Easy Directions for WordPress Backups

You already know that WordPress backups are the number 2 most important thing you can do for your site’s security. Now let’s talk the WordPress backups schedule, storing and accessing your backups, and exactly how to do a WP Backup in non-geeky terms.

If you do not have access to your WordPress dashboard, you will need to use this tutorial to create a backup.

WordPress Backup Schedule

You need to backup WordPress as often as it takes to not loose too much data. There are two parts to every backup: the database and the files. The database needs to be up to date in order to not lose comments, orders and other in-real-time data. The files can be updated weekly in most cases.

This is the schedule we recommend to keep your database up to date. Based on the frequency of your new content or orders, we recommend:

• Backup every 3 hours if you post (or get new orders) 12 + times per day
• Backup daily, if you post (or get new orders) around once a day
• Backup weekly if you get 3 or less orders/posts per week.

For files, use this schedule:

• 12+ orders/posts per day – backup daily
• 1 post/day, backup weekly
• 3 posts/week, backup weekly

And the easiest way to do this is with a plugin of course! Let’s get into that next.

Storing Your WordPress Backups

Since we support so many WordPress websites and themes, we see a lot of problems.   And trust me when I say that no one expects it to happen to them!  So please take my word for it when I recommend keeping one of your WordPress backups off-site.  

What I mean, is to keep one of the backups off of your regular hosting account. If you get a backup from most plugins and most hosts, they will create a copy of your site and store it on your account – right next to the live website.  If your server account is messed with in any way, and your only backup is ON your server, it also may disappear.

Many backup plugins provide an option of emailing the backup to you or uploading to a file host like Dropbox or Drive. We strongly suggest using this option to create a backup that is NOT on your hosting account.

Updraft Plus offers this and we’ve been using this plugin for over 10 years. It is the plugin we use and recommend.

How to Backup WordPress

1.  Database

You need to be sure that your database is backed up.   The database is where all your content is stored – all your pages, posts, sidebar widget content and settings.  A database back up will end in .sql or .sql.zip or something similar.  (SQL is the extension of a database file) Updraft Plus lets you choose the frequency of a whole backup or simply the database. The database-only option will save a lot of room if you have a big media folder of files.

2.  Files

The files include all your software like WordPress, Themes and Plugins.  The images that you use in your media uploader, are also stored in the Files area.

Usually, the WordPress files are located in your home/public_html directory.  And it can require the use of FTP.  If that makes your eyes glaze over, use UpdraftPlus!

Double-Check WordPress Backups

Any backup will be completely and utterly useless if it is corrupted or BLANK!  So please, please, please be sure to test it.  For both backup-buddy, DB-Manager and UpdraftPlus simply go to the list of backups, and check that they are not 0 mb.  Zero would be NO DATA.  You’ll need to troubleshoot that and make sure you get proper backups. UpdraftPlus will tell you if the backup was incomplete or in someway corrupted.

And of course, if you’d rather just have us look after it for you – have a look at our maintenance plans or one-time Pro Upgrade.