Backups are a critical part of maintaining your website. No matter your skill level or the type of WordPress website you create, maintaining a WordPress backup is non-negotiable. With a solid WP backup process in place, you can easily restore your website back to its former glory without a lot of fuss and time. When you backup WordPress, you protect yourself from headaches that data loss could cause. Maybe you accidentally delete a lot of important content, or you’re a victim of a hack that wipes out multiple pages, or updating a plugin creates hassles at the worst possible time. What You Need to Back Up Your complete WordPress backup should include four essential components.: The database contains posts, pages, comments, settings, and user data. Your wp-content folder houses themes, plugins, uploads, and custom files. Don’t forget WordPress core files like wp-config.php and .htaccess. Finally, ensure your media uploads including images, videos, and documents are included in every backup. Considerations for Backing up WordPress Nowadays, the most common way to manage backups and restore your WordPress site is through plugins. However, that isn’t the only way. Your skill level and technical comfortability will determine your backup plan for your WordPress site. If you’re a beginner, plugins are the easiest way to manage your backups. But more advanced users may feel more comfortable jumping in cPanel or the server. Recommended WordPress Backup Plugins With the help of a plugin, you can easily create, schedule, and manage your backups. You can also use a backup to restore your site or even use the plugin to delete old backups to save disk space of your server. Below are a few recommended WordPress backup plugins for you to consider for your website maintenance. Total Upkeep UpDraftPlus Backup Plugin All-in-One WP Migration Plugin BackWPup WP Remote Jetpack Professional Basic setup process: Install and activate your chosen backup plugin Go to plugin settings in your WordPress admin Choose backup frequency (daily/weekly recommended) Select remote storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3) Configure what to include in backups Run your first backup and verify it completes successfully If you’re researching a backup plugin that isn’t listed above, simply make sure it covers the below functions: Can schedule your backup to occur on a regular basis Will warn you if you are making changes without properly backing up Can roll back changes automatically if your site breaks Will save a backup copy on your server for quick recovery and send a copy offsite to a storage location of your choice Encrypt your backups For more details, please see our article on recommended Backup Plugins. If you’re working with a developer, review these instructions on how to help your developer transfer your WordPress site using a backup plugin. Advanced Backup Methods & cPanel Advanced WordPress users who are used to completing server-level tasks can also backup their websites without installing, activating, and learning a plugin. Here are additional options for backing up WordPress. Using cPanel File Manager To backup files: Log into cPanel Open File Manager Navigate to your domain’s public_html folder Select all WordPress files and folders Click “Compress” and choose archive format Download the compressed file to your computer To backup database: In cPanel, open phpMyAdmin Select your WordPress database Click “Export” tab Choose “Quick” export method and SQL format Click “Go” to download the database file InMotion Hosting Automatic Backups InMotion Hosting provides automatic backups for all hosting accounts. Daily backups are retained for 10 days and cover complete website files and databases. You can access these backups through the cPanel Backup Wizard or contact support for assistance with restores. Chat with Support To access your backups: Log into cPanel Open “Backup Wizard” Choose “Restore” to browse available backup dates Select files or databases to restore How to Restore WordPress from Backup When you need to restore your WordPress site, the method you choose depends on how you created your backup. Plugin backups offer the simplest restoration process, while manual backups require more technical steps. Here’s how to restore your site using each method. Plugin Restore Process UpdraftPlus restore: Go to UpdraftPlus > Existing Backups Find your backup date and click “Restore” Select components to restore (files, database, plugins, themes) Click “Restore” and wait for completion Clear any caching and check your site Manual Restore via cPanel Restoring files: Delete corrupted WordPress files from File Manager Upload your backup archive to public_html Extract the archive to restore files Set proper file permissions (644 for files, 755 for folders) Restoring database: Open phpMyAdmin in cPanel Select your WordPress database Click “Import” tab Choose your database backup file Click “Go” to restore data Requesting InMotion Support Restore Contact support when your site is completely down, you don’t have recent manual backups, or the technical restore process seems overwhelming. Information to provide: Your domain name Preferred restore date (within last 10 days) Description of the issue requiring restore Any recent changes made before the problem If you would like other options and more support, here are additional guides for backing up WordPress: cPanel account backups Softaculous Site Manager backups Best Practices for WordPress Backups Establishing the right backup schedule protects your business without overwhelming your server resources. Schedule regular backups, daily for active sites, weekly for static sites. Store backups offsite and don’t rely solely on server storage. Keep multiple backup versions and maintain at least 3-4 recent backups. Most importantly, test your backups regularly by performing a trial restoration on a staging site. A backup that doesn’t restore properly offers no help when you need it most. Common Mistakes to Avoid Even with the best intentions, many WordPress site owners make critical backup mistakes that leave their websites vulnerable. Here are the most common pitfalls to avoid: Storing backups only on the same server as your website Storing too many backups on the same server, which eats into your available storage for your growing website Never testing backup restoration procedures until an emergency strikes Forgetting to backup before major updates or changes Excluding important custom files or configurations Not documenting backup and restore procedures Backup Checklist Before making any major changes to your WordPress site, here’s what we recommend doing: Verify recent backup exists (within 24 hours) Confirm backup includes database and all files Check that backup stored in separate location Document any custom configurations or recent changes Have restoration method ready if needed Troubleshooting Common Issues Backup fails to complete: Check available disk space on server and increase PHP memory limit and execution time. Exclude unnecessary files like cache and logs from backup. Contact hosting support if server-level issues persist. Restore doesn’t work properly: Clear all caching including browser, plugin, and server cache. Check file permissions after restore and verify database connection settings in wp-config.php. Review error logs for specific issues. Plugin conflicts during backup: Temporarily deactivate other plugins during backup and use manual backup method if plugin issues persist. Check plugin compatibility with your WordPress version. Additional Resources To further protect your WordPress site, check out how to Password Protect WordPress Pages, Posts, and Products. Ready to really dig into WordPress? See our 1300+ more WordPress articles. For technical assistance with backups or restores, contact InMotion Hosting support with your domain name and specific issue details. Latest Tutorials for Backing up WordPress To further protect your WordPress site, check out how to Password Protect WordPress Pages, Posts, and Products. 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