How to Set Up Automatic Website Backup So You Never Lose Your Site

Most website owners only think about backups after something goes wrong: a plugin update breaks the site, a hacker gets in, the host has a server failure, or someone accidentally deletes an important page. By then, it is too late. The fix is simple: set up automatic website backups once, store them in the right places, and test that you can actually restore them.

This guide explains how website backups work, what to back up, how often, where to store backups, and how to set up automatic backups for WordPress and other websites step by step. It is written for beginners, but includes the details professionals use too.

Why Automatic Backups Matter

A backup is a copy of your website that you can use to restore it if something goes wrong. Manual backups work, but people forget. Automatic backups run on a schedule without you, so you always have a recent copy.

Common reasons sites need restoring include:

• Broken updates: a WordPress, theme or plugin update causes errors or a white screen.
• Hacks and malware: attackers inject spam links, redirects or malicious code.
• Human error: deleting the wrong page, overwriting content or changing settings by mistake.
• Hosting problems: server failures, data centre issues or an account suspension.
• Bad code changes: including changes made by AI coding tools or agents. Our guide on using an AI coding agent on a live WordPress site explains why backups are essential before letting AI touch your site.

What Needs to Be Backed Up?

A complete website backup has two parts:

1. Website files

For WordPress, this includes the wp-content folder (themes, plugins and uploaded media), configuration files like wp-config.php and .htaccess, and any custom files. Core WordPress files can be downloaded again, but including them makes restoring simpler.

2. Database

The database stores your posts, pages, comments, users, settings, and for stores, orders and customers. For most active sites, the database changes far more often than the files.

A backup that includes only one of these is incomplete. Always back up both.

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

Professionals follow a simple rule:

• 3 copies of your data (the live site plus two backups).
• 2 different storage types or locations.
• 1 copy stored off-site, away from your hosting server.

The key point: never rely only on backups stored on the same server as your website. If the server fails or your account is hacked, those backups can disappear along with the site. Store at least one copy in cloud storage like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2 or a dedicated backup service.

How Often Should You Back Up?

Also take a manual backup before every major update, theme change, migration or big content edit.

How Long Should You Keep Backups?

Keep several versions, not just the latest one. Malware or a hidden problem might go unnoticed for weeks, and if your only backup was taken after the problem started, it will not help. A good starting point is to keep daily backups for 14 to 30 days and monthly backups for several months.

Option 1: Your Hosting Provider’s Backups

Many hosts include automatic daily or weekly backups, often with one-click restore in the control panel. Check your hosting dashboard for a “Backups” section and confirm:

• How often backups run.
• How long they are kept.
• Whether they include files and databases.
• Where they are stored (same server or separate storage).
• Whether restoring is free.

Host backups are a great first layer, but do not make them your only layer. If you are choosing a host, backup features are worth comparing. See our guide to WordPress hosting for beginners.

Option 2: A WordPress Backup Plugin

Backup plugins give you control over schedules, storage locations and restores. Popular options include:

• UpdraftPlus: the most popular free backup plugin. Schedules backups and sends them to Google Drive, Dropbox, S3 and more.
• Jetpack VaultPress Backup: real-time cloud backups with easy restores, ideal for stores.
• BlogVault: off-site backups with staging and migration features.
• Duplicator: great for backups and migrations.
• BackWPup and WPvivid: solid free alternatives.

How to Set Up Automatic Backups with UpdraftPlus (Step by Step)

1. Install the plugin. In WordPress, go to Plugins then Add New, search for UpdraftPlus, install and activate it.
2. Open the settings. Go to Settings then UpdraftPlus Backups and click the Settings tab.
3. Choose schedules. Set a files backup schedule (for example, weekly) and a database schedule (for example, daily). Choose how many backups to keep.
4. Choose remote storage. Pick Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Backblaze or another cloud destination, and follow the prompts to connect it.
5. Select what to include. Make sure plugins, themes, uploads and other files are included.
6. Turn on email reports so you know if a backup fails.
7. Save and run a first backup. Click Backup Now and check that the files appear in your cloud storage.

