Backing up a WordPress website is one of the most important tasks for a site owner. However, the process of backing up can be difficult. Throw into the mix the large number of backup plugins and solutions available and it can be hard to know where to start.
In this article, we are going to look at exactly why you should back up your site. We will discuss the features of UpdraftPlus and then look at how to install it and set it up. By the end of this post you should feel confident to backup your WordPress website with UpdraftPlus.
Why You Need to Backup Your WordPress Website
If you don’t backup your site you can lose time, money and ultimately your whole website. A serious problem with your hosting could wipe out your entire site. Hackers can cause irreversible damage, destroying content and data. Even a technical problem with an update can create problems on your site that can take days to fix.
Backing up enables you to create and save copies of your WordPress website. Therefore, if a problem does occur, you can quickly restore your site to full working order without it hugely impacting on your business or visitor experience.
Why You Should Backup your WordPress Website with UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin is a free WordPress plugin that you can use with confidence. With over 800,000+ downloads, this feature rich plugin is extremely popular. Here are a few of its most important features…
Scheduled Backups
UpdraftPlus encourages you to backup regularly on a recurring schedule. You can select how often you backup, and choose how many backups you want to retain. A recurring backup will help protect you from larger problems like hosting issues or hackers and gives you peace of mind if you are tinkering with your site.
Backs Up to a Remote Storage Location of Your Choice
UpdraftPlus lets you choose where to save your site. You can backup to the cloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, UpdraftPlus Vault and more. This means you can pick your preferred safe place for your backups and then access them anytime you need.
Quick and Easy Restore
When you need to restore a backup, UpdraftPlus really comes into its own. The process can be done from your WordPress dashboard and it is very easy and straightforward. You can also restore your whole site or just a specific item. This is extremely helpful if you are having trouble with a plugin update as you can restore just the plugin to its original state before the update.
As you can see UpdraftPlus gives you personalized options to choose from, helping you to customize the plugin to suit the needs of your website. It is also extremely easy to install and set up. Let’s find out how to do that next.
How to Install UpdraftPlus
UpdraftPlus, like all WordPress plugins, is very quick and easy to install.
In your WordPress dashboard, under ‘Plugins’ select ‘Add New’.
In the search bar, type in UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin and press ‘Enter’.
Once the UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin has appeared select ‘Install’.
After the plugin has installed select ‘Activate Plugin’.
How to Set Up Scheduled BackUps
Once the UpdraftPlus plugin has been installed and activated you need to set it up. The first job is to create a backup schedule.
In your WordPress dashboard under ‘Settings’ select ‘UpdraftPlus Backups’.
This will take you to the UpdraftPlus control panel. Now select the ‘Settings’ tab. It is here that you can customize the settings of the plugin to suit your requirements.
At the very top of the setting options, you will see that you need to select the options for scheduled backups.
For both files and database backup schedules, you can select to backup every 4, 8, or 12 hours, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The option you choose will depend on how much your site is being used and altered. However, if you’re unsure, ‘daily’ is a safe option.
You also need to decide how many scheduled backups you want to retain. Again this will vary depending on the needs of your site. If you aren’t sure ‘5’ is a good number to start with.
Once you have made the changes, scroll to the bottom of the ‘Settings’ page and select ‘Save Changes’.
How to Choose Your Remote Storage Location
Under the scheduled backup settings is the area where you can choose your remote storage location. The location you opt for will be down to your personal preference.
For this article, we will look at how to save your WordPress website backups to Dropbox. However, whichever you select, all of the locations come with instructions explaining what to do to set them up.
To choose DropBox as your remote storage location, you will need to set up a free Dropbox account. Once you have done this, select Dropbox from the remote storage list.
Click on ‘Save Settings’ at the bottom of the page.
Then scroll back up the page and click the ‘Authenticate with Dropbox’ link.
You will then be asked for permission to save backups to your Dropbox. Select ‘Allow’. The files will be saved in a folder under Apps > UpdraftPlus.
Once you have made the changes, scroll to the bottom of the page and select ‘Save Changes’ again.
Once you have completed these steps, your scheduled backups to your chosen location will be ready to start.
UpdraftPlus Premium Version
UpdraftPlus is also available as a premium version, with many extra features that web developers or larger sites might need. Premium features include automatic backups when you are updating your plugins or themes, extra storage locations like Google Cloud, cloning your website, advanced reporting and much much more.
Final Thoughts
As we’ve just seen, backing up your WordPress website with UpdraftPlus is free and very easy to implement. Worst case scenario is, if you don’t use UpdraftPlus, overnight your website, business and all of your hard work could be lost. It’s a no brainer really!
Have you used UpdraftPlus to backup your WordPress website? Please share your thoughts on it in the comments below…