How WordPress backups work

A backup is a saved copy of your entire website, all the content, design, and settings. If anything ever goes wrong (a bad update, a hacked site, accidental deletion), a backup lets you restore everything to how it was. This guide explains how backups work and what you should have in place.

What a backup contains

A complete WordPress backup has two parts:

WordPress files

Your theme files (design)
Plugin files
Uploaded images and documents
WordPress core files

The database

All your content: pages, posts, comments
Settings and configurations
User accounts
WooCommerce orders (if applicable)

You need both parts for a complete restore. A backup of just the files (without the database) isn't enough on its own, and neither is a database backup without the files.

Where backups come from

Your hosting provider

Most managed WordPress hosts include automatic backups:

Host	Backup frequency	Retention
Flywheel	Daily (every night)	30 days
WP Engine	Daily	30 days
Kinsta	Daily	14 days on many plans (up to 30 days on higher plans)

These figures come from each host's own help pages and can change, so check your hosting dashboard to confirm your backup settings and how to restore. Most hosts also let you trigger a manual backup before a major update.

Hosting backups can disappear if you change hosts

Your hosting provider's backups are stored on their servers. If you cancel your hosting account, those backups may be deleted. Keep your own copy of important backups separately.

Backup plugins

A backup plugin runs on your WordPress site and creates backups on a schedule. Well-known options include UpdraftPlus, Jetpack VaultPress Backup, and Solid Backups (which is being renamed Kadence Backups). The key is storing backups off-site (in a cloud service like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3) not just on your hosting server (if the server is compromised, those backups are too).

Chykalophia's care plan

If we manage your site, backup management is included in your care plan. We configure reliable daily backups stored off-site and can restore your site if needed.

Manual backups before updates

For major updates, take a fresh manual backup right before you start:

Log in to your hosting dashboard (Flywheel, WP Engine, Kinsta, etc.) and look for a Backups section. Most hosts have a "Back up now" or "Create backup" button. If your host asks for a description or note, give it a clear label so you can identify it later (e.g., "Pre-update 2024-03-15").

How to restore from a backup

Restoring a backup depends on where it's stored and which tool created it.

Via your host: Log in to your hosting dashboard, go to the Backups section, find the backup you want, and click Restore (or similar). Most hosts walk you through the process step by step.

Via a backup plugin: Open the plugin in your WordPress dashboard and follow its restore steps. If you can't reach the dashboard, the process depends on the plugin, so check its own documentation or ask us.

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.

Test your backups before you need them

It's worth doing a test restore to a staging site at least once. You want to know the process works before you're in a panic situation. We do this for all care plan clients.

How often should you back up?

Site type	Recommended backup frequency
Blog or brochure site (rarely updated)	Weekly
Active blog or regularly updated site	Daily
E-commerce store	Daily or more (orders can come in at any time)
Site undergoing development or updates	Before every major change

Common questions

My hosting says I have backups, is that enough?

It's a good start. But we recommend also having a plugin-based backup stored off-site as a second layer. Hosting backups can sometimes be unavailable (during a host outage, for example), and having a second copy in your own cloud storage gives you independence.

How big are WordPress backups?

It depends on your site, and especially on how many images and other files you've uploaded. A site with a large media library can run to several gigabytes.

Can I download a copy of my backup?

Yes, hosting providers and backup plugins typically let you download a copy, often as a ZIP file. We recommend downloading a copy periodically and storing it somewhere safe.

What's the difference between a full backup and a database-only backup?

A database-only backup captures your content and settings but not your theme, plugins, or uploaded files. It's smaller and faster but incomplete. Always aim for a full backup before major changes.

Learn more

WordPress backups: official documentationdeveloper.wordpress.org