Our post on WordPress backups covered the strategy. This one is the step-by-step setup for daily, automatic, off-site backups using free tools. After this is done, you can forget about backups — until the day you need one.
Step 1: Install UpdraftPlus
WordPress → Plugins → Add New → search “UpdraftPlus” → Install Now → Activate.
The free version covers everything most blogs need. Premium ($70/year) adds incremental backups, more destinations, and migrations.
Step 2: Connect remote storage
Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Settings tab.
Pick a remote storage location. Options:
- Google Drive (free up to 15 GB).
- Dropbox (free up to 2 GB).
- Microsoft OneDrive.
- Amazon S3 (cheap, pay-as-you-go).
- Backblaze B2 (cheapest at scale).
- FTP / SFTP (any server with FTP).
For most bloggers, Google Drive is easiest. The free 15 GB holds many months of backups for a typical blog.
Connecting Google Drive
- Click “Google Drive” in the remote storage list.
- Save changes.
- UpdraftPlus prompts you to authorize. Click the link.
- Sign in with your Google account.
- Grant access to UpdraftPlus.
- You’ll be redirected back to your WordPress site. The connection is now active.
Step 3: Set the backup schedule
Still in Settings tab.
Two schedules: files and database. Recommended:
- Files backup schedule: Daily. Retain last 30 backups (or “Manual” to keep last 30 days).
- Database backup schedule: Daily. Retain last 30 backups.
If your site has high update volume (e.g., publishing multiple posts per day), shorter schedules can be considered. For most blogs, daily is fine.
Step 4: Select what to back up
Scroll to “Include in files backup”:
- Plugins: ✓
- Themes: ✓
- Uploads: ✓
- Any other directories under wp-content: ✓
Don’t exclude any of these. Each contributes to a complete restore.
Step 5: Email notifications
Scroll to “Email” setting. Add your email address. UpdraftPlus will email you when backups complete (or fail). Failures are the important notification — they tell you something needs fixing.
Step 6: Save changes
Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the settings page.
Step 7: Run a manual backup to test
Go to the “Backup / Restore” tab. Click “Backup Now.”
UpdraftPlus will run a full backup. Watch it complete (usually 1–10 minutes depending on site size).
Verify in your Google Drive that backup files appeared.
Step 8: Test the restore
This is the step everyone skips. Don’t.
The best test: restore your backup to a staging environment.
- Set up a staging copy of your site (most managed hosts include this).
- Install UpdraftPlus on staging.
- From the Backup/Restore tab on staging, restore from the same Google Drive.
- Verify the staging site comes up looking like your real site.
If you don’t have staging, you can do this on a local WordPress install (Local by Flywheel, free).
Once the restore test works once, you know your backups are real. You only need to retest annually or after major changes.
Step 9: Forget about it
The backup runs daily. UpdraftPlus emails you only on failure. You don’t need to think about backups again until something goes wrong.
Common issues and fixes
Backup runs out of memory
Large sites can exceed PHP memory limits during backup. Fix in UpdraftPlus settings → “Expert settings” → reduce the chunk size, or ask your host to increase PHP memory limit.
Google Drive authorization expires
Happens occasionally. UpdraftPlus emails you when it does. Re-authorize from settings.
Backup files too large for free Google Drive
If your site has accumulated lots of uploads (large image library, video files), 15 GB fills up. Options:
- Reduce retention to 7 days instead of 30.
- Pay for more Google Drive storage ($1.99/month for 100 GB).
- Switch to S3 or Backblaze B2.
Backups complete but don’t appear in remote storage
Usually an authorization issue. Re-test the connection from UpdraftPlus settings.
The “should I also use my host’s backups” question
Yes. Most managed WordPress hosts run daily backups automatically. Use both:
- Host backups: fast restore if your host’s infrastructure is fine.
- UpdraftPlus to off-site: survives if your entire host has problems.
Belt and suspenders. The redundancy is the point.
Alternative: BlogVault
If you want something more polished than UpdraftPlus, BlogVault is the premium option ($89/year). Advantages:
- Backups run off-site (BlogVault’s servers, not yours).
- Faster restores.
- Easier migration between hosts.
- Built-in malware scanning.
Worth the cost for monetized blogs. Overkill for hobby blogs.
The “what about the WordPress.org built-in export” question
Tools → Export gives you XML of posts, pages, and comments. Useful as a quick “save the content” backup but not a real backup — it doesn’t include theme, plugins, settings, or uploads.
Use it as a supplement, not the primary backup.
Backup retention strategy
30 days is the standard recommendation. Reasons:
- Some problems aren’t noticed for weeks.
- 30 days gives you room to go back if needed.
- Older backups can be deleted to save storage.
If you have unlimited storage, keep longer. If storage is tight, 14 days is the absolute minimum acceptable.
The monthly check
Once a month:
- Visit Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Existing Backups tab.
- Verify recent backups are present.
- Verify backup sizes are reasonable (not zero, not suspiciously small).
- Check Google Drive (or wherever) to confirm files are uploaded.
5 minutes per month. Catches the rare cases where backups silently fail.
The honest summary
Install UpdraftPlus. Connect Google Drive. Set daily backups with 30-day retention. Test a restore once. Check monthly that backups are running. This is a 30-minute setup that protects you forever from data loss. The single highest-leverage thing you can do for site resilience.
