How to Backup a WordPress Site (Step-by-Step for Beginners) 

A plugin update corrupts your database. A bad theme install leaves your site blank. You hit restore and realize there’s nothing to restore to.

I’ve seen this happen more times than I’d like. It’s a bad day for anyone, but it’s a much worse day if your site generates income or you’ve been building it for years.

I’ve made backups for dozens of WordPress and WooCommerce sites, and the process is simpler than most people expect. In this guide, I’ll show you how to backup a WordPress site step-by-step, from the easiest plugin method to manual options using cPanel and phpMyAdmin.

Quick Summary: How to Backup a WordPress Site

To back up a WordPress site, you need to save two things: your database and your site files. The easiest way is to use a backup plugin like Duplicator Pro. It lets you schedule automatic backups and restore your site with one click. You can also create manual backups using cPanel or phpMyAdmin if you prefer more control.

WordPress Backup Methods Compared

There are three main ways to backup a WordPress site. The right one depends on your comfort with technical tools and how much control you want over scheduling and storage.

Method	Tools Needed	Skill Level	Can Schedule?	Best For
Plugin (Duplicator Pro)	Duplicator Pro plugin	Beginner	✅ Yes	Most WordPress users
Manual via cPanel	Hosting dashboard	Intermediate	❌ No	Basic file-level backups
Manual via phpMyAdmin	Database access	Advanced	❌ No	Backing up database only

This table shows your main options. If you’re not sure where to start, I recommend using a plugin like Duplicator Pro. It’s what I use on most sites I manage.

A WordPress backup includes two key components:

1. The database, which contains your posts, comments, and user information
2. The site files, like your themes, plugins, and media

Together, they’re the blueprint of your site, so you need to keep both protected.

Why Backup WordPress?

Backing up your WordPress site can save you from data loss. If you accidentally delete something through human error, your site crashes, or an update doesn’t go as planned, a backup can restore your site to how it was.

If your site ever gets hacked or hit with malware, a recent backup means you can bounce back fast.

According to Astra Security, 30,000 websites are hacked every day. This emphasizes the need for backups to recover from potential security breaches.

Regular backups help to keep your site running smoothly and safely. For more on reducing your attack surface, see how to secure your WordPress site from hackers.

Does Your Host Back Up Your Site?

Most hosting providers create automatic server backups, and it’s tempting to rely on them as your only backup solution. For most sites, that’s not enough.

Host backups have real limitations you should know about:

• Retention is short. Most hosts keep 7 to 30 days of backups. Miss that window and those snapshots are gone.
• Restoration is slow. Getting a host backup restored usually means opening a support ticket and waiting hours or longer. It’s not a one-click process.
• Coverage varies. Some plans only back up at the server level, not your individual database tables or file structure. What’s actually included depends on your hosting tier.
• They’re not offsite. Host backups live on the same server infrastructure as your site. A serious server failure can take both your site and its backups offline at the same time.

I treat host backups as a last resort, not a primary strategy. A dedicated plugin gives you control over what’s backed up, when it runs, and exactly where those files go. If you’re still choosing a host, see our guide to WordPress hosting for options that make backups easier.

How to Backup a WordPress Site with a Plugin

Using a backup plugin is the easiest way to protect your WordPress site. Once you set it up, the plugin handles everything on a schedule, so you don’t have to remember to run backups manually.

If you’re already using UpdraftPlus, you’re on the right track. It’s a solid free option that covers the basics. For this guide, I’m using Duplicator Pro, one of the best WordPress backup plugins.

With over 1,500,000 users, it makes backing up and migrating your entire site easy.

Plus, the Pro version we’re using includes these advanced features:

• Scheduled and daily backups
• One-click recovery points
• Migration tool
• Offsite cloud storage integration
• And more.

Note: There is a free version of Duplicator available, but it doesn’t include scheduled backups or cloud storage. This guide uses the Pro version.

Set Up Duplicator Pro

The first thing you need to do is install and activate Duplicator Pro. If you need help with this, please see this tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activating the plugin, navigate to Duplicator Pro » Settings from your WordPress dashboard and select the ‘Licensing’ tab.

