UpdraftPlus – Backup your WordPress site

A subject that should never neglect WordPress Backup!  There are many plugins and services for backup management under WordPress, I will now tell you about the one I prefer, namely UpdraftPlus.

UpdraftPlus is a free WordPress plugin, simple to use and reliable to create backups of your site or your blog. It also helps restore a backup and migrate or clone a WordPress site. If you do not know this plugin, I invite you to discover how to perform a backup in just a few moments!

UpdraftPlus Backup Your WordPress Site – Why and When to backup?

The main reason to make a backup is simple: get a copy of your site in case it would suffer attacks or were to be unusable after a plugin installation or update.

Obviously, it would be a shame to spend hours to complete your project and risk losing everything without having a “Plan B“. Indeed, it is highly recommended to make regular backups, particularly if your site or blog is very active and / or contains very important data. In the case of a showcase site, you will be taken to make less frequent backups but equally important.

If, against, you do not like many manipulations and constraints, you can opt for web hosts that offer quality services including automatic backup that you can restore in one click.

Save now: the simplicity of UpdraftPlus

Suffice it to a few clicks here and there to get your backup. Enough talk, let’s see how.

1. Install and activate UpdraftPlus.

This will, of course, the first thing to do. To do this, go to your admin panel to the tab Extensions> Add and then look for “UpdraftPlus” in the box provided for this purpose. Next, check that the plugin is compatible with your version of WordPress and click INSTALL NOW and end with activation.

Now you can find UpdraftPlus in Settings> Backup UpdraftPlus or in the banner at the top of the window of your back office.

2. Make settings

Side setting, it’s easy! I’ll meet you in the tab SETTINGS.

Here you can:

• schedule backups file regardless of your database, but generally, they go together.Thus, through the drop-down menu, you can choose the recurrence of your backups, or you can launch them manually. In both cases, you can choose the number of backups to keep (2, 3 or 4 last example).
• choose your remote storage favorite as DropBox or Google Drive for example. If you do not select any of these solutions, then your backup will be stored on your server (we’ll see how to recover).
• decide what content to include or exclude.
• send a simple report safeguard your email address.

Finally, do not forget to click SAVE.

3. Start Backup

In the previous step, if you have opted for a manual backup, then you have to start by visiting the tab CURRENT STATE. A simple click on SAVE NOW enough to put the machine on the way!

A PopUp will open to give you the choice to include only the database, only the files or both. Just check the boxes then finally, again, by SAVE NOW.

Now the backup is in progress, as you can see the task progress bar. Wait patiently for the success message.

4. Ensure that the backup has occurred.

After receiving the success message, I invite you to check that the backup has occurred. To do this, open the tab BACKUP EXISTING : your last backup should appear at the top of the list, check the date.

Recover your backup

Of course, a backup will only be usable if it is in your hands … It is recommended to keep a copy of it, but how? This is not complicated, see all the steps to follow:

1. The first thing to do is download an FTP client such as FileZilla or as CyberDuck .
2. Then, you will connect with the password provided by your host , when subscribing to your offer by filling in the hostname , the username , the password, and optionally harbor .
3. Once connected (with FileZilla), you will see a separate window into four parts: the top is the dialogue window to the right are the folders and files on your web host, below are current file exchanges (transfers) and to the left is the contents of your computer.
4. Now he will do more than download your backup with a simple drag and drop to the right window (host part) left window (your computer). For this, do you double-click the root of your site to the desired files, typically: www> wp-content> updraft 
5. UPDRAFT in the folder, select the folders of your last backup that you can easily identify with a name beginning with backup_year-month-day-hour-minute is in the example below:  backup_2016-11-09-23-39
6. Select all the files for your backup and transfer them. These are the files ending withdb.gz(the database), other.zip , themes.zip (your subjects) plugins.zip (list your plugins) and uploads.zip (your media library in some ways knowing that this issue may be cut into several parts if your site contains many photographs).

Now you are in possession of a full backup of your site and all without great efforts. Keep this treasured backup in case a mishap happen to your WordPress site!

In conclusion of Updraftplus Plugin

Amazingly easy, UpdraftPlus will become one of your favorite plugins. Personally, I use it on all my sites but I am very far-sighted, I “pair” with another plugin I also appreciate BackWPup (because one is never too careful).

If you want a more visual overview, I invite you to watch this video:

And you ? What is your favorite tool for WordPress backups?

Do not hesitate to let us know in the comments;)