How to install and configure the UpdraftPlus plugin

This article describes how to install and configure the UpdraftPlus plugin to back up a WordPress site.

Backing up WordPress

Maintaining regular backups is an important part of running any site. A complete WordPress backup includes the following components:

• Database
• Plugins
• Themes
• Uploads
• Any miscellaneous directories in the wp-content directory

There are several plugins that enable you to back up WordPress. One of the most popular plugins is the UpdraftPlus plugin. This plugin enables you to create backups, transfer them to remote locations (such as Amazon S3 or Dropbox), and restore sites from backups.

Installing UpdraftPlus

To install the UpdraftPlus plugin, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
2. In the left-hand pane, click Plugins.
3. Click Add New.
4. In the Search text box, type updraftplus, and then press Enter.
5. Locate UpdraftPlus, and then click Install Now.
6. After WordPress finishes installing the plugin, click Activate Plugin.

Configuring UpdraftPlus

After you install the UpdraftPlus plugin, you can configure it for your site. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
2. In the left-hand pane, click Settings, and then click UpdraftPlus Backups. The UpdraftPlus Backup/Restore page appears.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. By default, UpdraftPlus stores backups locally on the server. To use a remote storage location, in the Choose your remote storage list box, select where you want to store your backup files.
   Depending on the storage location you choose, there are additional configuration options that enable you to set up the remote connection. For example, for an Amazon S3 connection, you must provide your key information.
5. Click Save Changes.
   There are many additional settings on the Settings tab that enable you to precisely control backups, storage locations, and scheduling. For more information about these settings, click the FAQs tab.
6. To create a backup immediately, click the Current Status tab, and then click Backup Now.
   To restore a backup, click the Existing Backups tab, locate the backup you want to restore, and then click Restore.

More Information

For more information about the UpdraftPlus plugin, please visit https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus.

What is UpdraftPlus?

UpdraftPlus is a backup plugin used for WordPress making it easy to clone and restore your website when necessary. The unfortunate reality is that a website can be damaged by both hackers or simply via user error. Without reliable backups, you could lose everything! Using UpdraftPlus on your site is your insurance policy and peace of mind that will allow you to easily restore it back to a usable state if that were to occur.

History of UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus has been downloaded over three-times more than any other WordPress backup plugin and is used as the backup solution for millions of WordPress sites. It got its start when the Lead Developer David Anderson came upon a free WordPress backup plugin called Updraft. He was quite impressed by the solution and began working on enhancing it. He reached out to Updraft's creator Paul Kehrer mentioning a patch that he developed. Kehrer was more than happy to oblige as Anderson had the time available to improve upon Updraft. Over next few months Anderson continued to develop plugin enhancements and launched the new and improved UpdraftPlus in early 2013.

Advantages of using UpdraftPlus

It's no surprise that UpdraftPlus is used by webmasters to help protect their WordPress sites with its wide selection of tools including:

• Trusted solution - UpdraftPlus is highly dependable and used to backup millions of WordPress sites.
• User-Friendly  - Its intutive interface makes it particularly easy to backup and restore your site with a click of your mouse!
• Features - You'll find all the features you could ask for in a backup plugin!
• Flexible - You can backup your files to a solution of your choice whether that be Google Drive, Dropbox or another option.

Basic UpdraftPlus features

It's obvious that there are a number of advantages to using the UpdraftPlus plugin as your WordPress backup solution. Let's explore some of the features included! 

• Comprehensive Backups - UpdraftPlus will backup all of your WordPress themes, plugins, files and databases!
• Scheduled Backups - UpdraftPlus allows you to backup your site every 4, 8 or 12 hours. You can also back it up daily, weekly or even monthly. Setting a schedule means you won't have to constantly remember to backup your site. It will be done automatically!
• Convenient Website Restores - You can restore your site right from within your WordPress admin panel.

Premium UpdraftPlus features

While the basic list of features are certainly impressive, you also have the option to use the Premium version of UpdraftPlus to really take your WordPress backup plugin protection to the next level! UpdraftPlus Premium features include:

• Website Cloning - You can copy your site and move it to a new domain with ease!
• Incremental Backup option - You can choose to only backup the changes to your site since the last time you backed up your site.
• Worry-Free Backups - UpdraftPlus will automatically backup your website before you make any updates to your plugins or themes. That way you don't have to worry about potential website damage or losses due to website incompatibility from such updates.
• More Precise Backup Scheduling - You can setup an exact time for when you want your backups created and/or deleted.