In some cases, you need to restore the backup of the website. Maybe your WordPress website is hacked, or there are problems during the update. In any case, a regular backup of your website is the best way to ensure that you will never lose any important data.
Fortunately, there are more than one way to back up and restore the WordPress website. Understanding the working principle of each method will enable you to decide which option to use.
In this article, we will carefully study the reasons why you need to back up the WordPress website. Then we will discuss different types of backup and help you determine which method is best for you. Let’s start working!
Why do you need to restore your website
Each website can benefit from multiple recent backups you can recover from it. These saved files are your security network to prevent problems. If you run a website, you know that it will happen sooner or later.
The following are some scenes you may need to back up:
- [
- 123] Your website is hacked. You can simply restore backup, rather than trying to re -obtain control over the WordPress administrator.
- Plug -in/theme conflict caused your website to collapse. You can spend hours to resolve plug -in and theme conflicts, or you can simply restore your website’s latest backup.
- Adding the code to the WordPress file will cause errors. In many cases, if the code itself has a problem, adding the custom code to the WordPress file may cause errors. When this happens, restoring the nearest backup is guaranteed.
- You are not satisfied with website update. You can restore the backup made before these changes , instead of trying to manually restore your website to the previous state.
One thing in common is that if they are closer, they are the best effect. If you only back up your website every month, if you have changed a lot from then, the copy may be useless.
Ideally, you should back up your website every time you change. This seems a bit overkill, but this is the best way to ensure that you will not lose anything on your website. If you are worried about storage, make sure you choose a backup tool containing a large amount of storage space (preferably no additional cost!), Or you can integrate with non -on -site storage solutions such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
Overall, back up your WordPress website as much as possible without any disadvantages. However, before you start working, it is important to understand multiple types of website backups. Let’s take a look at them.
Different types of website backup and recovery options
Traditionally, website backup is a complete copy of all its content. When you fully backup the WordPress website, you are creating a copy of the entire website and its files and its database.
We say \”complete\” because this is not the only backup type you can create. Modern tools allow you to control a large number of files that can be copied and recovered.
The three most common website backup types are:
[
123] Complete website backup.
- This type of backup will create a complete copy of your website, including its database.
- Some sites backup.
- incremental site backup.
- Generally speaking, complete website backups are always better than some of the copy. If your website fails or is hacked by hackers, they are also a better choice. In these cases, restoring the full site backup means that you roll back the clock to the early version of the website, including its files and databases.
Part of the backup will create a specific part of the copy on your website. Using WordPress, you can back up the database instead of the site file, or just create a copy of the existing plug -in and theme, and other options.
Some WordPress backup tools can detect changes between your site at a restore point and the previous restore point. In this way, they can see which documents and contents are new or updated, and they simply back up these changes.
The disadvantage of the complete site backup is that they occupy more storage space. In addition, if you are running a site containing a lot of content and files, it may take a while to create them.
Partial preparationThe portion is a good way to solve the plug -in and theme problems. If you plan to switch themes or try new tools, you can back up the existing configuration and roll back when you encounter any errors.
Finally, you have incremental or real -time backup. Although they are not suitable for all hosts or plugins, they can provide you with a beautiful experience. They can be faster and reduce the possibility of overtime due to the expansion of the server.
Five methods of creating and restoring WordPress backup
1. Restore a CPANEL host backup
CPANEL is the most popular custody control panel in the sharing plan. This panel includes many options and tools that enable you to perform all operations from installing WordPress to access file managers and creating/recovering backup.
If your network custodian service provider provides you with a CPANEL account, please continue to log in. You should see a large number of tools divided according to the category. Looking for a part of Files
, which should include a
backup manager option:
Open it open
, You will be able to access one or more backup tools, depending on the CPANEL settings you use. In most cases, if you need some additional help, you should have a backup creation and recovery option, and a guide: If you click
CPANEL backup
Tool, you will see the option to the full site backup. CPANEL will store these files for several days, depending on how your virtual host configures its settings.
You can use these preserved copies to restore backup from the same window to select files from your computer and upload it. CPANEL also provides you with options for restoring database backup files and email server configurations:
If any of the above items sound confusing, we recommend using CPANEL’s backup guide tool. This will guide you to create or restore the complete or partial backup of the website, and explain each part of the process:
PleaseIt must be noted that not each CPANEL setting looks the same or contains the same tools. Each network host can configure their CPANEL to limit the function that users can access.
In some cases, due to limited server resources, your network host may choose to disable the option to create manual backup (which is more common in the sharing plan). If this is the case, you may need to choose a manual website recovery method.
2. Use CPANEL to create manual backup
As we mentioned earlier, CPANEL allows you to access the file manager tool. This enables you to access the file directory of the server. The most important thing is to access your WordPress root
folder.
Gen
The folder contains all the files of your website, including media documents, plug -ins, themes and configurations.
