Was your site subjected to an attack by some vandals, who caused the entire content of the site to be stolen or completely destroyed?! Or perhaps you are at least afraid that this will happen!
In this case, you are in dire need of making a backup copy of the entire content of your site, which will serve as a guarantee for you that it is possible to fully restore your site’s data and files in the event that it is exposed to major damage that causes the destruction of all files and data.
Within this article, you will find a detailed explanation of all the methods available to you to make a backup copy of your entire site’s content, which you can retrieve at any time you want if your site is exposed to any unexpected sabotage or malfunction.
The importance of taking a backup copy of the site
Many website owners around the world are exposed to many sabotage attacks or technical malfunctions that may cause the destruction and loss of some or all of the site’s files. In this case, the importance of the backup copy is that it is an exact copy of your site’s files and data, which you can easily recall in order to return your site to its normal state.
The website backup contains two types of data as follows:
- WordPress files
WordPress files are the folders that contain your WordPress site data, such as the Wp-content folder, the Wp-includes folder, the wp-config.php file, and dozens of other files that you find inside your site’s file manager when you install WordPress on them.
- MYSQL database tables
This is the second type of data contained in the backup copy of your site, which is the data tables that you find inside your site’s PhpMyadmin. These tables contain all the data that is published on your site immediately after the installation phase, such as your site articles, internal page content, comments, and other important data that was published on the site.
Therefore, if you subscribe to one of the backup service providers, you must make sure that they take a BackUp copy that contains two types of data, as we explained previously, which are (WordPress files, in addition to MYSQL database tables). So that the backup copy is intact and complete and suitable for uploading it to the site again if needed at any time.
The cost of creating a backup copy of your site BackUP
Let me explain to you that there are three different ways to back up your site, some of which are completely free and do not cost you a single dollar, and some of which are paid. So you may be wondering about the difference between free methods and paid methods! . Well, let us explain the matter to you in brief before we talk about the three ways to make a backup copy of your site:
Free methods:
You can make backup copies of your site for free, either manually, as we will explain in this article, where you save your site’s files and data yourself, or by using one of the WordPress plugins that backs up your site for free.
Paid Methods
There are some paid methods for backing up a website, and of course, most of the time the paid methods are more efficient than the free methods. This can be done either by purchasing one of the backup copy storage services, which can be on a weekly, daily, or even instantaneous basis. Everything new on your site is stored within its backup copy.
You can also purchase one of the paid plugins, which also provides you with advantages over the free methods in terms of the number of times backups are taken and the places to store those copies to be more secure.
Note : You can subscribe to one of the paid methods for BackUPs from your hosting provider, and there are some hosting providers that provide them to you within your hosting plan.
Ways to create a BackUP copy of your WordPress site
As we talked about before, there are three different ways to make backup copies of your site, and below we explain to you in detail each method and how to use them correctly.
The first method: Take a backup copy through one of the add-ons
This method is considered the second effective way to create backup copies of your WordPress site in an easy and simple way and without your intervention at all. All you have to do is install the appropriate Plugin and adjust the settings for creating backup copies, such as the time you want to repeat the backup process, and also the place where you want to store the copy (the backup copies must be stored in a place outside the server or hosting of the private site Totally yours).
The best plugins for making backup copies of your WordPress site
Certainly, there are dozens of add-ons specialized in creating backup copies of your site with ease, some of which are free and some of which are paid. But here we are talking about one of the add-ons that we have tried and which has proven to be very effective in creating backup copies in an integrated manner by saving both site files and database tables. word and in an organized manner. It is the UpdraftPlus plugin , which you can get from within the WordPress store itself. The plugin has received more than 3 million active installations according to statistics from the WordPress Store itself, which makes it a great source of trust for you.
Install the add-on and adjust its settings to create backups
From within the WordPress control panel >> Plugins >> Add New >> you search for the name of the plugin as shown in the image so that it appears in front of you. After that, you click on the “Install” button and then “Activate”.
After installing the add-on, you click on its “Settings” button to enter the settings page to set your site’s backup options:
After clicking on Settings, the tool settings page will open for you as you see:
This is the most important step, as you specify the number of times to create a backup copy of your site. You can start from “every two hours” until “every month.” You can choose the time period for which you want the copies to be repeated (Note: Control the number of times and schedule Backups are a paid option in the add-on, and you must purchase the paid version to be able to use it fully).
The most important thing here is also to choose the storage location in which you want to store the backup copies, as as you can see, you can choose from many options, the most important of which is Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud storage services.
After you choose the storage location in which you want to store the backup copies, and click “Save Changes,” then a box will appear asking you to link your account to the storage service you chose, for example Google Drive. You will follow the steps to link your Drive account in addition so that you can To start taking backups of your site.
Some of the features provided by the paid versions of the add-on:
- Transfer backup copies of the site to a new domain or completely new hosting easily
- 24-hour specialized technical support
- BackUp works automatically without your intervention.
