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A complete WordPress backup includes both your site’s files and its separate database. You can create it with your host, a backup plugin, or a manual export; then keep copies somewhere you can access if the site or hosting account becomes unavailable. Cloud storage and a computer or external drive are storage destinations, not backup systems by themselves.
What a complete WordPress backup includes
WordPress Developer Resources explains that a site backup has two parts: “Database and Files.” The database contains content and settings such as posts, pages, comments, and site configuration. Files include WordPress core, plugins, themes, uploads, configuration, and other site files. A files-only copy generally misses the separate database; a database export alone does not preserve themes, plugins, uploads, or configuration files. WordPress’s backup guidance and its guides to backing up files and backing up the database describe the two components.
For a dependable restore, keep the database export and files together as one matched backup set, created close together in time. If the components come from different dates, the restored files and database may not represent the same version of the site.
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1. Use your hosting provider’s backup tools
Many hosting providers offer backup software, as WordPress notes in its backup documentation. Check your host’s documentation or account dashboard to find out what is included, how often copies are made, how long they are retained, whether they are stored separately from the live site, and how to restore them. These details and the exact steps vary by host.
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- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
2. Use a WordPress backup plugin or service
A backup plugin or service can automate backups and provide a restore workflow. Two documented examples are UpdraftPlus and Jetpack VaultPress Backup. The UpdraftPlus plugin listing describes backup, restore, migration, and remote-storage options for its paid version; its restore tutorial explains its restoration process. Check the current plugin documentation and your plan for the features and storage integrations you intend to use.
Jetpack VaultPress Backup documentation describes daily backups and certain event-triggered backups. The applicable plan, installed plugin, and a working connection affect availability. Review the restore scope before relying on any service, particularly if you have added content since the backup you plan to use.
Rank #2
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
3. Manually back up the files and database
A manual backup requires two separate tasks: export the database and copy the WordPress files. You can export a database through your hosting panel, phpMyAdmin, or MySQL/MariaDB tools, and copy files through a host file manager or an SFTP/FTP client. WordPress provides separate instructions for database backups and file backups; Learn WordPress also walks through backing up a site.
Save the database export alongside the files, with labels that make the site and backup date clear. A directory download alone is not a full backup if the database has not also been exported.
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4. Keep an additional copy in remote storage
Remote storage gives you another place to retrieve a backup if your computer or hosting account is unavailable. WordPress lists services such as Google Drive and Dropbox as possible backup locations in its backup guidance. A plugin may offer integrations, but availability can depend on the plugin version or plan and the storage provider’s current requirements. Confirm that the remote copy contains both the files and database.
5. Download a copy to your computer or external drive
A local copy is independently accessible from your hosting account. Download the complete backup set to a computer; an external drive can serve as an additional physical destination. WordPress recommends keeping a local copy among possible backup locations in its backup guidance. The drive does not create a backup on its own: first create or download a set containing both files and database.
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How to restore without losing newer work
Restoring is not the same as simply opening a downloaded backup. The files must be returned to the site, and the database export must be imported into MySQL or MariaDB. WordPress describes database-first backup and files-first restore as a typical order in its backup guidance.
Before restoring, identify the backup date and consider what has changed on the live site since then. A restore may replace newer content, depending on the tool and the point selected. Jetpack specifically documents that its restore replaces the database with the database from the selected backup; posts or other content added afterward can be lost. Its restore process overwrites files with the same names but does not remove files that have unique names. See Jetpack’s restore documentation for those service-specific effects. Export newer content first if you need to preserve it.
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- Plug-and-play expandability
- SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)
Check that your backup is usable
- Confirm the set contains both the site files and a database export.
- Check that you can access the stored copies rather than relying only on a backup indicator in a dashboard.
- Keep the database export with the corresponding files and note the backup date.
- Understand what your host, plugin, or service will replace during a restore.
- For a service with plan or connection prerequisites, confirm those conditions are met before you need to recover the site.
For WordPress.com’s real-time backup and restore feature, see its platform documentation: Real Time Backup – Automatic WordPress.com Site Backups.
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