---
title: "How to Backup WordPress with the BackWPup Plugin"
description: "Backing up your WordPress site is important. You already know that fact. However, the act of backing up your site shouldn’t be complicated.  With the BackWPup backup plugin, you can create..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/backwpup/
date: 2020-09-28
modified: 2026-03-11
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["WordPress Plugins"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# How to Backup WordPress with the BackWPup Plugin

![backwpup plugin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/BackWPup-1024x538.png)

Backing up your WordPress site is important. You already know that fact. However, the act of backing up your site shouldn’t be complicated. 

With the [BackWPup backup plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/), you can create backups and restore your WordPress site within minutes. Allowing you to protect your website from potential hacks and perform site maintenance without the fear of breaking your site. 

Continue reading to learn how to:

- [Install the BackWPup Backup Plugin](#Install-the-BackWPup)
- [Create a Backup with BackWPup](#Create-a-Backup)
- [Schedule Backups with BackWPup](#Schedule-Backups)

## Install the BackWPup Backup Plugin

1. [Log into your WordPress Dashboard](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/).
2. Navigate to** Plugins** > **Add New**.
3. Type ‘backwpup‘ into the search box.
4. Click the **Install Now** then **Activate**.

![new plugin in wordpress](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_plugins.png)

![install backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_install-backwpup-plugin.png)

![activaite backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_activate-backup-plugin.png)

## Create a Backup with BackWPup

1. Click **BackWPup** in the left menu.
2. Click **Add new job**.
3. Name your backup in the *Job Name* section.
4. Under *Job Tasks*, choose the backup you want to perform. Options are **Database backup, File backup, WordPress XML export, Installed plugins list,** and **Check database tables**. We recommend choosing **Database backup **and** File Backup** at the very least.
5. Under *Backup File Creation*, change or customize the **Archive name **or** format**. In our tests, we used the default settings.
6. Next, choose where you want your backup file stored under *Job Destination*. For this guide, we choose the **Backup to Folder** option.
7. To be notified of errors, enter an email address under *Log Files*.
8. Click **Save changes **to save the backup job.
9. You will then see a message stating the *changes have been saved*. Click **Run now **to backup your WordPress site.

This may take several minutes to complete, depending on the size of your site.

![Add backup using backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_backwpup-settings.png)

![name backup in backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_job-name.png)

![add backup items in backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_job-tasks.png)

![change archive name and file in backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_backup-file-creation.png)

![set where backup will be storaged](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_backup-job-destination.png)

![add email for notifcations](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_log-files.png)

![save notifcation settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_save-changes.png)

![backup complete message](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_backup-wordpress.png)

## Schedule Backups with BackWPup

Of note, you will need to first create a backup before completing the steps below.

1. Click **BackWPup **> **Jobs** in the left menu.
2. Navigate to your backup and click **Edit**.
3. You will see a summary of your *Backup Job*. Click the **Schedule** tab.
4. Next to *Start job *select the “**with WordPress cron**” option.
5. Scroll down to the *Scheduler* section and choose your backup option. In this example, we are scheduling weekly WordPress Backups.
6. Click the **Save changes** to schedule the backup.
7. You will then see a message stating “*Changes for job saved.*”

![schedule backup in backwpup](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_edit-backup-job.png)

![schedule items to be backed up](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_schedule-backup.png)

![Set backup schedule](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/wordpress-plugins_backup_weekly-wordpress-backups.png)

If you would like to another plugin for backups, check out [Backup & Restore Your Site With the WordPress Duplicator Plugin](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/plugins/wordpress-duplicator-plugin/).

Learn more tips and tricks about [WordPress backups](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/wordpress-backups/) to protect your website from risks!