--- title: "How To Backup Your WordPress Website" source: "https://docs.nexcess.com/software/kadence/backup-site/" description: "Backing up a WordPress site is essential for any major update, theme change, or plugin installation. A website is a valuable asset, and having a recent backup i…" vertical: "Software" area: "Kadence" date: "2020-11-10" last_modified: "2026-08-13" --- # How To Backup Your WordPress Website Backing up a WordPress site is essential for any major update, theme change, or plugin installation. A website is a valuable asset, and having a recent backup is the best way to protect it. While a manual backup is a good practice before a major change, having scheduled automatic backups is highly recommended for ongoing security. Table of Contents - [Choosing a Backup Solution](#h-choosing-a-backup-solution) - [Creating a Manual Backup with UpdraftPlus](#h-creating-a-manual-backup-with-updraftplus) - [Installing the UpdraftPlus Plugin](#h-installing-the-updraftplus-plugin) - [Performing the Backup](#h-performing-the-backup) - [Restoring a Site from a Backup](#h-restoring-a-site-from-a-backup) ### Choosing a Backup Solution There are many WordPress plugins for creating backups, with options ranging from free to robust premium solutions. - **[Solid Backups](https://solidwp.com/backups/):** (We highly recommend **Solid Backups** as the most robust and full-featured WordPress backup plugin available. As part of the SolidWP suite, it provides automated schedules, secure cloud storage, and one-click restoration.) - **[UpdraftPlus](https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/)**: (Offers free functionality that can be used for quick backups.) - **[Duplicator](https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/)**: - **[WPvivid](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpvivid-backuprestore/)**: While this guide will show you how to use the **free** **UpdraftPlus** plugin to create a quick, full website backup that can be recovered, you can learn more about a comprehensive solution here: [Solid Backups Documentation](/software/kadence/solid/backups/getting-started-with-solid-backups/). ### Creating a Manual Backup with UpdraftPlus This process involves installing the UpdraftPlus plugin and creating a full backup of your website’s files and database. #### Installing the UpdraftPlus Plugin 1. In your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to **Plugins > Add New Plugin**. 2. Use the search bar to find **UpdraftPlus**. 3. Once you locate the plugin named **UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin**, click the **Install Now** button. 4. After installation, click the **Activate** button to complete the process. ![Getting UpDraft Plus](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Getting-UpDraft-Plus-scaled-1.jpg)#### Performing the Backup Once installed, UpdraftPlus will add a new item to the **Settings** menu. 1. Navigate to **Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups** in your WordPress Dashboard. 2. In the main window, click the blue **Backup Now** button. 3. A pop-up window will appear. Make sure both the **Include your database in the backup** and **Include your files in the backup** checkboxes are selected. 4. Click the **Backup Now** button within the pop-up window to begin the process. ![Backup Settings](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Backup-Settings-1024x786-1.jpg) ![Updraft Backup](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Updraft-Backup-scaled-1.jpg)The backup will run in the background. You can monitor its progress from the main UpdraftPlus page. Once the backup is complete, a full backup set will appear in the **Existing Backups** list below. ![Updraft Zip Files](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Updraft-Zip-Files-scaled-1.jpg)This backup set includes five different file types that represent all parts of your website: - **Database:** This file contains all your website’s core content, users, and settings. - **Plugins:** This file contains all of your installed plugins. - **Themes:** This file contains all of your installed themes. - **Uploads:** This file contains all of your images and media files. - **Others:** This file contains any other directories in your `wp-content` folder. - *(If your site includes must-use plugins, UpdraftPlus will also create an additional ZIP file for them. If your site does not include must-use plugins, this will not show up for your backup.)* Click on each of the available buttons under your backup entry to download the respective `.zip` files. After you have downloaded all five files, you can save them in a folder on your computer or an external storage service. For security reasons, it’s a good practice to then **remove the backup from your web server** to free up space. ![Saved files](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Saved-files-1024x434-1.jpg) Once the files are properly saved and secure, you have successfully saved a backup of your website. > **Tip:** The Backup Process may take some time depending on the size of your website. You should keep your browser window open until the backup is complete. ### Restoring a Site from a Backup In the event of a site issue, a previous backup can be used to restore your website to a working state. 1. Navigate to **UpdraftPlus Backups** in your WordPress Dashboard. 2. If the backup is not already in the **Existing Backups** list, click the **Upload backup files** link to upload the backup files you downloaded to your computer. Once all of the ZIP files are uploaded, they will populate a backup item. ![Restoring Backup ZIP files](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Restoring-Backup-ZIP-files.gif) 3. Once the backup item appears in the **Existing Backups** list, find the one you need to restore. It’s a good idea to choose the most recent working backup. ![Restore Website](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Restore-Website-scaled-1.jpg) - Restoring this early can cause issues with the restoration, so it is important to double-check and ensure you have uploaded all of the required files. (Must-use plugins are not always applicable, but the rest are.) 4. Click the **Restore** button next to the desired backup. ![Restore Website](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Restore-Website-scaled-1.jpg) 5. A pop-up window will appear, asking which components you would like to restore. Make sure all components are selected and click **Next**. ![Restore All Files](https://docs.nexcess.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Restore-All-Files.jpg) UpdraftPlus will restore your website using the files from the backup. > **Important:** Restoring a backup will overwrite your current files and database, returning your site to the state it was in at the time the backup was created.