Backing up your WordPress site is the strongest line of defense you can use to keep your site completely safe. The backup process depends on creating a second, or perhaps a third, copy of all WordPress site files, and saving them in a safe place on storage disks or in cloud storage.
One study indicated that the world suffers annual losses estimated at 1.7 trillion US dollars annually due to data loss! Hacking and theft are one of the most important things that lead to data loss. But one of the most powerful ways to protect data from loss or loss is to make a second backup copy and store it in a safe place. And that’s exactly what you’ll do with UpdraftPlus.
Of course, doing this task manually is not easy at all, as there are many add-ons that perform the backup task . One of the most famous of these additions is the UpdraftPlus add-on, which will be the focus of our topic today on how to perform backups using it.
What do you get from using UpdraftPlus?
The UpdraftPlus plugin is considered one of the most popular WordPress plugins in all fields, as it provides you with many benefits from backing up your site, as well as restoring the backup and moving the site from one hosting to another, through integrated solutions with your WordPress site.
Aside from protection from hackers and exposure to electronic piracy, here are some other reasons why you should make a backup copy using the UpdraftPlus add-on for your site:
- An error occurred while updating WordPress: WordPress updates are issued periodically and continuously. Although it is important to always keep your site updated to the latest version, it is also common for many problems to occur after updating the site. Therefore, it is always recommended to back up your site before each update. We explained in a previous article how to update a WordPress site safely without causing any problems with the site .
- Conflict between plugins: Most WordPress website owners have experienced this problem one day, as plugin conflicts have many reasons. It may result from incorrect updates or interference between different add-ons. Whatever the cause, the consequences of a conflict can range from minor problems, to catastrophic results that may cause the loss of part or all of the data.
- A malfunction on the part of the site’s hosting: It is possible for your site’s hosting and the servers that store its data to be compromised. The hosting company may be hacked, its servers may fail to work, or they may stop working due to excessive load on them. The company may terminate the account you have with it and delete all your data. Whatever malfunction occurs due to the hosting company, backup is your only way to protect your site data.
Use UpdraftPlus to backup
First, you must install the UpdraftPlus plugin on your WordPress site by going to the control panel and choosing “Add-ons,” then “Add New.” On the next page, type in the search box the name of the UpdraftPlus add-on to search for it, install it, and activate it.
You can also read our article on how to install a WordPress plugin and activate it on your site correctly .
After the installation process is complete, you will find in the WordPress control panel under the “ Settings” tab an option called “ UpdraftPlus .” Click on it to go to the plugin settings page. On this page there are options for adjusting the backup settings that the UpdraftPlus add-on will perform as you choose. Let us follow together what is on the UpdraftPlus add-on settings page.
Manual backup
When you open the UpdraftPlus settings page, the first thing you’ll notice is the big blue button labeled “ Backup Now .”
Clicking the “Backup Now” button allows you to start the manual backup process of the site. The hosting offers you two options before starting the backup process, one to copy the database, and the other to copy the site files, and of course you must choose both in order to make a complete copy of the site. Then click on the “ Backup Now ” button to start copying.
Then the backup process will begin, and its duration varies depending on the size of the site. When the backup is finished, you will notice at the bottom of the settings page a message stating that the backup process was successful. You will also see a list containing the backup you just created appear at the bottom of the Settings page.
Automated backup
In order to save yourself the trouble of performing the backup process manually every time, and also so that you do not forget to do it sometimes; You can set automatic backup settings so that it happens automatically without your intervention. This way you know that your data is being copied periodically without fear of losing it or losing it suddenly.
To start the backup process, you must first go to “Settings” on the UpdarftPlus add-on page. You will initially see two options at the beginning of the page, one for copying the site files and the other for copying the database. You can specify the schedule that will be followed to perform the backup automatically. There are many options available, ranging from copying once an hour to copying once a month.
If you want more security, instead of storing backups on hosting, you can store them on one of the cloud storage platforms. It ensures that your site data is not lost if there are problems with the hosting servers, or if the hosting terminates your account.
It should be noted that when you choose one of the available cloud storage platforms to save backup data on, this will require additional procedures from you related to allowing the UpdraftPlus add-on to store data on the cloud storage platform automatically. These procedures vary from one cloud storage platform to another.
There are several additional options on the UpdraftPlus add-on settings page that provide more control over the backup process, such as including add-ons, designs, and uploaded files with the backup.
There is also the possibility of encrypting backup copies, or sending a message to the website owner’s email containing a periodic report on every copying process made to the website. After completing all settings, you must click “Save Changes” to save all settings and begin applying them.
Restore backups
If you want to restore previous backups for any reason, it’s very simple. Returning to the main page of the UpdraftPlus add-on settings, and scrolling down the page we will find the option to restore backups. You can restore the backup in two ways:
- If you have previous backups on the same hosting or one of the associated cloud storage platforms, those copies will appear in front of you in a complete list, with options to restore or delete them.
- Or if you have just moved to a new host and installed UpdraftPlus hosting again, you can upload the previous backup files directly from your computer.
After choosing one of the two methods to restore the previous backup, the extension will take you to a new window in order to begin the restoration process. First, you will see the files in the backup copy, which you can select to restore all or some of. Then click “ Next ”.
Now you can start the recovery process by clicking the “ Restore ” button.
When finished, you will see a message indicating that the process was completed successfully. Press the “ Return to UpdraftPlus Settings ” button to exit the restore window.
Paid advanced features
There are some additional features you can get by upgrading to an Updraft Premium account , which starts at $42 per year. The features you will get for the upgrade are:
- Replication and transfer: You can transfer your site with all its data in a short period of time and very easily from one host to another without any trouble.
- Automatic backup before updating: Perform a full backup before every WordPress update, in order to protect your site from any error that may occur during the update.
- Integration with WordPress Multisite: If you use WordPress to manage multiple sites, you can use the UpdraftPlus plugin to copy data for all sites.
- More cloud storage platforms: Provide options for dealing with more cloud storage platforms such as Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Storage, and many others.
- Backup at precise times: You can set precise times to back up your site data instead of committing to the options available to copy only periodically.
- Multiple storage: You can back up your data and save it on more than one of the available cloud storage platforms.
Thus, we have learned about using the UpdraftPlus add-on, which helps you automate the backup process, preserve all your site data, and be able to recover it easily if lost