To visit the file manager, please log in to your CPANEL account and transfer to the
file [] 123] → File Manager . After selecting this option, you will see an overview of the server directory. Find the folder named public_html ,
www
or your site name: That is your WordPress website [ 123] root folder. Open it at will and browse its content, but don’t edit or delete any files, unless you determine what they are doing. To back up the folder, select it and click to The options on the top menu of the file manager:
[
[ 123] Gen The folder will be ed as a compressed file, you can store it in any position you want until you are ready to restore it. If you need to do this, return the file manager and open the same directory where the root folder is located (the one you see above). Before we backup, it is worth noting that you can also a single folder instead of the entire root
directory. In some cases, you may just want to back up plug -in, themes and/or media files. You can find all these components in the directory of
The theme, plug -in and uploaded files have their own directory, you can see in the screenshot above. To back up any of these components alone, just these folders and store them like conventional backup.
To restore the backup you created, please delete
root folder on the server and select Upload the options on the menu top menu at the top of the screen. Unzip and upload the directory you saved to your computer, and then wait for the process to complete. Because you want to upload hundreds of files, it may take a while. Or, if you only back up one or more folders, you can simply replace the wordpress root . This will not affect the rest of the site’s configuration or content -it will only return the plug -in, theme and/or media files to the previous state.
root folder is only half of the entire process. You also need to the copy of the database for complete backup. For this reason, please return to the main CPANEL screen and turn to
databases → phpmyadmin
:
] PHPMYADMIN is a database management tool that can be used to access and edit tables. After opening it, you will see a menu containing one or more databases, depending on the number of sites you have. By selecting options with a database name, the database to be back on the left uses a menu on the left. You will see the overview of the database table, and the menu on the top of the screen, which contains an option called Export : Click Export to export
and select
The options on the next screen. format : to SQL and click
Go
This will the copy of the database in .sql format to your computer. If you need to restore the copy of the database, you can also complete it through PHPMYADMIN. Just turn to
Import
tab, selectPass the database file, then click GO :
If you only manually restore the database or
root
folder, your The website will not return to the previous state. To successfully restore, you need
These two
components. This makes this manual method very time -consuming. In addition, it requires you to store all backup files in a safe position and organize them to avoid confusion.
This method is with the previous method with the previous method Similar, because you the files of the site manually. The main difference is that you will use the file transmission protocol (FTP) client instead of performing this operation through your CPANEL.
The advantage of using FTP is that it is optimized to help you a large number of files. In addition, it is less likely to make mistakes than using the CPANEL file manager.
First, you need a FTP client and the credentials connected to your WordPress website. Please note that these FTP account credits are different from the credentials you use to log in to WordPress or host control panel.
In most cases, your virtual main opportunity will set a set of unique FTP credentials for you when you register. If you don’t know what they are, you can find them on the host control panel: After getting FTP credentials, you can use them through clients such as Filezilla and other clients Log in to your server. When you connect to the server, you will see all the directory you have to access. WordPress root folder should be in it:
Right -click root directory and select [[
123]
Options. This will the entire folder and its content to your computer, you can store it anywhere you want until you need it.
To restore this backup, you need to access your server via FTP, find
root
folder and delete it. Then, upload the version you ed before, everything goes well. Remember, it takes some time to upload and the entire
root
directory because we talk about hundreds of files. But this may be a great choice to restore and replace a single file (such as plug -in or theme) without deleting the entire
root
folder.
4. Use WordPress to enter the stage
Some network hosts provide a function called \”on stage\”. This means that they can make a copy of a website that cannot be available for the public. Before pushing these changes to \”production\” or real -time environment, you can use temporary sites for development purposes, such as testing new functions.
The website on stage can be used as a backup. You can use them to make any changes you have made on the real -time site. If they do not work, you can delete the temporary storage site without any problems.
Whether you have the right to access the temporary storage function depends on the network custody service you use. Generally speaking, most shared hosting plans do not provide temporary storage function, but if you use the hosting WordPress hosting, you may be able to access the temporary storage function:
According to experience, we It is recommended to use temporary tools to test any major changes to your website. This can help you ensure that your website will not interrupt due to unpredictable situations when updating. Any competent network developer will tell you the same thing -you should use a temporary website.
5. Use plug -ins such as Jetpack Backup You can use a large number of WordPress backup plugins. These tools can help you create a security copy on the website, including all its files and databases.
After installing and activating Jetpack Backup, you need to connect it to the WordPress.com account to access its function:
Connect your website to Jetpack Later, you will see the summarization of the backup so far, and the option to or restore any of them:
You can also access the event log, this log will be andTour all the changes you made on the website. Therefore, if you want to roll back to the problem (such as hacker or plug -in update), you only need to choose the backup before the event. Super simple!
How to restore the WordPress website without backup
In fact, there is no reason not to back up your website. However, if you eventually have no backup solution and need to restore some websites, there are some ways to restore the lost content, which is attributed to the magic of the Internet. You may have noticed that when you use Google to search for a website, sometimes you see the option to access the cache version of the page. To access the cache copy, click the three points next to any entry in the Google search result, and then a window containing the website information will pop up. If you look at the bottom of the window, you will see a button display
cached
Click the button to open the cache version of the related website will open the related website Essence At the top of the screen, you will see information about making the copy:
Please remember that you will not be able to browse the entire cache copy like a conventional website. If you want to find a specific page to be recovered, you need to use Google search and cross your finger search engine to store its latest copy.