Here, enter your Duplicator Pro license key and click ‘Activate.’

Now, go to Duplicator Pro » Packages. Within this section, you can backup your WordPress website.

Backup Your WordPress Website

Getting your first backup is as easy as clicking ‘Create New’ and following the instructions.

You can name your backup and decide where to store it.

Duplicator initially selects the default storage location, which is local storage in our example. However, you can also click ‘Add Storage’ to add more locations, such as Google Drive or Dropbox.

Now, let’s scroll down to the archive section. This is where you define what parts of your WordPress site you want to backup.

File filters allow you to exclude specific directories from your backup if needed. The database backup section lets you selectively exclude specific tables. This is helpful if you’d like to streamline your backups or exclude irrelevant, bloated segments.

I recommend keeping the default settings if you want to backup your whole WordPress site.

Now, let’s talk about the installer section.

The installer is a script that Duplicator creates along with the backup of your site. When it’s time to restore or migrate your site, you’ll run this installer script, and it will unpack the backup and set everything up for you. 

You don’t need to do anything to this section during the setup process. Just click the ‘Next’ button and leave it as it is.

Duplicator scans your site and flags anything that could slow down or block the backup.

Once this check is completed, you’ll see a status report.

This report has details like the size of your database and files. It also flags potential problems so you can fix them before moving on.

To continue, click the ‘Build’ button.

When you click ‘Build,’ Duplicator gets to work backing up your WordPress site. You’ll see a progress bar showing you how it’s getting on. Bigger sites take longer to back up, so don’t worry if it’s not instant.

When it’s done, go to Duplicator Pro » Packages to find your backup package.

Select the Download option, and you’ll see two files.

The first is your archive file, which is basically a squashed-down copy of your site. The second is an installer script to help you reinstall your site if needed.

Select the ‘Both Files’ option to save them to your computer. Keep both files somewhere safe. You’ll need them if you ever have to bring your site back.

Create a Recovery Point to Restore Your Site

I use recovery points as a safety net. If something breaks, I can roll back the site to its last working version in seconds. It’s helpful if you face a critical error because you can restore your backup. That way, you can revert your site to the last stable version.

To create one, navigate to Duplicator Pro » Packages and click the Arrow icon on the right-hand side to see the package details.

In this panel, click the ‘Disaster Recovery’ button.

This opens a new window showing that Disaster Recovery is available for backup. Go ahead and click the ‘Set Disaster Recovery’ button.

Once the recovery point is set, you’ll see two options.

The first is to download the Recovery Launcher. With this, you can recover your site with a single click of the downloaded file.

Alternatively, you can copy the recovery URL to your clipboard and save it in a secure location. Then, should you need to recover your site, you just need to click that link.

Schedule Automatic WordPress Backups

Scheduling automatic backups with Duplicator Pro is an easy and smart way to keep your site safe without a lot of work. It also means you’ll always have a recent backup to use, which saves time.

To set this up, click the Duplicator Pro menu and select ‘Schedules.’ From here, click ‘Add New’ to make a new schedule.

This will take you to a page where you can arrange your automatic backup schedule.  

On this page, you can name your schedule, decide if you want a full backup or just the database, and pick how often you want the backups to occur. You can choose daily, weekly, or monthly backups and pick the time of day.  

Also, remember to set your storage preferences. This lets you decide where to save your backups.

After you’ve picked your settings, ensure the ‘Enable This Schedule’ option is checked and click ‘Save Schedule.’

Duplicator Pro is now set to handle your automatic backup schedule.

How to Backup a WordPress Site Manually

Manually backing up your WordPress site using cPanel gives you direct access to your files without installing any plugins, but it doesn’t support scheduled backups.

This method requires a bit more technical comfort than using a plugin, but it works well for a one-off backup before a major change.

For this example, I’m using Bluehost. The steps are similar on most hosts, but the interface may look different. Most web hosts offer this option.

First, log into your cPanel’s hosting account. If you’re using Bluehost, like I am, you can find it by opening your site’s settings and clicking the ‘File Manager’ option.

Inside the File Manager, click the public_html folder in the left-hand menu to open the directory. Then, click the ‘Select All’ checkbox in the right-hand panel.

