There are two types of website owners: those who back up their sites, and those who wish they had. A hacked site, a bad plugin update, or a clumsy accidental deletion can wipe out months of work in seconds. A recent backup turns a disaster into an inconvenience.
What Needs to Be Backed Up
A complete WordPress backup has two parts:
- Database — contains all your posts, pages, settings, users, and comments
- Files — your theme, plugins, uploads (images, documents), and WordPress core files
You need both. A database backup without your files (or vice versa) isn’t a full recovery option.
Backup Options
Plugin-Based Backups
Plugins like UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, or Jetpack Backup handle scheduling and storage automatically. UpdraftPlus’s free tier lets you schedule backups and store them to Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3. Set it up once and forget it.
Host-Level Backups
Many hosts — including SERVERIZZ — perform automated server-level backups on a regular schedule. These are convenient but shouldn’t be your only backup. Host backups are designed for disaster recovery, not granular file restoration, and retention periods vary.
Manual Backups via cPanel
cPanel’s Backup Wizard lets you download a full account backup manually. Useful before making major changes, but not a substitute for automated backups.
Best Practices
- Run backups daily if your site is updated frequently; weekly minimum for static sites
- Store backups off-server — not just on the same hosting account
- Keep multiple restore points, not just the most recent backup
- Test your backups periodically by actually restoring to a staging environment
Before Any Major Change
Always run a manual backup before updating WordPress core, themes, or plugins. Conflicts happen, and having a snapshot from five minutes ago is far better than relying on last night’s automated backup.
Automated daily backups are included in SERVERIZZ’s managed hosting plans. Ask us about getting set up.