Worried about how to back up your website?
How to back up your site with a plug in.
This one is very easy!! You just need a free plug in (like an app for WordPress) to do the backups for you. You set it up and run it once (super easy, if it takes you longer than 15 minutes, you’ve gone off the rails). Here’s the step by step:
Go to your wordpress dashboard. (If you don’t know how to log in to WordPress, read this.)
I recommend using Updraft Plus.
It’s free and very easy to set up. You set it up once and then run back ups (just clicking a button) every week or so, and you’re good to go. Here’s how to do it:
1. Go to your WordPress dashboard. (If you don’t have WordPress set up yet, you can follow these step by step instructions for setting up your website.)
2. Go to Plugins > Add New
3. There’s a search box at the top right. Type in Updraft Plus.
4. There are a few different Updraft plug ins. We need the one that’s for backups. It should say ‘UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin.’ Click ‘Install Now’ and then ‘Activate.’ Now, the backup plug in is live on your DIY website.
5. To set it up and run the first backup, go to Plugins on your WordPress dashboard. Scroll down until you find Updraft. Click on Settings and follow the instructions to set everything up. If you get stuck or you’re not sure, don’t worry, because Updraft has customer support. And no, you don’t need premium for right now.
6. Once a week or so, open up the settings on the plug in (like you just did in step 5) and click the big blue ‘backup now’ button. I also do this before and after I make changes on my site, just in case.
That’s it!! Your DIY website is all backed up and ready to go. If anything happens or breaks accidentally (never through user error, of course!!), you’ll be covered.
How to back up your site through your hosting.
As an alternative, you can also fully back up your website through your hosting company. If you’re using SiteGround (my personal favorite for hosting), they make it super simple for you:
- Log in to your SiteGround account.
- Go to Site Tools > Security.
- Look for Backups.
- Click Creat & Restore.
- Just fill in the backup name and then click Create, and you’re all set!
With SiteGround, you can create up to 5 free instant backups per site, per month. I try to do one a week, so that usually leaves you with an extra one, just in case. I also do a backup right before I make any changes to my site. And, of course, I always back up right after I add a bunch of new content, like blog articles.
