How to Back Up a WordPress Site in 2026 (3 Methods, Ranked)

There are three ways to back up a WordPress site: your host does it for you, a plugin does it, or you do it manually. The right answer depends almost entirely on which host you're on.

If you're on a managed WordPress host like Kinsta, Rocket.net, or WP Engine, daily backups are already running in the background — you may not need a plugin at all. If you're on shared hosting, you need a plugin. If you're the cautious type, you want both.

This guide covers all three methods, in order of what I'd actually recommend.

Method 1: Host-Level Backups (The Best Option If You Have It)

Managed WordPress hosts handle backups at the server level, outside WordPress entirely. That means backups happen whether your site is broken or not — including if a bad plugin update wipes your admin access.

Kinsta

Kinsta runs automatic daily backups on all plans, with retention ranging from 14 to 30 days depending on plan tier. You can restore with one click from the MyKinsta dashboard — no plugin, no SSH, no FTP.

What Kinsta charges extra for: Hourly backups and external backup destinations (Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3) are paid add-ons, not something you get free by being on a higher plan. Manual on-demand backups are included at no extra cost and are useful before theme or plugin updates. Backup storage is separate from your site’s disk quota.

Rocket.net

Rocket.net includes daily backups on all plans with 14-day retention — comparable to Kinsta’s baseline, not longer. Backups are managed through the Rocket.net dashboard. Redis caching is also included free on all plans, which is worth noting if you’re comparing against Kinsta.

WP Engine

WP Engine includes daily automated backups with 40-day retention — the longest default retention of the three. Backups are accessible via the WP Engine User Portal, and staging environments (included on all Essential plans, from Startup up) give you a safe place to test a restore before pushing it live.

Hostinger

Hostinger includes weekly backups on the Premium shared plan and daily backups on the Business plan. If you’re on shared hosting and considering an upgrade, daily backups alone are a reasonable justification for the Business plan — the gap between weekly and daily backup frequency matters a lot when something goes wrong on a Tuesday.

Method 2: UpdraftPlus Plugin (Best for Shared Hosting)

If your host doesn’t include daily backups — or you want an off-site copy regardless — UpdraftPlus is the plugin to use. It’s been the standard for years and the free version covers everything most sites need.

What the free version does:

• Scheduled automatic backups (daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
• Backs up database, plugins, themes, uploads separately
• Remote storage to Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, FTP, and more
• One-click restore from the WordPress dashboard

Setting Up UpdraftPlus

Step 1 — Install the plugin

In your WordPress dashboard: Plugins → Add New → search “UpdraftPlus” → Install → Activate.

Step 2 — Configure your backup schedule

Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Settings tab. Set your file backup and database backup schedules independently. For most sites: daily database backups, weekly file backups is a reasonable default. If your content changes frequently, set both to daily.

Step 3 — Set a remote storage destination

This is the step most people skip and shouldn’t. Storing backups on the same server as your site means a server failure takes out both. Under the Settings tab, choose a remote storage location. Google Drive is the easiest for most people — follow the OAuth prompts and it connects in under two minutes.

Step 4 — Run a manual backup and verify it

Before relying on scheduled backups, run one manually: UpdraftPlus → Backup Now. When it completes, check your remote storage destination and confirm the files are actually there. A backup you’ve never tested is not a backup you can trust.

Step 5 — Test a restore

On a staging site or a local install, run through an actual restore using one of your backup files. UpdraftPlus → Existing Backups → Restore. You want to know this works before you need it.

UpdraftPlus Premium

The free version is sufficient for most sites. Premium ($70–$399/year depending on plan) adds:

• Incremental backups (faster, smaller files)
• Pre-update backups (auto-backup before plugin/theme updates)
• Migration and cloning tools
• Multisite support
• Priority support

If you’re managing client sites or running WooCommerce with active orders, the incremental backups and pre-update backup features are worth the price. For a simple blog or small business site, free is fine.

Method 3: Manual Backups (Know How, Use Rarely)

Manual backups — downloading your files via FTP and exporting your database via phpMyAdmin — are useful to understand but not a replacement for automated backups. You will forget to do them regularly. Use this method before a major site migration or when you need a point-in-time snapshot you can verify yourself.

Export your database

1. Log into your hosting control panel (cPanel or equivalent)
2. Open phpMyAdmin
3. Select your WordPress database from the left sidebar
4. Click Export → Quick → Go
5. Save the .sql file somewhere off-server

Download your files

1. Connect via FTP (FileZilla is free and works well)
2. Download the entire public_html or www directory
3. This includes WordPress core, themes, plugins, and your uploads folder

A complete manual backup is the database export + all files. Both are required. A database export alone won’t restore a site with custom themes or uploaded images.

Which Method Do You Actually Need?

One More Thing: Backups Are Not a Migration Tool

A common mistake is trying to use UpdraftPlus backups to move a site between hosts. It works, technically, but it’s the slow way. Managed hosts like Kinsta and WP Engine include free migration tools that handle the transfer cleanly — including database search-replace for the new domain/URL.

If you’re moving from a shared host to managed WordPress hosting, use the host’s migration service rather than manually restoring a backup on the new server. It’s faster and less likely to leave behind configuration issues.

See the WP Engine to Kinsta migration guide or the SiteGround to Kinsta guide if you’re planning a move.

Summary

• Managed WordPress hosts (Kinsta, Rocket.net, WP Engine) handle backups automatically — daily, with one-click restore. If you’re on one of these, you already have a backup solution.
• UpdraftPlus is the right plugin for shared hosting or anyone who wants an independent off-site copy. Free version covers most needs. Set up remote storage — don’t skip it.
• Manual backups are good to know but not a reliable routine. Automate everything you can.

If you’re on shared hosting and taking backups seriously for the first time, the backup situation alone is often the final push toward switching to managed hosting. The peace of mind from knowing a server-level backup runs every night — independent of WordPress — is worth more than any plugin.