How to Create Reliable WordPress Backups

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Backing Up WordPress

Creating regular WordPress Backups is an essential part of maintaining your website. In this post will show you how to set up scheduled backups that will be stored in the cloud.

Manual Backups and Migration

In a previous post, we discussed WordPress migration, creating manual backups and how to migrate your website to a new host. If you prefer to do manual backups or you need to migrate your site, read our WordPress Migration post, which will show you how to install two excellent plugins that will help you backup, restore and migrate your site to a new host.

UpdraftPlus WordPress Backups Plugin
UpdraftPlus – WordPress Backups Plugin

What You Need to Get Started

In order to get started, you will only need three things. If you don’t have a WordPress website, you will need one to use the UpdraftPlus plugin, which will backup your WordPress site to Google Drive.

  1. A WordPress Website
  2. A Google Account
  3. The UpdraftPlus Plugin

Click on any image to view it full-sized, which will provide you with a better view of the settings described for that step.

“A Google account and the UpdraftPlus plugin are all free, so why aren’t you creating regular backups of your WordPress website?”

Step 1: Create a WordPress Website

If you already have a WordPress website, great you are ready to go. If not you will need to hire a designer to build one for you, purchase a hosting account and install WordPress by following the step-by-step guide How to Install WordPress in Minutes, or Install WordPress Locally and create your site on your own computer.

Create a WordPress Website
Create a WordPress Website

Step 2: Create a Google Account

Visit the Google Accounts Signup page to create a free account. Your new account will include Google Drive, which is where you will store backups of your site.

How to Create a Google Account:

  1. Get your device ready: Grab your device and open up your favorite web browser. It can be Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or any other you like to use.
  2. Visit Google: Pop over to www.google.com. It’s the place where we start our journey.
  3. Spot the ‘Sign in’: Look at the top right corner of the Google homepage. Do you see a ‘Sign in’ button there? Yeah, go ahead and click it.
  4. Let’s create an account: Next, you’ll notice a ‘Create account’ link just below the sign-in box. Give that a click.
  5. It’s decision time: Now, you’ve got a choice. Do you want this account for yourself, or is it to help manage your business? Pick the option that suits you.
  6. Time to share a little about yourself: Here’s where you fill in your details. Your real name, the email address you want, and a password. Ensure your password is a good mix of letters, numbers, and special symbols – it’s all about staying secure online.
  7. Quick legal bit: Just like any other service, you’ve got to agree to Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Give them a read, and make sure you’re cool with everything.
  8. Confirm it’s really you: Google will want to make sure it’s really you setting up the account. So they’ll send a quick verification code to your mobile. Pop your number in, hit ‘Next’, and then type in the code when it comes through.
  9. Finishing touches: A few final details now. Your birth date and gender are needed next.
  10. Check everything’s in order: Look over everything you’ve put in, and if it’s all correct, confirm your details. You might want to add a snazzy profile picture at this point, but it’s totally up to you.
  11. All done: You’ve made it! Your new Google account is ready to go. To finish off, you might want to add a recovery email address and phone number, just in case. And then, enjoy exploring everything your account has to offer, from Gmail to Google Drive and beyond!

Remember, this isn’t just about email. You’re now part of the Google universe, with access to various helpful services.

Why Do I Need a Google Account?

Besides your backups being stored on Google Drive, you will also have access to many other important services that Google offers for free. We have listed some of the services they offer below, and you can access all of these services and more with the account you create.

Suggested Accounts

  • Google Drive
  • Google My Business
  • Gmail
  • Google Play
  • Photos
  • Maps
  • Calendar
  • And Many More!

In addition to the excellent services listed above, your Google account will allow you to log in to many other websites using your Google account username and password.

Create a Google Account
Create a Google Account

Step 3: Install the UpdraftPlus Plugin

To install the UpdraftPlus WordPress backup plugin, you can follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Go to the “Plugins” section, and click on “Add New.”
  3. In the search bar, type “UpdraftPlus” and hit enter.
  4. Click on the “Install Now” button next to the UpdraftPlus plugin.
  5. Once the plugin is installed, click on the “Activate” button.
  6. The plugin is now installed and activated, and you can access its settings by going to the “Settings” section in your WordPress dashboard, and clicking on “UpdraftPlus Backups.”