If you find the cache copy of the required page, you can try to use the WordPress editor to re -create it. This means copying all texts and ing and uploading images to ensure that the new copy is loyal to the original copy as much as possible.
Please note that Google may not have a copy of the page you tried to recover. In this case, your next best choice is to use the Wayback Machine of Internet Archive. This is a website that is specially used to store other websites, so it may only be your one:
To use Wayback Machine Return a timeline, including any copy of your website on its server. you maySelect a copy to be accessed by using the calendar below the timeline:
Select a date, you will visit the copy on your website. Unlike Google, Wayback Machine allows you to browse the entire website copy as usual. In this way, you can restore any number of pages as needed.
Remember, Wayback Machine may
No
The copy of your website depends on its popularity. If not, the best thing you can do is to set WordPress backup solutions immediately so that you will not lose the content in the future.
- How to do after restoring WordPress backup
- If you need to restore WordPress backup, the job is not completed after your website is restored to normal. According to the reasons you restore this backup, you may also need to further protect your WordPress website. After hacking, it is difficult to determine how the attacker enters. However, in most cases, the reason is attributed to one of the following reasons:
- It is easy to crack management credentials. If your administrator account is called
- , then you need to change it immediately. Similarly, you need to use a safe and unique password for your account, and you need to change it regularly.
- By default, many WordPress network hosts use the same prefix for your website’s database. This means that the attacker may be able to use SQL injection to identify and attack it. You can prevent this by changing the database prefix and name.
admin
Poor database security.
Overdue version of WordPress.
If you use the outdated version of WordPress, continue to update it after restoring the backup. Ideally, using a temporary environment to ensure that the update will not destroy your site.
Over -out plug -in and/or themes.
Over -out plug -in and themes are one of the main ways of being hacked by the WordPress website. The older the code, the more likely the attacker will find the security vulnerability.
The main priority after restoring the backup is to ensure that any security vulnerabilities enable the attacker to access your site. If they do it once, they may do this again unless you are more proactive in WordPress security. In addition, you need to check whether your website lacks new content and whether all its core functions are intactEssence If you create regular backup, you should not lose any content. If so, you may need to re -create this content or use the Google caching method we have discussed earlier.
How to avoid we need WordPress backup
We will never tell you
Do not back up your website, but the best backup type is the backup you will never need to use Essence In other words, if you can avoid errors and improve your security when updating the site, then you may never need to restore WordPress backup.
Considering this, let’s talk about the best practices you can follow to keep your website the best state.
1. Regularly update WordPress WordPress website sometimes \”collapse\” because of the outdated version of the content management system (CMS), plug -in or theme. The older the software, the more likely you will encounter errors. This is generally applicable to WordPress.
Ideally, you should always check the WordPress dashboard to see if your website has available updates. Just navigate to
tab and quickly view:
If you want to play it more safely, We recommend using the temporary version of your website to run for update. In this way, you can check if there is any problem after the update, which may sometimes occur in the main WordPress version, or you update a lot of plug -in at a time.
Some tools, such as Jetpack, can also let you open the automatic update of the plug -in and theme. Therefore, you don’t have to check new updates manually. This can ensure that you always use the latest version of the tool that your website relies on
2. Improve the security of your website
One of the main reasons for backup is that they can help you be in Websites re -control the website when they are invaded by hackers. If someone can take care of your account, they can lock you in except for the WordPress administrator. Except for contacting your hosting service provider, you have almost no pursuit.
If you have the recent backup, you can simply restore your website to some point before the attack. Since you have to restore the database, your account will return to its previous credentials, and then you can update it later.
If you are using JetPack, you can restore backup even if you cannot access your website. The plug -in can even restore you from mobile devices. You can also use JetPacK enables dual identity verification (2FA) and violent attack protection.
3. Use temporary sites to make major changes to WordPress
- The use of temporary websites will greatly reduce the chance of WordPress backup.
- Ideally, you should use temporary websites when needed:
- Update the WordPress version. The main WordPress update may not be able to use it well with your plug -in and themes, so it is best to use them for temporary sites.
- Update multiple plug -in and themes. If you want to update multiple tools at the same time, it is best to do so on temporary sites to reduce risks.
major changes to the style or configuration of the site.
If you plan to make any major content or style changes to the website, use the temporary environment. In this way, if you are not satisfied with the results, you don’t have to be manually restored.
If your virtual host does not provide a temporary storage function, you may need to consider switching to other providers.
How to set WordPress backup
In most cases, we recommend using WordPress plug -in so that you can completely control how to back up your website. Jetpack backup is doing this. According to your registered plan, the plug -in can provide real -time and automatic backup.
Use Jetpack, your site is backup and stored on the WordPress.com server, which is one of the safest places where they can exist. You can also restore backup from WordPress.com mobile applications. If you are locked by the website, this is an ideal choice.
We believe that Jetpack Backup is the best WordPress backup solution because it can protect every change you make, protect the backup files at different places, and can easily recover even if your site is completely closed.
Use Jetpack Backup to protect your site.
