Backing up your website is like having insurance on your business. In the event of a fire, break-in, or an earthquake, your business might get trashed. If you don’t have a backup of your website, all it takes is a server malfunction to destroy everything you have worked so hard for.
But it is very easy to protect your website from catastrophic errors, by just backing it up. Backup your website data so that you can recover your website if something happens to it.
Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to backup a WordPress site.
How to Backup a WordPress Site
A backup for your website is essential. Lots of things can happen to your WordPress site that renders the UI/UX useless. The more important your website is for your day-to-day business, the more important it is that it has a backup version.
Mistakes take place while you change or alter existing elements of your website. The only way to ensure your infrastructure security is to make a digital copy and store it offline. Your website copy acts as your insurance coverage in the event of the worst.
Doesn’t My Web Host Perform Backups?
Whether or not your web host is backing up your site data, don’t rely on it. Some hosts perform backups every week. Others perform site backups every month or a few months.
A lot can change on your website in a few months. What is the point of a backup if it does not reflect the most recent form of your website? Performing your own site backups ensures that you always have a copy of the most recent data for your website.
When it comes time for you to find a new web host, you want your own website copy. If you are leaving your current host and asking them for your property back, you are not in a strong situation. If you have a copy of your website already backed up, you are free to switch website hosts at any time.
Follow these steps to backup your WordPress website.
Step 1: Install a Backup Plugin on Your WordPress Site
The way to backup your WordPress site is to install and activate a backup plugin. Plugins are the muscles of the WordPress CMS. For Windows and Linux operating systems, search for the BackUpWordPress plugin.
If you’re using a Mac, download the Backup WD plugin.
Step 2: Configure Your Backup Plugin
From your plugins menu on the WordPress Dashboard, navigate to the option that says, configure. Under General Options, the first thing you do is choose a password for your account. Then tell the plugin where emails should be sent.
Step 3: Set Up Offsite Backups
An offsite backup is the only way to keep your site data safe from physical dangers. If your backups are stored locally and the building catches fire, you are out of luck. So store a copy of your backups on a cloud-storage account.
Step 4: Backup Your WordPress Site for the First Time
After your backups know where to go, perform a backup. Your first backup is as easy as clicking the backup button. After you create a backup of your site, check the folder that the data is supposed to go into and make sure the transfer is complete.
Then, try sending a copy to your remote offsite destination. Once your plugin is configured to send a copy of your backups to an on-site folder and an off-site location, you can perform backups at will.
Step 5: Schedule Automatic Site Backups
Finally, in your plugin options menu, schedule automatic backups of your site data. It is a good idea to backup your site data every few days. Once automatic backups are scheduled, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Final Thoughts
Some companies and businesses prefer to back up their site data more frequently. If your website stores or handles sensitive user information, backup your site data every day. So, no matter what befalls your online infrastructure, you always have a spare in the trunk.
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