When they’re selected, click the ‘Compress’ option in the top bar.

Click the ‘Zip Archive’ option in the new popup window, then select ‘Compress Files.’

Your host will now compress your website files into a .zip file. It may even display the results when it’s finished. You can safely close this window.

The next step is to select the file you just created, which you’ll find in the public_html folder.

After selecting the file, click the ‘Download’ option at the top.

This will download the .zip file to your computer, which you can save in a secure location. Whenever your site goes down, you can use it to restore your site.

How to Manually Backup a WordPress Database

Backing up your WordPress database manually using phpMyAdmin exports your posts, comments, users, and settings as a SQL file you can import to restore your site’s data.

To do this in Bluehost, open your website’s settings and click the ‘phpMyAdmin’ button.

When it opens, choose a database from the left-hand menu, then select all tables in the right-hand panel.

After, click the ‘Export’ tab at the top of the screen.

On the next screen, you’ll see the export method and format. Keep the export method as ‘Quick’ and choose ‘SQL’ as the format.

Now, go ahead and click ‘Export.’

The SQL file will now download to your computer as a backup. Simply import the SQL file into the phpMyAdmin area to restore the database.

How to Restore a WordPress Site from a Backup

Restoring from a Duplicator Pro backup takes just a few minutes and doesn’t require technical knowledge. Whether you’re fixing a broken site or moving to a new server, the process is the same.

To start, go to your WordPress dashboard and select Duplicator Pro » Import. Here, upload your backup file to import it.

Once the import is complete, you’ll see a success message. You can then follow the instructions in the import wizard to restore your website.

That’s it!

How to Test Your WordPress Backup

Backing up your site regularly is only half the job. You also need to know your backup actually works before you need it.

The safest way to test is to restore it somewhere that isn’t your live site. If you have a staging environment, go to Duplicator Pro » Import, upload your backup there, and follow the wizard. Check that your pages load, your database has current content, and your images display correctly.

If you don’t have staging, WordPress Studio lets you run a local WordPress install on your computer for free. Restore your backup there to verify it before you need to use it for real.

I’d test a backup at least once when you first set things up, then again any time you change your backup method or storage location. It takes about 10 minutes and saves a lot of stress later.

Troubleshooting WordPress Backup Problems

Backup plugins are generally reliable, but a few common issues come up. Here’s how to fix them.

Backup runs out of disk space

This usually happens when backups are stored locally and you’ve accumulated several large packages. Go to Duplicator Pro » Packages and delete older packages you no longer need. You can also use file filters in the archive section to exclude your cache folder and log files, which are large and don’t need to be backed up.

Backup fails partway through

A backup that stops midway is usually a PHP timeout issue. Your server hit its execution time limit before the backup could finish. Contact your host and ask them to increase the PHP max execution time. For very large sites, use Duplicator Pro’s incremental backup option, which breaks the job into smaller chunks that won’t time out.

Large site backups take too long

If your site is over 1GB, full backups can take several minutes. Schedule them during off-peak hours so they don’t affect visitors. Duplicator Pro’s ‘low resource mode’ also reduces the performance impact while the backup runs.

Can’t find where backup files are saved

Go to Duplicator Pro » Packages. Each package shows its storage location. If you configured cloud storage, check your Google Drive or Dropbox folder as well.

Frequently Asked Questions About Backing Up WordPress

Keep Your WordPress Site Safe With Regular Backups

I’ve seen too many site owners lose everything because they didn’t have a backup. It’s one of those things that feels optional. Until something breaks, you might not think twice about it.

Whether you’re using a plugin like Duplicator Pro or going the manual route, the most important part is to do it regularly and store your backups somewhere safe.

I always keep two copies: one in the cloud, and one on a hard drive. It takes just a few minutes, and it’s saved me more than once.

If you’re ready to take the next step in keeping your site secure and running smoothly, check out these other guides below.

• Best WordPress Security Plugins: Top Picks for Site Safety
• How to Password Protect a WordPress Site: The Ultimate Guide
• Best Content Locker WordPress Plugins

Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to join the conversation on YouTube, X and Facebook for more helpful advice and content to grow your business.