How to backup your (WordPress) site

If you didn’t know yet, backing up your site is very important. Something can always go wrong. For example, when updating your site, installing a new plugin or adding some custom code. At such times it is useful to have a recent backup of your (WordPress) site at hand. You can even save this backup in different places for extra security.  It makes sure that if something goes wrong you have a fresh copy of your site you can restore and move on like nothing ever happened.

Table of contents

• Why are backups of your site important?
• Creating a backup through your host
• Creating a backup by using a WordPress plugin
• Video: How to backup your WordPress site

Want to learn more about WordPress? Our FREE WordPress for beginners training is here to help. Find out how to set up your own site, learn the ins and outs of creating and maintaining it, and more. This training is part of our free training subscription, take a look at all online SEO training subscriptions!

Why are backups of your site important?

In the video below, we explain why backups of your (WordPress) site are important. This video is part of our free WordPress for beginners training.

Creating a backup through your host

Most good hosting companies will offer a backup tool or automated service for their customers. They usually allow users to set automated backups from within their control panel. We have a list available with popular WordPress hosting partners vetted by Yoast. If you want to know more about creating backups trough your host, we’d suggest you contact your hosting company.

Creating a backup by using a WordPress plugin

A benefit of using WordPress is that there are several plugins that offer a great backup solution. At Yoast, we recommend and have good experiences with BlogVault as this tool offers many great features. Such as creating staging sites and easy migrations.

Some other great backup plugins for WordPress are:

• BackupBuddy
• UpdraftPlus
• BackupWPUp
• Duplicator
• VaultPress

Video: How to backup your WordPress site

If you want to see exactly how to go about making a backup of your WordPress site, check the video below. This video is part of our free WordPress for beginners training.