LER Web Services wordmark
ENES
Start a project

Manage your WordPress site

How to back up your WordPress site

A backup is a copy of your site’s files and database you can restore if something goes wrong. Make one before every update or big change.

  • Time: About 10 minutes the first time
  • You need: A WordPress administrator login
  • Updated:

Check first whether you already have backups. Many hosts make them daily, and if your site is on a LER care plan, I keep them for you: just ask before a big change and I’ll confirm a fresh one. If you manage your own site, the free UpdraftPlus plugin is a simple way to do it yourself.

Before you start

  • Install UpdraftPlus from Plugins > Add Plugin (see how to add a plugin). When it opens its welcome screen, you can click Exit setup and come back to settings later.
  • A place to keep copies off your server: Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive all work.

  1. Step 1: Open UpdraftPlus

    Click UpdraftPlus in the left menu. On some sites it’s under Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups instead.

  2. Step 2: Click Backup Now

    On the Backup / Restore tab, click Backup Now. Leave both database and files ticked and confirm. It takes a few minutes; keep the tab open.

    UpdraftPlus Backup and Restore screen with the Backup Now button circled
    WordPress 7.1 with UpdraftPlus: Backup Now.

  3. Step 3: Send copies off your server

    Open the Settings tab, choose a remote storage like Google Drive and follow the steps to connect it. A backup that only lives on the same server can’t help if the server fails.

  4. Step 4: Schedule it

    On the same Settings tab, set Files backup schedule to weekly and Database backup schedule to daily, then click Save Changes at the bottom.

Restoring a backup

Under Existing backups on the Backup / Restore tab, click Restore next to the date you want and follow the steps. If your dashboard won’t load at all, send me a note: I can restore from the server.

Quick answers

How often should I back up?

Daily for a shop or a site with forms and bookings, weekly for a site that rarely changes, and always right before updates.

Does a backup slow my site down?

Only a little while it runs. Schedule it for the middle of the night.

Official help pages

Checked against these pages on November 3, 2026.

Related topics