be stored. UpdraftPlus integrates with a number of remote storage options, so pick the one that suits you best.

Step 6. Once you have selected a backup location, specific instructions for that service will be displayed. Follow the prompts to finalize your location. You can also select what files are backed up and what files to exclude during backup.

Step 7. You will have to authenticate with the service so that UpdraftPlus can backup to that location.

There are also a number of other methods to take a WordPress backup. The first of these is to take a manual backup. This is not nearly as complicated as many people think, but it’s still a method reserved for those familiar with working with server software. This goes beyond the scope of this document, but here is a good tutorial if you want to know more.

You may also have backup options directly with your hosting company. Some hosts offer easy to create and restore backups as part of their hosting plans, and this is an option you should investigate with your host.

While these videos refer to website migration, the process is virtually the same as backup and restore, and might also fit your situation.