Why backing up your WordPress site is so important

A website backup is the cheapest insurance your business can buy, and the one most owners only think about after disaster strikes. This guide explains why backups matter so much, what a proper backup looks like, and how to make sure yours will actually save you when you need it.

Why do WordPress backups matter more than most site owners realise?

Most business owners do not think about backups until their site is hacked, corrupted or deleted. By then, without a backup, years of content, customer data and SEO value can be permanently gone.

Your website is a business asset, and like any asset it can be lost in seconds, to a bad update, a hosting failure, a hack or simple human error. A recent, working backup turns any of these from a catastrophe into a minor inconvenience. Without one, you could lose years of work and be offline for days.

What does a proper WordPress backup include?

A proper backup includes both the database (posts, pages, settings, users) and the file system (themes, plugins, uploads). It is stored off-server, ideally in cloud storage, and tested periodically to confirm it restores.

• Automated, so it happens without you remembering, daily at least, more for busy stores.
• Complete, both your files and your database (one without the other is useless).
• Off-site, stored somewhere separate from your web server.
• Versioned, several restore points, not just the most recent.
• Tested, you have actually restored from it and know it works.

What makes a backup useless when you actually need it?

A backup that is stored on the same server it was made from, that has never been tested, or that is weeks old is a false sense of security. When disaster strikes, a bad backup is as useful as no backup.

The most dangerous backup is the one you think you have. I have seen "backups" that were empty, corrupted, months old, or stored on the very server that got compromised. An untested backup is a hope, not a safety net. Test a restore periodically so you know it works before you need it.

How often should you back up a WordPress site?

Daily backups are the right default for most sites. High-traffic sites with frequent updates, ecommerce stores and sites with regular new content should back up more frequently " even hourly for transaction-heavy stores.

The right frequency depends on how often your site changes. A brochure site that rarely changes can manage with weekly backups; a busy blog or a shop taking orders should back up daily, and a high-volume store may want real-time or hourly backups so no order is ever lost. The rule of thumb: never risk losing more work than you would be willing to redo.

How do you back up a WordPress site?

Use a dedicated backup plugin (UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy or similar), configure automated daily backups, and set them to store in an off-site location such as Google Drive, Dropbox or Amazon S3. Test a restore at least once a year.

• Use a reputable backup plugin (UpdraftPlus, BlogVault and similar) or your host's backup service.
• Send backups to off-site storage, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, not just the server.
• Set an automatic schedule that matches how often your site changes.
• Keep multiple versions so you can roll back further if a problem went unnoticed.
• Or use a managed maintenance service that runs and verifies backups automatically.

Keep reading

• →Website Care Plans, backups, updates, security and monitoring
• →13 Steps to a Secure WordPress Site, prevent the disasters backups protect against
• →Why Fast Websites Win More Customers, a healthy site is fast and safe
• →WordPress Website Design, sites built and looked after properly