Why Use an Automated Backup for WordPress Site and How to Do It?

Before we begin, here’s a jarring fact:

According to a survey conducted between January and February 2022, 66% of organizations around the world were victims of ransomware attacks in the previous year.

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Now imagine this scenario: Your website was hacked, you have lost all the data, and there is no way to restore it!

What sounds like a horror story written specifically to send every web developer and website owner in panic mode is actually closer to reality than you think.

With threats of data theft, malicious hackers, and malware attacks lurking at every corner, it does not take much to bring down a site.

That’s why you should do everything in your power to safeguard your data.

Having an automated backup for a WordPress site can save you a world of trouble in the aftermath of a disaster. Alternatively, you can also hire a WordPress developer to help you with the backup.

What Is Automated Backup for WordPress Site?

Unlike manual backup, automated backup is scheduled to run automatically at set intervals without the user’s input.

The process copies all the vital files and stores them in a safe place on the web host server. Good web hosts always offer some type of backup features either with their hosting package or separately.

Technically, WordPress does not take automatic backups on its own. To schedule automatic backup for a WordPress site, you would need to install a third-party plugin or tool.

All you have to do is install the plugin/tool of your choice, follow some easy steps to set it up, and schedule the backups at fixed intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)

Once set up, the system will send you notifications for backup success and failure. You may even get additional backup options, including cloud storage support.

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Why Use an Automated Backup for WordPress Site?

Automated WordPress backups have several advantages over manual backups, which require user input.

Since automated backups run as per a set schedule, you don’t need to stay on top of your web host or server control panel to complete them.

Here are the top reasons for choosing automated backup for a WordPress site over manual backup:

Automated WordPress Backups Save You Time:

Manual backups require active effort, and you need to remember to do it every time as per your schedule. Forgetting to do it can have serious ramifications.

With automated backups, you don’t need to worry about all that. Once your backup system is set up, your website will be backed up on time, every time, without needing your input.

This way, in the event of a configuration error or catastrophic failure, you will be able to restore your website from the latest backup much more quickly.

Automated WordPress backup saves you both time and effort.

Automated Backups are Secure:

Storing local backups of the website on a flash drive or home computer can be risky as it leaves you open to data loss and security breaches. Besides, losing a portable hard drive or flash disk is too easy and common.

Laptop or desktop SSDs and hard drives are worse in terms of reliability. They can fail at any time, causing you to lose all your data. None of these options is suitable for storing your website backups.

With automated backups, your website backup gets stored in the cloud. Enterprise hardware, such as the ones used by cloud storage data centers, has a much lower failure rate.

Furthermore, cloud storage companies often have multiple backup systems. In cloud storage, your files are relatively more secure and protected from accidental deletion and malicious attacks.

Automated Backups are Inexpensive:

A number of web host providers already include data backup services as part of a package. Those who don’t may provide the same separately for an additional price.

Some of the plugins you need for creating an automated backup for the WordPress site may cost a subscription fee, but many of the plugins are also free.

How to Set Up and Use Automated Backup for WordPress Site?

There are several excellent free and paid plugins available for automated WordPress backup. Most of these plugins are easy to use and effective.

If you are looking for a free automated backup plugin for a small or medium-sized WordPress site, the best option is UpdraftPlus.

UpdraftPlus is by far the most popular and widely used free WordPress plugin available today.

Used by over 2 million websites around the world, this plugin offers powerful features such as encrypted backup transport, backup encryption, and lots of cloud storage options.

The plugin supports both scheduled backups and on-demand backups. You can also choose which files you want to back up.

With UpdraftPlus, you can either set up an automated backup for a WordPress site by yourself or hire a WordPress developer to do it for you.

Follow These Steps to Install UpdraftPlus for Automated Backup for WordPress Site

1.      Log in to your WordPress Site

2.      Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Plugins > Add New

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3.      Search for UpdraftPlus in the search bar.

4.      Locate the “UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin,” press “Install Now,” and then “Activate.”

Follow These Steps to Take Automated Backup of WordPress Site Using UpdraftPlus

Once UpdraftPlus is installed, you have to set up your first WordPress backup. It’s fairly easy to do. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in the WordPress menu. This will take you to the UpdraftPlus settings page.
  2.  Go to the Settings tab at the top of the page.

Here, you can configure how UpdraftPlus will create a new backup. You can choose the schedule that suits your needs the best.

For instance, if you update your site with new posts and pages regularly, you will need frequent backups.

You can also choose how many of these automated backups you want to store at a time. You can set it up so that new backups override old ones.

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  1. Select the location where backups would be stored.

Scroll down the options and choose the ideal location for the backed-up files. UpdraftPlus works with several remote storage options. So, choose the one you like best.

  1. Once selected, every storage option will display its own set of instructions. Follow these and once done, click the “Save Changes” button located at the bottom of the page.

If you want to store the backup in more than one location, you can do so by upgrading to UpdraftPremium. The paid version of UpdraftPlus offers more customization options than the free version.

Now that you have set up the storage location and how often you want to take backups, UpdraftPlus will take the backups automatically without needing further inputs from you.

Follow These Steps to Restore Your WordPress Site from a Backup

Now that your WordPress site is regularly backed up, you can easily recover and restore it if something goes wrong. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups from the WordPress menu. This will take you to the UpdraftPlus settings page.
  2. Scroll down until you reach the section called Existing Backups.
  1. Locate the backup that you want to restore and press the Restore button.
  2. You will then get a popup that will ask you which elements of the database you want to restore. Select the ones you want to restore and press the Restore button.

When the restoration is complete, you will get a pop-up message telling you that your website has been successfully restored.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, setting up an automated backup for a WordPress site is as easy as ABC with a plugin like UpdraftPlus. There are many other similar plugins that offer more or less similar features.

Until you are ready to spend money on it, the free version of these plugins can do the job efficiently. But if you want more features and customization options, spending a few bucks may be worth your while. Whatever you do, don’t forget to set up an automated backup for the WordPress site today!

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