beginner7 min read

How to Back Up Your WordPress Site (Free & Automatic Methods)

Never lose your WordPress site again. We show you three backup methods — using your host, a free plugin, and manually — with step-by-step instructions for each.

Published: May 20, 2026

The only thing worse than losing your website is realizing you have no backup when it happens. Backups take 5 minutes to set up and can save you weeks of lost work.

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

Follow the professional standard:

3 copies of your data
2 different storage types (e.g., hosting server + cloud storage)
1 offsite copy (Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3)

UpdraftPlus + remote storage gives you this automatically.

What Gets Backed Up

A complete WordPress backup includes:

Database: all your posts, pages, settings, user accounts, comments
wp-content folder: your theme, plugins, and uploaded images
wp-config.php: your database credentials (critical)

Backup Options Compared

| Method | Cost | Frequency | Effort | |--------|------|-----------|--------| | Host automatic backup | Free (most plans) | Weekly/daily | None | | UpdraftPlus (free) | Free | Custom schedule | 5 min setup | | UpdraftPlus Premium | $70/year | Incremental | Easy | | Jetpack Backup | $9.95/mo | Real-time | Easy | | Manual (FTP + phpMyAdmin) | Free | Manual | High |

How to Restore a Backup

Using UpdraftPlus:

Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups
Click the backup you want to restore
Click Restore
Select what to restore (database, plugins, themes, uploads)
Click Restore — process takes 5–15 minutes

For catastrophic failures (site completely down):

Re-install WordPress fresh on your host
Install UpdraftPlus
Connect your remote storage
Import the backup file and restore

What About Your Host's Built-in Backups?

Host backups are convenient but shouldn't be your only protection:

Hostinger: 7-day or 30-day backups (plan-dependent)
Cloudways: Daily automated off-server backups
WP Engine: Daily backups, 30-day retention
Bluehost: Weekly CodeGuard backup (paid add-on)

Use host backups as a secondary layer, not your primary protection.

Marcus WebbLead Reviewer & Founder

Marcus founded HostPro Reviews after spending 18 months testing web hosting providers across three continents. He has personally migrated over 60 websites between hosts, evaluated 30+ hosting providers across shared, cloud, VPS, managed, and reseller categories, and published 80+ independent reviews since 2022. His methodology uses automated uptime monitoring across 3 global server locations, standardized GTmetrix and Core Web Vitals benchmarks, and live support response-time tracking — never marketing claims. Marcus holds a degree in Computer Engineering and has worked as a full-stack developer for e-commerce, media, and SaaS companies. He has tested reseller hosting platforms, WHM/cPanel environments, and WHMCS billing setups extensively for agencies evaluating white-label hosting income streams. All pricing and feature data is re-verified monthly; articles carry a lastModified timestamp reflecting each verification date. Last methodology review: July 2026.

View all articles →

📋

Free Download

2026 Web Hosting Comparison Cheat Sheet