If you’re making any changes to your WordPress website, yes including updating plugins, you need to ensure you have a backup of your latest, working website. A website backup, even when it’s not the latest version, can save you hours of troubleshooting and fixing a broken site.
UpdraftPlus is a leading plugin, offering robust solutions for backing up, migrating, and restoring your website effortlessly.
What is UpdraftPlus?
UpdraftPlus is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to simplify the backup, migration, and restoration processes for your website. It allows users to securely back up their site’s data to the cloud, migrate their website to a new domain or host, and restore their site from backups with ease. With its user-friendly interface and extensive compatibility with online storage solutions like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3, UpdraftPlus ensures your website’s data is protected and easily recoverable.
Why should you use UpdraftPlus?
- Effortless Backup and Restoration: UpdraftPlus automates the backup process, ensuring your website’s data is safely stored without manual intervention. Restoring your site from a backup is just as simple, offering peace of mind in case of data loss or corruption.
- Flexible Migration: Whether you’re changing your hosting provider or moving to a new domain, UpdraftPlus facilitates a smooth migration process, ensuring no data is lost in transition.
- Cloud Storage Integration: With support for multiple cloud storage options, UpdraftPlus offers flexible backup storage solutions, enabling you to store your backups in your preferred location.
- Scheduled Backups: Customize your backup schedule to fit your needs, ensuring your site is backed up regularly without having to remember to do it manually.
Why do you need to back up your WordPress site?
Backing up your WordPress site is crucial for several reasons:
- Security: Protects your site against hacking, malware, and other cyber threats.
- Updates Gone Wrong: Safeguards against the potential issues arising from updates to WordPress, themes, or plugins.
- Human Error: Prevents data loss due to accidental deletions or modifications.
- Hardware Failures: Ensures data recovery in the event of server or hardware failures.
How to back up a WordPress site with UpdraftPlus?
UpDraft Plus Backup Instructions
1. Install UpdraftPlus: Navigate to your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New, search for UpdraftPlus, and install it.
2. Configure Backup Settings: Navigate to your UpdraftPlus settings, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups, and select your preferred backup frequency and storage location.
3. Run Your First Backup: Click the “Back Up Now” button to initiate your first backup, following the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
4. Download Your Backup (If you want to save locally): Click the 5 buttons to download your backup, following the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
How to restore a WordPress site with UpdraftPlus?
1. Access UpdraftPlus Backups: In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups > Backup/Restore > Scroll to Existing Backups.
2. Choose Your Backup: Select the backup you wish to restore from the list.
3. Restore Your Site: Click the “Restore” button, choose the components you wish to restore, and follow the prompts to complete the restoration process.
How to migrate a WordPress site with UpdraftPlus?
1. Backup Your Site: Use UpdraftPlus to create a complete backup of your WordPress site.
2. Install WordPress on Your New Host/Domain: Set up a fresh WordPress installation where you want to migrate your site.
3. Install UpdraftPlus and Import Backup: On the new site, install UpdraftPlus, navigate to the backups section, and import the backup you created earlier (“Upload backup files”).
4. Restore the Backup: Once the backup is imported, proceed with the restoration process to migrate your site.
How much does UpdraftPlus cost?
UpdraftPlus offers both free and premium versions. The free version includes essential backup and restoration features, sufficient for basic needs. The premium version, with prices starting from $70/year, unlocks advanced features such as incremental backups, advanced reporting, multisite support, and premium customer support.
Is the free version of UpdraftPlus good enough?
Strengths of the Free Version of UpdraftPlus
- Accessibility: Being free, it provides all WordPress users the ability to back up their site, ensuring that financial constraints don’t prevent site owners from taking this critical step in site maintenance.
- Essential Features: The free version includes scheduled backups, backup to remote storage options like Dropbox, Google Drive, etc., and the ability to restore from backups, which are core functionalities for basic site management.
- Ease of Use: Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible even to beginners, facilitating the process of safeguarding content without the need for advanced technical skills.
Considerations and When to Upgrade
- Comprehensive Backup Solutions: While the free version covers basic needs, sites requiring more sophisticated backup strategies, such as incremental backups (which save space and resources by only backing up changes since the last full backup), may find the premium version more efficient.
- Enhanced Security Features: For sites that handle sensitive information or wish to enhance their protection against cyber threats, the premium version offers advanced security features that can provide added layers of defense.
- Dedicated Support: Access to personalized customer support can be crucial in time-sensitive situations. The premium version offers dedicated support, ensuring expert assistance is readily available when needed.
The Importance of Server-Level Backups
- Complementing WordPress Backups: While UpdraftPlus (and similar plugins) offer a robust solution for site-level backups, they work best in conjunction with server-level backups provided by your hosting service. This dual-layer approach ensures maximum recoverability in various scenarios, from site-specific issues to server-wide failures.
- Full Coverage: Server-level backups typically cover the entire hosting environment, not just the WordPress site, offering a comprehensive safety net that includes email accounts, additional installed applications, and more.