You can also install the plugin via FTP, by following these steps:

  1. Download the UpdraftPlus plugin from the official WordPress plugin repository
  2. Unzip the downloaded file to extract the plugin folder
  3. Connect to your website using an FTP client
  4. Navigate to the wp-content/plugins/ folder
  5. Upload the unzipped plugin folder to this location
  6. Log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the “Plugins” page
  7. Locate UpdraftPlus in the list of installed plugins and click “Activate”

Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, you can configure it according to your needs and schedule backups.

Install UpdraftPlus Plugin for WordPress
Install the UpdraftPlus Backup Plugin

Step 4: Configure UpdraftPlus

The final step is to configure UpdraftPlus to backup your WordPress website to Google Drive, and we have included detailed step by step instructions and screenshots below to help you configure UpdraftPlus.

To configure UpdraftPlus to backup to Google Drive, you can follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to the “Settings” section.
  2. Click on “UpdraftPlus Backups” to access the plugin’s settings.
  3. Under the “Settings” tab, scroll down to the “Remote Storage” section.
  4. Click on the “Google Drive” option to configure the settings for this storage method.
  5. You will be prompted to authenticate your Google account. Click on the “Authenticate with Google” button to do so.
  6. Once you’ve authenticated your account, you will be taken back to the UpdraftPlus settings page.
  7. Select the Google Drive account that you want to use for backups, and then click on the “Save Changes” button.
  8. Under the “Backup Now” tab, you can now see the Google Drive as a Remote storage option, select it and then click on “Backup Now” button.

You can also schedule regular backups to Google Drive by going to the “Expert Settings” tab and configuring the options under the “Automatic Backups” section.

It’s important to note that UpdraftPlus uses Google API to connect to Google Drive, so you will need to have a project in Google Cloud Platform, enable the Google Drive API and create credentials, then use the client ID and secret from the credentials in the UpdraftPlus setting page to connect.

Examples of Backup Settings

You should choose a backup schedule that will backup your files on a similar schedule as your regular maintenance to ensure you always have a recent version of your website saved.

  1. Change Files Backup Schedule to Monthly
  2. Change Database Backup Schedule to Weekly
  3. Click the Google Drive Icon, then continue to the next configuration step below.
Configure the UpdraftPlus Plugin
Configure UpdraftPlus Settings

Configure Google Drive Settings

At the bottom of the page click the “Save Changes” button and a popup will appear as shown in the image below. Click the link “Follow this link to authorize access to your Google Drive account (you will not be able to back up to Google Drive without it).” to allow UpdraftPlus to access your Google Drive account.

 

Google Drive Authentication Popup
Google Drive Authentication Popup

Allow UpdraftPlus Access to Google Drive

Click the “Allow” button as shown in the image below and sign in to your account to allow UpdraftPlus to view and manage the files in your Google Drive. This is the final step and it will allow UpdraftPlus to backup your files and database to Google Drive according to the settings you entered in UpdraftPlus.

Allow UpdraftPlus to Access Google Drive
Allow UpdraftPlus to Access Google Drive

How to Backup and Restore a WordPress Website: Never Lose Your Website!

Check out our YouTube Channel, Website Design & Tech for more great videos like the one below.

Final Thoughts on WordPress Backups

Backing up your WordPress website regularly ensures you can always restore your site if an update breaks your site or if your site is hacked. If you purchase the premium version you can backup to other cloud storage accounts like Dropbox, so you may want to consider the other options if you prefer a different cloud storage service, need more storage space or you want to backup your files to multiple locations.

In this post, we left the default settings intact to retain only two backups, but you can set the maximum number of backups to anything you want. However, to create more backups, you should consider how much storage space each backup uses and whether you need more backups of your website before setting the limit too high.

Article Summary

  1. Create a WordPress Website
  2. Read Our WordPress Migration Post
  3. Install the UpdraftPlus Backup Plugin
  4. Configure UpdraftPlus Settings
  5. Allow UpdraftPlus Access to Your Google Drive

Disclosure: You may find affiliate links to beneficial resources within this article. You won’t pay more for using our link, but we’ll get a commission. This supports our content creation, and we only suggest products we genuinely believe in. Thank you for being so understanding!

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James Turner

James Turner

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Are you looking for a tech blogger and sales copywriter who can turn your message into a powerful tool for persuasion? Look no further than James Turner, a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in the tech industry. With a deep understanding of how to craft words that connect with readers and drive results, James is a master of the art of persuasive writing.

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