How to Backup a WordPress Site

If you want to backup a WordPress site safely, the worst time to think about it is right after something breaks. A good backup strategy protects you from hacked sites, bad plugin updates, server issues, or simple human mistakes.

In this guide, you’ll learn what to back up, how to use a backup plugin, how to make a manual copy of your files and database, how to schedule automatic backups, and how to test a restore so you know your backups actually work.

What You Need Before You Backup a WordPress Site

• A working WordPress site with administrator access.
• Access to your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, or a custom panel).
• FTP or file manager access so you can download site files if needed.
• Access to your database tool (often phpMyAdmin) or SEO and UX, and where you will see it in daily work.”>WP-CLI.
• An offsite location to store backups: cloud storage, email, or at least your local computer.

Step 1: Understand What a WordPress Backup Includes

Before you backup a WordPress site, it’s important to know which parts you need to copy. WordPress has two main components:

1. Files – These include:
   • Core WordPress files (in the root folder, like wp-admin and wp-includes).
   • Your wp-content folder (themes, plugins, uploads).
   • Configuration files like wp-config.php.
2. Database – This stores:
   • Posts, pages, and custom post types.
   • Comments and users.
   • Settings, menus, and other dynamic data.

A full WordPress backup includes both the files and the database. Many issues can be fixed with only the database or only the files, but it’s safer to have everything.

Step 2: Use a Backup Plugin to Backup a WordPress Site

The easiest way to backup a WordPress site is to use a dedicated backup plugin. Most backup plugins can run automatic schedules and send backups to remote storage.

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins » Add New.
2. Search for “backup” and choose a reputable plugin with recent updates and good reviews.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
4. Open the plugin’s Settings or Backups page from the new sidebar menu.
5. Choose what to back up: database only, files only, or full site (recommended).
6. Click the button to run a manual backup and wait for the process to complete.
7. Download the backup archive (or make sure it’s safely stored in your configured remote location).

Step 3: Set Up Automatic Backup Schedules

Manually backing up is easy to forget. Once you’ve made at least one full backup of your WordPress site, set up a schedule so backups happen automatically.

1. Open your backup plugin’s Schedule or Settings tab.
2. Choose how often to backup the database:
   • Daily for active blogs or stores.
   • Weekly for smaller, static sites.
3. Choose how often to backup files (weekly or monthly is usually enough unless you upload lots of media daily).
4. Set the retention (number of backups to keep), e.g., last 7 or last 30 backups.
5. Select a remote storage option: Dropbox, Google Drive, S3, or another cloud provider.
6. Save your settings and confirm that the next scheduled backup time looks correct.

Step 4: Manually Backup WordPress Files (via File Manager or FTP)

If you prefer not to use a plugin—or want an extra safety copy—you can backup your WordPress files manually using FTP or your host’s file manager.

1. Log in to your hosting control panel and open File Manager (or connect via FTP using a client like FileZilla).
2. Locate your site’s root folder, often called public_html, www, or the folder named after your domain.
3. Select all files and folders inside this directory, including wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes, and core files.
4. Create a compressed archive (ZIP) of the site files, or download them directly to your computer.
5. Rename the archive with the date, e.g., mysite-files-backup-2026-01-02.zip.
6. Move the backup file off the server, e.g., download it to your computer or upload it to cloud storage.

Step 5: Manually Backup the WordPress Database

To fully backup a WordPress site, you also need a copy of the database. This is usually done with phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI.

1. Log in to your hosting control panel and open phpMyAdmin.
2. In the left sidebar, click the database that belongs to your WordPress site (check wp-config.php if you’re not sure which one it is).
3. Click the Export tab at the top.
4. Choose Quick export method and SQL format for a simple backup.
5. Click Go to download the database file to your computer.
6. Rename the file with the date, for example: mysite-db-backup-2026-01-02.sql.

If you’re comfortable with the command line and have WP-CLI installed, you can also run:

wp db export mysite-db-backup-2026-01-02.sql 

Step 6: Store Your WordPress Backups Offsite

A backup is only helpful if you can access it when your host has a problem. That’s why you should save at least one copy off your main server.

1. Choose a secondary location: cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3), an external hard drive, or a password-protected shared drive.
2. Upload your files backup ZIP and database backup SQL/ZIP to that location.
3. Organize backups into folders by site name and year (for example, backups/mysite/2026/).
4. Keep a simple spreadsheet or note listing which backups correspond to which dates and site versions.
5. Periodically clean old, obsolete backups so you don’t run out of space.

Step 7: Test Restoring a Backup of Your WordPress Site

A backup that you’ve never tested is a theory, not a safety net. The best way to be sure your backup process works is to restore it to a staging site.

1. Create a staging site or subdomain (for example, staging.example.com) through your host.
2. Install a fresh WordPress instance on the staging site.
3. Use your backup plugin’s Restore or Migrate feature to upload and restore the backup to staging.
4. If you made manual backups:
   • Upload the files backup to the staging site’s root and extract it.
   • Import the database backup into a new database and update wp-config.php.
   • Use a search-and-replace plugin or script to change URLs from the live domain to the staging domain.
5. Browse the staging site to confirm pages, posts, media, and logins all work as expected.

Quick Comparison of Ways to Backup a WordPress Site

Use this table to choose the best backup method based on your skills and how often your site changes.

Conclusion: You Can Now Safely Backup a WordPress Site

You’ve learned how to backup a WordPress site using plugins, manual file and database exports, automatic schedules, and offsite storage. You also know how to test a restore on a staging site so you’re confident your backups actually work.

Make backups part of your regular maintenance routine instead of a one-time task. That way, when something goes wrong—whether it’s a bad update, a hacked site, or a broken plugin—you’ll have a clean restore point ready in just a few clicks.

Frequently Asked Questions About Backing Up WordPress