How to back up your WordPress site using a plugin Print

While cPanel backups capture everything on your hosting account, WordPress backup plugins are often more convenient for WordPress-specific sites. They let you schedule automatic backups, send them directly to cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3), and restore with a single click, all from within the WordPress dashboard.

This guide covers UpdraftPlus, which is free, widely used, and works reliably on all Host Media hosting plans.

Installing UpdraftPlus

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New.
3. Search for UpdraftPlus.
4. Click Install Now, then Activate.

Taking a manual backup

1. Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups.
2. Click the Backup Now button.
3. A dialogue will appear asking what to include. Tick both Include your database in the backup and Include your files in the backup.
4. Click Backup Now.
5. The backup will run and you will see a progress bar. When complete, the backup files appear in the Existing Backups section at the bottom of the page.

Downloading your backup

In the Existing Backups table, find your backup and click the individual component buttons (Database, Plugins, Themes, Uploads, Others) to download each part to your computer. Store these somewhere safe, ideally cloud storage separate from your hosting account.

Setting up automatic scheduled backups

1. In UpdraftPlus, click the Settings tab.
2. Set your Files backup schedule (e.g. Weekly) and how many backups to retain (e.g. 4).
3. Set your Database backup schedule (e.g. Daily), databases change more frequently than files.
4. Under Remote Storage, choose where to send the backups. Google Drive and Dropbox are the easiest to set up. Follow the on-screen authorisation steps for your chosen service.
5. Click Save Changes.

Tip: Never store your only backup copy on the same server as your website. If something goes wrong with your hosting account, you want your backup to be somewhere completely separate, Google Drive, Dropbox, or your local computer.

Restoring from an UpdraftPlus backup

1. In Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups, scroll to Existing Backups.
2. Find the backup you want to restore and click Restore.
3. Select the components to restore (Database, Plugins, Themes, Uploads, Others) and click Next.
4. UpdraftPlus will download the backup files from your remote storage (if applicable), then restore them. Click Restore to confirm.
5. Once complete, click Return to WordPress admin.