When managing your own site, it is always better to have a current backup copy of your site at a hand. This is important in case something unexpected happens and you need to restore your site. A full backup means server files + MySQL database. Here are a few easy ways you can do this:

One-Click Backup

Most hosting providers these days offer one-click backup and restore options for your site.

• Siteground: How to create a full backup of my hosting account.
• Bluehost: ​How to Backup Your WordPress Site.
• Dreamhost: How can I manually backup my data?

Always contact your hosting provider, they usually assist you with that backup process and it will guarantee a true full website backup.

Installing a Backup Plugin

BackupBuddy is a fantastic WordPress plugin to automate full-site backups. However, there are many free alternatives in the WordPress plugin directory that can also get the job done. For example, UpdraftPlus. Keeping regular backups offline is ideal for a WordPress website since if you store it on your server it can also get wiped out in extreme cases like your site getting hacked.

• BackupBuddy – Premium plugin with an annual subscription. Can backup to FTP, Amazon S3, Dropbox and more
• WordPress Backup to Dropbox – Free with premium upgrades – Can backup to Dropbox only
• VaultPress – Premium plugin with a monthly subscription. Service from Automattic, developer of WordPress
• BlogVault - Free to use, it schedules daily backups and only uses offsite storage, so everything is automatically set up. The blogVault backup plugin does a complete backup of the WordPress site, including files and databases.
• UpdraftPlus - Free to use, you can schedule daily backups or you can manually backup site files and database from your WordPress dashboard. It only uses offsite storage, so everything is automatically set up. The UpdraftPlus backup plugin does a complete backup of the WordPress site, including files and databases.

We do not guarantee the stability or reliability of any of these suggested plugins or services. Please refer to the terms of use of these plugins & services for more information. Reliance upon any suggestions written here is entirely at your own risk. We are not liable for any lost site content, broken sites or site downtime.

Useful links!

• WordPress.org: WordPress Backups