How to Restore Your WordPress Site Using Backup Plugins

How to Restore Your WordPress Site Using Backup Plugins

WordPress constitutes one of the most used content management systems (CMS) across the globe. With such popularity, however, comes the possibility of problems on the site-an occurrence such as server crashes, hacker attacks, or a simple mistake that can cause data loss. That is why regular backup of your WordPress site is essential. But if something happens and you have to restore your website, how will you do it? That’s where backup plug-ins come into play.

So let’s get down to how to restore your WordPress site, using backup plugins. Get to know why and how to choose a backup plugin, and most important, the actual restoration process: step by step instructions for the popular WordPress backup plugins.

Why Backups Are Essential for Your WordPress Site

Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of restoring your site, but first, let’s take a brief look into why backups are critical for any WordPress site.

1. Protection of Data Loss

Much important files, including themes, plugins, and media, may be lost, worst of all-the content. Regular backups save you from regretting the loss when you find that files had gone missing or corrupted in any way.

2. Prevent Security Threats

Security threats come in varying degrees and include the most stubborn hackers penetrating into your system. Suppose your site had been hacked; surely, you would lose all your data. Backup would be the best option you can have and let you restore your site back to a clean, safe state. Some security plugins also back other plugin types to aid in sudden recovery after the security breach.

3. Server Failures are Recoverable

You won’t have to worry about the quality of your web host company, so definitely, they might still experience hitches. Such problems include server crashes, software malfunctions, and hardware failures. To pass through all these hurdles, you should have the most current backup to restore your WordPress site without further issues and bring it back online with very little downtime.

4. Maintain Your Website’s Performance

Sometimes, impressive conflicts occur due to more than one installation of plugins or updates to WordPress itself. With a backup, you can roll back to the previous version and fix any issues without the stress of losing something vital.

5. Evaluate Modifications in a Secure Environment

Before making some significant changes into your site, such as installing new plugins or themes, it is advisable to back up your files and folders first. Thus, if anything goes wrong, you may revert your site into the original one without losing important content or settings.

Choosing the Right Backup Plugin for WordPress

A little insight into what’s happening before embarking on restoring your site or any worthwhile WordPress backup plugins: They are not all the same. Numerous backup plugins out there use different types of features, functions, and restoration methods. Here are things you need to note before choosing a backup plugin for your WordPress site:

1. Easy To Use

Has a user friendly interface so it can be quick and easy to back up. Has an easy-to-navigate process for restoring.

2. Backup Frequency

Get a plugin that has the capability to schedule automatic backups. For best performance, you can customize your backup intervals according to how frequently you update your site, be it daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. Go for possible plugins that automatically backup data for your site so that it is always ready and up to date.

3. Backup Storage Options

Some plugins store backups on your own local server, while others offer some form of remote backup storage such as a cloud service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Amazon S3. It is often a good idea to back something up offsite, often for the sake of security.

4. Restore Options

The options for restoration differ from plugin to plugin. Ensure that the plugin you have has the feature of one-click restore. This will make it easier to restore the whole site along with its themes, plugins, content, and settings to an earlier state.

5. Support for Multisite Networks

If you’re using a WordPress Multisite network, backup should definitely support this kind of network. Most plugins are not multisite-friendly; thus, it must be ensured that the plugin chosen is one to back up and restore multiple sites from a single, shared network.

Popular WordPress Backup Plugins for Site Restoration

It is now time to know which popular WordPress backup plugins are used and how each one restores the site. Each restoration procedure used by these plugins will be followed so that users are familiar with how they work in case one has to restore the site.1. UpdraftPlus The best-known backup plugin in WordPress is UpdraftPlus, and it lets you create scheduled backups and store them remotely in Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3.

How to Restore Your WordPress Site Using UpdraftPlus:

1. Go into WordPress Admin: Open your dashboard from WordPress.
2. Install and Activate UpdraftPlus: In the case where you haven’t installed this plugin yet, go to the ‘Plugins’ section, click Add New. Search UpdraftPlus and install the plugin. Also, activate it after the installation.
3. Go to UpdraftPlus Settings-Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in your dashboard to get to your UpdraftPlus settings.
4. Select the Backup You Want to Restore: Under the ‘Current Status’ tab, you’ll be able to view all existing backups. Use the restore option next to the backup you want to restore.
5. Choose What to Restore: UpdraftPlus asks you what components of your site should be restored (files, database, etc.). Select the required ones and click Next.
6. Restore the backup Now choose the components and click Restore to start the process. UpdraftPlus will run the complete site restoration from your backup.
7. Test your website: After restoration, check the site to see that everything is functioning well.