That is it. Your site now backs up automatically to an off-site location.

Option 3: Off-Site Backup Services

Dedicated backup services store copies on their own infrastructure, separate from your host. They often include malware scanning, uptime monitoring and one-click restores. They cost more than free plugins, but they are excellent for business-critical sites, agencies managing many sites, and online stores.

Backups for Non-WordPress Sites

• Website builders like Squarespace and Wix manage server backups for you, but you have limited control. Export your content where possible and keep copies of images and important text. Our Squarespace vs WordPress comparison covers the ownership differences.
• Custom PHP, Node or static sites can use your host’s backups plus scheduled scripts (for example, cron jobs that export databases and sync files to cloud storage).
• Code projects should always live in Git with a remote repository, but remember that Git is not a backup for databases or user uploads.

Full, Incremental and Real-Time Backups Explained

You will see these terms when choosing a backup tool. Here is what they mean in plain English:

• Full backup: a complete copy of all files and the database every time. Simple and reliable, but it uses more storage and server resources, especially for large media libraries.
• Incremental backup: after one full backup, only the changes since the last backup are saved. This is faster, lighter on your server and uses much less storage. Most premium backup services work this way.
• Real-time backup: every change, such as a new order, comment or post edit, is saved almost instantly. This is ideal for online stores and membership sites where losing even a few hours of data would hurt.

For a typical blog, a daily full or incremental backup is plenty. For a busy WooCommerce store, real-time or hourly database backups are worth paying for.

Special Considerations for Online Stores

If you run WooCommerce or another store, your database holds orders, customers and stock levels that change all day. Restoring yesterday’s backup would erase today’s orders. To protect yourself:

• Use real-time or very frequent database backups.
• Before restoring, export recent orders so you can add them back manually.
• Keep copies of payment provider records (Stripe, PayPal) as a second source of truth.
• Test restores on staging, never directly on the live store.

Test Your Backups: The Step Most People Skip

A backup you have never restored is a backup you hope works. Every few months:

1. Download a recent backup.
2. Restore it to a staging site or local environment.
3. Check that pages, images, forms and logins work.
4. Note how long the restore took.

Testing shows you whether backups are complete and teaches you the restore process before you need it in an emergency.

How to Restore a Website from a Backup

• Host backup: use the restore option in your hosting control panel. Choose the date before the problem started.
• Plugin backup: if WordPress admin still works, restore from the plugin. If the site is completely down, install a fresh WordPress, install the same plugin, connect your cloud storage and restore.
• Manual restore: upload files via SFTP and import the database through phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI.

After restoring from a hack, change all passwords, update everything, and find how the attacker got in, or it may happen again.

Security Tips for Your Backups

• Protect cloud storage accounts with strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
• Do not leave backup files in public folders on your server, where anyone could download them.
• Encrypt backups if your site stores sensitive customer data.
• Limit who has access to backups.
• Add a firewall and CDN like Cloudflare to reduce attacks in the first place. See our Cloudflare for WordPress guide.

Backup Checklist

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free WordPress backup plugin?

UpdraftPlus is the most popular free option and supports automatic backups to Google Drive, Dropbox and other cloud storage. WPvivid and BackWPup are good alternatives.

Are my host’s backups enough?

They are a useful first layer, but you should keep at least one copy off-site and under your control in case of server problems or account issues.

How much storage do backups need?

It depends on your media library. Most small sites need a few hundred megabytes to a few gigabytes per backup. Keep an eye on cloud storage limits when keeping multiple versions.

Do backups slow down my website?

Backups use server resources while they run. Schedule them for quiet hours, and use incremental backups for large sites to reduce the load.

Final Thoughts

Setting up automatic website backups takes less than an hour and can save your business from disaster. Use your host’s backups as a first layer, add a plugin or service that stores copies off-site, keep several versions, and test a restore every few months. Then, the next time something breaks, it is a minor inconvenience instead of a crisis. Planning a move? Read our guide to WordPress migration without downtime next.