Regularly backing up your website is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your data. A complete backup lets you restore your site quickly if something goes wrong during plugin updates, theme changes, malware incidents, or server issues. Before making any changes to your site, it’s best practice to create a full backup of both your website files and your database. Austin Web & Design strongly recommends that all site owners maintain their own backups, even if your host provides automated ones.
Why Backups Matter
Websites can break for many reasons — incompatible plugins, failed updates, corrupted files, or even hosting errors. Having a recent backup ensures you can restore your website to a working state within minutes. Backups also give you peace of mind when performing routine maintenance like updating WordPress or installing new plugins.
How to Back Up Your WordPress Website
Most modern hosting providers offer simple tools for downloading your full site backup, including both your WordPress files and your MySQL database. These backups can usually be taken from your hosting dashboard with one click. Some hosts even provide daily automated backups, but it’s still smart to download your own before making changes.
- WP Engine, Flywheel, Kinsta: Built-in daily backups + one-click restore.
- Hostinger: “Backups” tab allows manual file and database downloads.
- SiteGround: Backup Tool with manual and automated restore points.
- cPanel hosts (GoDaddy, Bluehost, etc.): Use “Backup” or “Backup Wizard” to download home directory + database.
If you’re not sure where your backup tools are located, contact your hosting provider — they can point you in the right direction or perform a backup for you.
Always Know How to Restore Your Backup
Backing up your site is only helpful if you also know how to restore it. Your host should provide instructions for restoring backups through their dashboard. We strongly recommend reviewing these steps before you need them so you’re not scrambling if something breaks unexpectedly.
If you want help managing updates, backups, or technical maintenance, our Website Design services include options for ongoing support and monitoring.
Taking a few minutes to create backups before making changes can save hours of troubleshooting later — and helps ensure your website stays live, secure, and fully functional.