WordPress backups and recovery isn’t about having “a backup somewhere” – it’s about knowing you can restore your site fast, clean, and without surprises when something breaks.
If you’ve ever been stuck staring at a white screen after an update, or noticed weird spam pages showing up in Google, you already know the truth: you don’t need backups… until you really, really do.
Table of Contents
What “WordPress backups and recovery” actually includes
A proper WordPress backup has two parts:
- Database (posts, pages, users, orders, settings)
- Files (themes, plugins, uploads/images, core files, configs)
A lot of “backup setups” quietly miss one of these, which means your restore won’t fully work when you need it. WordPress’s own guidance is clear: back up database and files, and do it regularly (especially before upgrades).
Think: A backup you haven’t tested is a hope, not a plan.
Step 1: Decide what “recovery” means for your business
Before you touch tools, get two practical targets straight:
- How much data can you afford to lose? (e.g., the last 24 hours of enquiries/orders)
- How long can your site be down? (e.g., 30 minutes vs 1 business day)
This is why WordPress backups and recovery is different for:
- A brochure site that gets a few leads a week
- A busy service business with daily form leads
- An ecommerce store where every hour of downtime costs money
If you pick your targets first, backup frequency and restore workflow becomes obvious.
Step 2: Choose your backup approach (the simple, safe version)
There are many ways to back up WordPress. The safest setups usually have these traits:
1) Full-site backups (database + files)
This is the baseline for WordPress backups and recovery. You want the option to restore the whole site, not just content.
2) Scheduled backups that match your risk
Daily is common for active sites. Monthly might be okay for smaller sites that rarely change.
3) Off-site storage
If backups live only on the same server as your site, a server failure or compromise can take both out.
4) Multiple restore points (a “ladder”)
You want more than one backup version, so you can roll back to a known clean point if needed.
5) A way to restore quickly
Backups that take hours to download, unpack, and upload can turn a small issue into a full lost day.
Step 3: The restore checklist (save this for the day things go wrong)
Here’s a practical WordPress backups and recovery restore checklist you can follow under pressure.
A) First 10 minutes: triage
- Don’t panic-click updates or install random “fix” plugins.
- Confirm what’s broken:
- Is it the whole site or one page?
- Front-end only or wp-admin too?
- Error message, blank page, redirect, or slow/unresponsive?
- If possible, take screenshots of errors and note the time it started.
B) Decide: rollback vs repair
- Rollback/restore makes sense when:
- An update broke the site
- You have a recent restore point
- You need the fastest path back online
- Repair makes sense when:
- The issue is isolated (one plugin/theme)
- There’s no safe restore point
- You need to keep new data since last backup (orders/enquiries)
C) Before you restore: protect the “new data”
If your site takes orders or bookings, you may need to export recent data first so you don’t lose it. For example, you might capture:
- Orders since last backup
- New form leads
- New user registrations
This is one of the biggest “gotchas” in WordPress backups and recovery for ecommerce and high-lead sites.
D) Restore to a clean point
- Choose the most recent restore point before the issue started.
- Restore database + files (not just one).
- If you have the option, restore in a staging environment first (safer).
E) After restore: your 30-minute “stability pass”
Do these checks immediately after any restore:
- Load homepage + 2–3 key pages
- Test forms (contact/quote/booking)
- If ecommerce: add-to-cart + checkout flow (even a test order)
- Login/logout works
- No obvious layout issues
- Site speed feels normal
F) After restore: security pass (especially if you suspect a hack)
If the incident involved suspicious redirects, spam pages, unknown admin users, or search warnings, treat it as a security event. Google has extensive guidance on hacked sites and what to do next.
Step 4: How often should you back up WordPress?
There’s no universal perfect answer – but there is a sensible one based on how often your site changes.
A simple rule of thumb
- Rarely changes: weekly to monthly backups may be fine
- Changes often (blog, service site, frequent edits): daily backups
- Transactional (store, memberships, bookings): daily (or more frequent) backups + clear recovery process
VVRapid’s Maintenance & Care plans reflect this reality:
- Basic M&C ($39/month) includes monthly backups (suited to smaller sites that change less).
- Standard M&C ($89/month) includes daily backups (better for active business sites).
- Premium M&C ($189/month) includes daily backups + updates, aimed at business-critical stability.
