Perplexity and Burstiness: The Importance of Backing Up Your WordPress Site

WordPress is undeniably one of the most magnificent website builders available on the internet nowadays, providing users with immense flexibility and customizable options for their site. Excitingly, whether you are a blogger, an e-commerce retailer, or a business owner, WordPress has got you covered, making website building a whole lot easier and affordable than before.

However, the thought of losing your website’s data due to malicious attacks or server crashes either can be an utter nightmare for any website owner. It is, therefore, vital to learn how you can backup your WordPress site to your computer correctly.

Step 1: Install a Backup Plugin

Firstly, you need to install a backup plugin that suits your needs. There are numerous backup plugins available, both free and paid that you can select from. With these plugins, you can automate the backup process, backing up your files to a remote backup location or your local machine. Popular backup plugins include UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, and VaultPress.

You need to follow the provided instructions in the plugin’s user interface to set up the backup process, which involves configuring the backup destination, scheduling backup intervals, and selecting the files to backup and exclude.

Step 2: Create a Local Backup

After installing the backup plugin, you can start creating a local backup, which is the backup file saved in your computer’s hard drive, available any time you need it.

To create a local backup, go to the backup plugin and click ‘create backup.’ The plugin then starts the backup process. The completion time may vary depending on your website’s size.

Once the backup process is complete, download the backup file to your computer, usually saved as a compressed file, such as .zip, .tar, or .gz. You can right-click on the backup file and select ‘Download’ or ‘Save as’ to start the download process.

Step 3: Safely Store the Backup File

Now that you have a local backup of your website, it is vital to store the backup file safely in a location with minimum chances of data loss or corruption. Storing the backup file in a separate hard drive, cloud storage service, an external hard drive, or USB drive is essential.

Cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive offer free or paid storage plans that enable users to store files securely, accessible anywhere in the world. You can drag-and-drop the backup file into the app or website to upload it to the cloud storage service. Alternatively, you can store the backup file in an external hard drive or USB outside your home or office, mainly if they are prone to theft or natural disasters.

Step 4: Test the Backup

Testing the backup file is crucial to verify accuracy; hence, you need to make sure the file functions correctly can restore it in case of data loss or website issues. To test the backup, you need to restore the file to a local server or staging site.

Restoring the backup file to a local server involves setting up a local web server on the computer or using a localhost app such as XAMPP or WAMP. After the setup process is complete, upload the backup file to the server, then restore it using the backup plugin’s restore feature.

Similarly, you can restore the backup file to a staging site or a subdomain of your live site. A staging site is a copy of your live site where you can test changes and updates without affecting the live site. Once the backup file is restored, you can verify all the files, data, and settings to check if they are accurately restored.

Conclusion

Backing up your WordPress site to your computer is a crucial step towards website security and reliability. By following the above steps, you can easily create a local backup of your website, store it safely and test it for functionality. This ensures that you always have a working backup of your website, enabling you to restore it quickly in case of issues or data loss, thus allowing for smooth website operations.