- Storing all files, whether WordPress files or other files within the site’s hosting, in backup copies.
- Ability to schedule site backup times.
Take a backup using the UpdraftPlus add-on from the free version
As we mentioned previously, the UpdraftPlus add-on provides options for scheduling backups when purchasing paid versions only, but you can still take backups of your site completely free of charge, but it will be done manually, as you enter the settings page and click on the “Backup Now” button as you see in Next picture::
Note: You must choose the appropriate storage location for you and link your account to it via the add-on in order for the backup to work properly.
Some other plugins that can be relied upon to take a backup
In the same way that we explained with the UpdraftPlus plugin, the rest of the other plugins that are used to make a backup copy can be used in the same way without major changes. Here are some suggestions regarding other WordPress Plugins that can be relied upon to make a backup copy of the site:
The WP vivid Backup plugin
is considered one of the most popular WordPress plugins, which is used to create a backup copy of the website with ease. The plugin is available in its free version on the WordPress plugin store, where you can download it at any time you want and start using it and adjust its settings to start taking a backup copy of your site. You can also see the features of the paid version of it as well if you have the desire to purchase the paid version, which certainly saves a lot. Of the options for the free version.
The BackupBuddy add-on
is a paid add-on that provides a large package of tools for securing your site and also taking backups periodically and automatically without your intervention. The add-on stores backups outside the scope of your site, which ensures that you can save those backups even if the site is completely destroyed.
Blog Vault add-on
This add-on provides the BackUps service for your WordPress site in a completely secure way, and is characterized by high speed, saving automatic copies on a daily or even hourly basis. The add-on provides many backup storage options such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud storage services that you can freely choose from.
Backups services integrated into some web hosting companies
Some web hosting companies provide free website backup services, some provide them for a paid basis, and others do not guarantee you backup services completely. This prompts you to be very careful not to rely too heavily on the backups provided by hosting companies, and also to understand well the terms of service, especially those related to backups, before subscribing to one of these companies and purchasing services from them.
For example, SiteGround Hosting provides a paid site backup service only, meaning that you must pay additional costs in order to obtain backup services for your site. Some other companies, such as HostGator, provide free backup services, but if the size of the backups exceeds 10 GB, the service will automatically stop and you must purchase one of the paid backup services.
Therefore, you should not rely solely on the backup services integrated into the hosting services alone, but instead you can take backups either using one of the WordPress plugins as we explained above, or by one of the methods that we will explain in the following sections.
Second method: Take a backup copy from the hosting provider
This way there is nothing you have to do. Just your hosting software does everything for you. BackUPs of your site are taken and stored periodically, often on a daily basis, and are available for you to download at any time you wish.
We recommend that you download the latest backup copies periodically to ensure that you have a complete backup copy of your site on an ongoing basis in the event of any emergency.
In the automatic method, you can always access the Cpanel of your hosting, enter the BackUP tab, and then you can easily download your site’s backup copy at any time you want, as you can see in the illustration from one of the hosts that provides the backup service.
You can rely on this method if your site is simple and does not contain a lot of important data, such as commercial sites or electronic stores, for example. Therefore, this method can suffice in the case of modest sites so that you do not incur additional financial costs in exchange for purchasing paid backup services.
We point out here that you must ensure that the company hosting your site provides proper backup copies, and this means that the backup copy does not only contain the site’s database tables, but it must also contain your complete WordPress files, as we explained at the beginning of the article.
Storage space in this method may be limited and you should check this with the hosting company. As some companies provide you with only 5 GB of space to store your backup copies, after that there will be no space available for you to store more backup copies, so you must also ensure the space that the company provides you to store your backup copy with them.
If you are downloading backups to your personal computer or any other storage space, you will not have a maximum storage limit in this case.
It is also possible to take a BackUP backup manually by taking a copy of the site files from within the File Manager and also a copy of the database tables from within phpmyadmin, as we will explain this in detail in the third method.
Third method: Take a backup copy manually
The third method to create a backup copy of the WordPress site is considered the only way in which you do everything and it will not depend on any program or add-on to save you the time or effort required to make that complete backup copy, BackUP.
Before we discuss the explanation of this method, we must tell you that we do not recommend relying on this method alone to maintain backup copies of your WordPress site, and the first and second methods that were previously explained in the article are safer and more effective in creating and storing backup copies of the site in a way. Salim.
In order to take a complete backup of a website manually yourself, the work will be divided into two main axes, which are as follows:
1- Take a backup copy of the site files.
WordPress files are the largest and most important part when creating a backup copy of the site. In order to make a backup copy of all your site files, you can do so in one of two ways (Cpanel) or ([FTB]. Let’s talk about each of them in detail:
First: Using Cpanel,
it is very simple. All you have to do is log in to your site’s hosting manager account, then go to the Cpanel control panel and then open the File Manager.
As the image above shows, once you click on Public_html, all the site files will appear, including WordPress files. What you need now is to download a copy of all the files that appear in front of you inside the red box.