Step 5: Test restores (because this is where most “backup plans” fail)
The most common real-world failure in WordPress backups and recovery isn’t that backups don’t exist, it’s that restores don’t work as expected.
Add a simple routine:
- Monthly (at least): test restoring to staging (or a local copy)
- After major site changes: confirm restore points are being created
- After WordPress/plugin updates: verify key pages + forms still work
If you’re in South Africa, load shedding and flaky connectivity can make “quick emergency fixes” harder in the moment. A tested restore path reduces the need to do delicate technical work under pressure.
What should your backup set include?
A good WordPress backups and recovery setup should capture:
- Database (posts, pages, settings, users, transactions)
wp-content/folder:- uploads (images/media)
- themes
- plugins
- Any custom configuration relevant to your setup
- A record of:
- WordPress version
- Active theme + plugins
- Hosting environment details (PHP version, caching layer)
External reading:
WordPress Developer Resources – Backups ↗
WordPress Developer Resources – Backing Up Your Database ↗
Checklist: “Set it up once” WordPress backups and recovery plan
Use this as your implementation checklist.
- ✅ Confirm you have database + file backups (full-site)
- ✅ Set backup frequency that matches your change rate (daily/weekly/monthly)
- ✅ Store backups off-site (not only on the server)
- ✅ Keep multiple restore points (at least 7–30, depending on your site)
- ✅ Document your restore steps (who does what, where backups live)
- ✅ Create a staging site for safe testing (recommended for active sites)
- ✅ Test a restore monthly (or quarterly at minimum)
- ✅ After restore: run stability + security checks
- ✅ Add uptime monitoring so you find out fast when things go down
Common mistakes that break WordPress restores
1) Backing up only the database (or only files)
That’s not complete WordPress backups and recovery, it’s half a parachute.
2) Keeping backups on the same server
If the server fails or is compromised, you may lose the site and the backups together.
3) Not having a “clean” restore point
If malware has been present for weeks, your newest backups may also be infected. Google’s hacked-site resources are a good primer on what to do when compromise is suspected.
4) Restoring without checking forms, checkout, or tracking
A site that “loads” but can’t capture leads is still down, just quietly.
5) Updating live without a safe workflow
Even good plugins can conflict. A staging-first workflow dramatically reduces risk and it’s one of the big differences between “DIY updates” and an actual care process.
DIY vs managed: when it’s worth handing off
DIY can be fine if:
- Your site changes rarely
- You’re comfortable testing restores
- You have time to troubleshoot under pressure
Managed maintenance becomes the smarter move if:
- Your website is tied directly to sales/leads
- You can’t afford downtime during business hours
- You need regular changes but don’t want to live in wp-admin
- You want someone to own the process (updates, backups, monitoring, fixes)
If you’d like to see what ongoing care can look like: Website Maintenance & Care
FAQ: WordPress backups and recovery
How do I know my backups are actually working?
Do a restore test to staging (or a separate environment) and confirm key pages, forms, and logins work. If you can’t restore, you don’t have reliable WordPress backups and recovery yet.
Should I back up before updates?
Yes – WordPress’s own guidance recommends backing up regularly and before upgrades.
Is daily backup always necessary?
Not always. Daily is best for sites that change often. Monthly can be fine for a small, stable site that rarely updates content.
What if my site was hacked, do I just restore a backup?
Sometimes, but you must ensure you’re restoring a clean version and closing the security gap. Start with Google’s hacked-site guidance if you’re unsure.
Do backups include hosting?
Backups are part of maintenance, but hosting is a separate component. If you want both performance and reliability handled together, consider pairing care with a solid hosting setup.
How VVRapid can help
If you want WordPress backups and recovery handled properly (and quietly), VVRapid’s Maintenance & Care plans are designed to cover the unglamorous essentials: updates, security monitoring, scheduled backups, uptime checks, performance tuning, and small content changes. Basic suits smaller sites; Standard adds stronger monitoring and daily backups; Premium is built for business-critical stability with deeper optimisation and proactive support.
Next step: review the care options and pick the level that matches how critical your website is to revenue and leads.
Useful external resources (for your bookmark folder)
Google Web.dev – FAQ for hacked sites ↗
OWASP Top 10 (web app risks) ↗