BackupBuddy

Backup Buddy is a high-end plugin for WordPress backup entailing the whole site backup inclusive of database, themes, and plugins as well as all media files.

– How to Restore Your WordPress Site Using BackupBuddy, steps.

1. Log into Your WordPress Admin: Go to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Install and Activate BackupBuddy: If you haven’t already, go to “Plugins”>  “Add New” and search “BackupBuddy.” Install and activate it.
3. Access BackupBuddy Restore Functionality: After activating the plugin, you can open the “BackupBuddy” menu under your WordPress Dashboard. Navigate to “BackupBuddy”> “Restore/Migrate.” 4. Upload your backup: Click “Choose File” to upload the backup file (as .zip file); once uploaded, click “Restore.” 5. Follow the Restoration Wizard: BackupBuddy will guide you through the process of restoring your website; you can choose to restore the whole site or just bits and pieces: database, plugins, etc.
4. Upon completion of restoration, you’ll receive a notification by BackupBuddy. Now you may test your website to affirm that everything is in place successfully.

VaultPress (Jetpack Backup)

VaultPress, now incorporated into Jetpack, is a paid backup solution for WordPress sites. It almost real-time backups, meaning that as soon as you make modifications or entries to your site, it is backed up at that time.

What You Do to Restore Your WP Site Using VaultPress:

1. Log in into WordPress Admin: Go to your dashboard.
2. Activate Jetpack and VaultPress: Get connected with your WordPress.com account through the Jetpack plugin, if not already done, and then enable the VaultPress service.
3. Open Jetpack Backup: Under the “Jetpack” menu in your dashboard, go to the “Backup” section.
4. Select Your Backup: The available backups will be shown by Jetpack. Click on the backup you want restored.
5. One-Click Restore: VaultPress will feature a one-click restore button that will return your site to exactly what it was like at the time of the selected backup.
6. Test Your Site: Check whether everything is functioning properly after the restore is complete to ensure that your site is fully operational.

WP Time Capsule

Backing up and restoring WordPress sites, WP Time Capsule merges the best of everything. This plug-in is particularly useful for incremental backup whereby all changes in the site are recorded and not a complete backup every time it goes.

Restoration of your WordPress by WP Time Capsule:

1. Login to WordPress Admin: Go to the WordPress dashboard.
2. Use, Install and Activate WP Time Capsule: Go to “Plugins” > “Add New,” type “WP Time Capsule,” install it. Activating the plugin comes after the installation.
3. Go to WP Time Capsule Settings: Access the left sidebar of the screen and click “WP Time Capsule” > “Backups.”
4. Click the Backup to Restore: A list of backups will be displayed by WP Time Capsule. Click the “Restore” button beside the backup you would like to recover.
5. Choose What to Restore: Choose which items to restore (files, database, or both).
6. Start the Restoration: By clicking on “Restore,” you’ll be able to start the process. The restoration process will be done automatically by WP Time Capsule.
7. Test Your Site: Make sure after restoration all works with your site as expected.

Best Practices After Restoring Your WordPress Site

Once you finish restoring your WordPress site, these are the following best practices that you need to think of to make sure that everything is back in order:

1. Clear Your Caches: If a caching plugin is in place, delete the site cache so that the restored version will be visible to your users in its entirety.
2. Check Your Permalinks: Occasionally, restoring a backup breaks permalinks. So proceed to “Settings” > “Permalinks” where you just click on “Save Changes” to refresh permalink structure.
3. Functionality Testing: Perform thorough inspection on your website to confirm that it is functioning accordingly with all its links, forms, and other features.
4. Turn On Backups: Should you have restore due to lack of backups, then do initiate automated backups without delay.

Conclusion

Restoring your WordPress site using a backup plugin is one of the essential skills for any WordPress site owner. With the right backup plugin, you can easily restore your website after any data loss or technical glitch. Choose a backup plugin you can trust, schedule regular backups, and identify the restoration process so that your site is protected, and downtime is minimized in emergencies.

Keep in mind that a backup is worthless if you cannot restore it. Following the guidelines mentioned in this guide, you will definitely be in a position to handle the unexpected and ensure that your WordPress website is perfectly protected.