Note : Here we have assumed that your hosting contains only one site, but if your hosting contains more than one site, then when you enter Public_html you will find more than one folder, each folder specific to one of the existing sites. In this case, you must choose the folder specifically in the location where you want to make a BackUp copy of your files.
In order to download these files, you must first compress them into only one file, that is, we compress them, and the result will be only one file with the extension .ZIP, .RAR, or any other format that you have chosen.
You can right-click on this zip file and choose Download and download it to your computer.
Tip : We advise you to store this file in more than one place, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or even on an external hard disk, so that you do not lose it if your device is exposed to an emergency.
Now that you have compressed the files and downloaded them to your device, you are done… You have made a BackUp copy of your site files correctly…
Secondly using FTP
There is almost no difference between the Cpanel method we explained above and this method using FTP to obtain a backup copy of the site’s files. They both reach the same result.
The difference is that if you use one of the programs to connect to your site’s file manager, or what is called FTP, you open the program and enter the connection data for the FTP protocol (you get this data from your hosting provider) and then the program will open your site’s file manager for you.
After you enter the contact information and the file manager opens for you, you will follow the same steps that we explained in the Cpanel method, which is to compress the files and then simply download the file to your personal device. So you have a backup copy of your site files.
If you do not have FTP login information, most hosting companies automatically create FTP login information and send it to you via email once you purchase hosting from them, but if you do not obtain that data, here is how to create it yourself:
First, you enter the control panel of your hosting account, and open Cpanel >> From within Cpanel, you will enter FTP Accounts as shown in the picture:
Then a page dedicated to creating a new FTP account will open for you, as you can see in the image:
You will fill in the data for the new account for the FTP connection, where you set (user name – password) exactly as shown in the picture, and then click on Create FTP Account. Thus, you have successfully created FTP connection data and you can use it in one of the FTP communications programs as we explained previously.
2- Take a BackUp copy of the database tables
What was published in Step No. “1” is half the way, as we only took a backup copy of the site’s files. Now we complete the other half by creating a complete BackUP copy of the site.
Here we create a backup copy of the WordPress database tables, and here is the method in detail:
First, you log in to your hosting control panel manager (Cpanel) and then log in to PhpMyadmin:
After that, a panel containing the WordPress database will open for you, and when you click on it, a large list of a large number of WordPress tables will appear for you, and you will notice that all the tables begin with the letters WP, as you see in the image:
Now you will select all the tables that appear in front of you, then click “Export” as shown in the image above.
You will find the “SQL” formula box. Leave it as it is, and then click “Go.” The database tables file for your site will be downloaded with ease.
Now: You have a file that contains a backup copy of the DataBase databases and another file that contains the WordPress files. Thus, you have made an integrated BackUp copy of your site that you can re-upload at any time in the event that your site is exposed to any emergency circumstance that causes the destruction of the files or the site to crash. Completely.
common questions
When do I choose the paid plan to add UpdraftPlus?
Of course, you can rely on the free version of the UpdraftPlus add-on to make backup copies of your site without any problems at all. But we recommend that if your site is large and contains large amounts of data that are uploaded on a daily basis, then you should subscribe to the paid plan to have more control over your backups and you will have many options to store those copies and recall them at any time you want with support. Strong and fast technician.
What is the best rate for taking backups?
There is no ideal rate for taking backups of your site, it is up to you, the amount of data being uploaded to your site, and how important it is. For example, if you update your site data only once a week, you will likely make a backup copy every week. Thus, as your site’s data increases in quantity and importance, the rate of creating backup copies must increase. Some sites, such as e-commerce sites whose data is updated instantly, have backup copies taken every hour, and perhaps less than that, in order to always maintain the latest backup copy of the site.
Where do I store my backup?
It is not appropriate to save a backup copy of your site on your personal computer only. In this case, if something happens to your personal device, you will lose the backup copy forever, and you may lose your site along with it. Therefore, you must save backup copies in more than one place (online and offline). Where you can use cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and other storage services.
How do I restore a backup?
Restoring backups is very simple. You can recover or restore backup copies using one of the WordPress plugins that we explained in this article, which saves you time and effort. With the click of a single button from within the plugin’s control panel, you can easily retrieve the backup copy of your site.
If you prefer to do it manually, that’s up to you. Here is how to recover a website’s BackUp backup manually and very easily::
First: Recover website files
As the image above shows you, in this place from which we downloaded the site’s files, we will once again upload the files to it by clicking on the “Upload” button and choosing the file for the backup copy of the site’s files and decompressing it. Thus, I recovered the backup copy of the site’s files. Website for success.
Second: Retrieving database tables
From the same place from which we “exported” the database within PhpMyadmin, we will click on the “Import” button and choose the database file that we downloaded before by clicking on “Choose File”:
Thus, we imported the backup copy of the site’s database tables, in addition to importing the backup copy of the site’s files in the previous step, and now the entire BackUp copy of the site has been imported with ease.
