Why you should back up your site
In this post we will share how you can back up your WordPress website or blog using two different plugins. If you’ve ever lost information due to a computer or server crash and didn’t have a backup, you know why it’s crucial to have a backup plan in place. It is one of the important steps for site maintenance!
Ways to back up your WordPress website
- Your webhosting provider does backups, but you have no control over the frequency
- Access cPanel to do it yourself with SiteBackup Pro under Files
- Use a plugin or application installed on your WordPress site
- Use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) with software like FileZilla installed on your computer
- Hire a service for WordPress website maintenance
There are several options to back up your website. Most service provider make backups of the sites residing on their server, but they may not do this as often as you may like. And what if their servers go down? It’s always a good idea to have your own backups and store them offsite too.
Back up your site with plugins
You can use a plug-in to make regular backups and store them on your computer or offsite either by email or by sending the backup file to your Cloud storage account, such as Dropbox, Box or Google Drive.
These backups can be restored to your WordPress site in case something goes wrong and the site content disappears. Most plugins will restore your content (posts & images) but not your themes and plugins. Following are some examples of plugins we have used and liked. You can use the info we share as a guide to make your own choice of backup plugins.
WordPress Database Backup – a simple but popular plugin that is free and easy to use. You can schedule automatic backups of your databases, however, media files (photos & videos) are not included. A good choice if you don’t upload many media files.
UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin – one of the most popular and trusted plugin at the moment that will back up and restore your entire site. You can select which files to backup, download to your computer, or upload to cloud storage via email, FTP, DropBox, Google Drive, etc. UpdraftPlus is a free plugin with the option to upgrade to premium for more support.
Tips to select WordPress plugins
- Keep in mind to look for plugins that are well supported with regular updates and feedback in the forums.
- Plugins that have a high number of downloads not only indicate popularity, but also value, because 200,000 downloads tells a lot about its usefulness.
- Lastly, check out the reviews before you install a plugin. Look at positive reviews, but nothing is perfect, so I recommend to read the negative reviews as well to get a more balanced overview.
If all of this still sounds like too much of a hassle to you, there is always the option to outsource your website maintenance to a service provider who will quietly work in the background, keeping your website in tiptop shape and running like a well-oiled machine. Find out more about our maintenance plans or send us a direct message here if you have a question.
Be smart and back up your site
No matter what method you choose, don’t delay the decision to make regular backups. You do not want to pull out your hair when disaster strikes, because if you know Murphy’s Law, something will go wrong. It’s just a matter of when.
Let me finish with another tip and that is, do NOT store your backup on the same server as your website. Use available cloud storage options, many of which are even free.