Backups on WP Engine

WP Engine backs up your site automatically every day and calls each saved copy a backup point (or checkpoint). Each environment (Production, Staging, Development) has its own backups.

How WP Engine Backup Points work

WP Engine automatically takes backup points on a daily schedule. Each backup point captures:

Your WordPress files: your theme, plugins, uploads, and WordPress core. WP Engine leaves out a few things, such as cache folders, log files and other backup files.
Your WordPress database: content, settings, users, orders, and all other data.

WP Engine keeps at least 30 days of backups on every plan. If you need a backup older than the ones shown in the User Portal, WP Engine support may be able to help.

Viewing your Backup Points

Log in to the WP Engine User Portal at my.wpengine.com.

Open the Sites page and click the environment's name (usually your Production environment, or whichever environment you want to check).

Click Backups in the environment's menu. You may need to expand the Manage section first.

View the list of backup points for that environment.

Creating a manual Backup Point

Before a major update or change, create a manual backup:

Open the Backups page for your site's Production environment.

Click Create backup.

Add a backup description to identify the backup (e.g. "Before plugin updates May 2026"), enter the email address to notify when it's done, then click Create.

Wait for the backup to complete. A banner shows while it's running, and you'll get an email when it's finished. The new backup then appears in your list.

Restoring a Backup Point

Restoring overwrites your current site

When you restore a backup point, the current version of your site is replaced with the backed-up version. Any changes since that backup will be lost. Contact us before restoring if you're unsure.

A restore puts back the whole backup copy, so anything that happened after it goes with it: the problem, which is the point, and your own work in between, which is the cost. That is why we often try a more targeted fix first, and why we tell you the cutoff date before we restore.

Read this as text

Take an example. A backup is taken two days ago. Yesterday you publish a blog post. Today something goes wrong with the site.

A full restore is not always the first response to that. We often try a more targeted fix first, for smaller problems, like a single deleted page or a broken plugin, that may be all it takes. A restore is the right call when a problem is serious enough to warrant it: an update that broke the site and cannot quickly be undone, content deleted at scale, or a hack.

A restore returns your site to the backup copy, so everything after the backup was taken is undone: today’s problem, which is the reason a restore fixes anything, and yesterday’s blog post, which is what it costs. That post is what you re-add afterwards, and we tell you the cutoff date before we start so you know what there is to re-add.

Open the Backups page for the environment in the User Portal.

Find the backup point you want to restore: the one taken just before the problem occurred.

Open the three-dot menu next to that backup point and select Restore.

Decide whether to include the database, using the Restore with database option. The database holds your posts, pages, users, orders and some settings.

Click Restore. The restore can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the size of your site. WP Engine emails you when it's done.

Verify your site. Open your website in a fresh browser tab and check it's working correctly.

Downloading a backup

WP Engine lets you download a backup point as a ZIP file, either the full backup or just parts of it (such as the database or your uploads). This is useful for keeping a local copy or for migrating to another host. Open the three-dot menu next to a backup point and select Prepare ZIP. When it's ready, click Download ZIP next to it. On WP Engine, a prepared ZIP stays available to download for up to 7 days.

Common questions

How many Backup Points are kept?

WP Engine keeps at least 30 days of backups. If you need an older backup than the portal shows, contact WP Engine support.

Are staging and development environments backed up separately?

Yes. Each WP Engine environment (Production, Staging, Development) has its own independent backup history.

Can I schedule more frequent backups?

WP Engine takes automatic backups once a day. Before a risky change, create a manual backup (see above). If your site needs more frequent backups, talk to us about the options.

What if I need to restore just one file, not the whole site?

WP Engine's automatic restore brings back the whole environment. To restore a single folder or file, download the backup ZIP (a partial one is fine), take out what you need, and upload it back to the site over SFTP. Contact us for help with this.

Learn more

WP Engine: Backup and restorewpengine.com