Backups and restoring your website

Your WordPress website is backed up automatically, and you can take a backup yourself at any time. This article explains where to find your backups and how to restore your website to an earlier point if something goes wrong.

Note: Backups live in the Backups section on the Website tab of your dashboard.

Automatic backups

Your whole website is backed up automatically about twice a day, and backups are kept for 30 days. You do not need to set anything up or turn anything on.

A backup is also taken automatically at two other moments:

Before plugin updates.
Before a feature is added to your website.

This means that if an update or a new feature causes a problem, there is always a recent restore point waiting for you.

Taking a backup yourself

You can take a backup whenever you like — most people do this just before a big change, such as rewriting a page, changing the theme or editing product prices in bulk.

Open the Website tab and scroll to Backups.
Click Back up now.
The section shows Taking a backup… while the backup runs.
Wait a few minutes. The new backup appears in the list once it is complete.

If the new backup is not in the list yet, refresh the page after a few minutes and check again.

The backup list

The list shows your backups newest first. Each row shows the date and time the backup was taken, its size, and a Restore button.

The five most recent backups are shown by default. Older ones sit behind the Show … older backups link — click it to see everything still within the 30-day window.

Every backup in the list can be restored. If your website is brand new and no backup has run yet, the list reads No backups yet — your first runs automatically. You do not need to do anything; the first one will appear on its own.

Restoring your website from a backup

Restoring rolls your whole website back to how it was at the moment that backup was taken. Take a moment to pick the right one before you start — check the date and time carefully.

Open the Website tab and scroll to Backups.
Find the backup you want in the list. Click Show … older backups if the one you need is not among the five most recent.
Click Restore on that row.
A confirmation appears. It reads Restore this backup? and Your website will be rolled back to this point. Anything you have changed since then will be replaced.
Read it, then click Restore to confirm.
The tab shows Restoring… this can take a few minutes.

When the restore has been set going, you will see Restore started. Your site will be back shortly. Give it a few minutes, then open your website in a new browser tab and check that the pages look the way you expected.

What a restore replaces

A restore replaces the whole website, not just part of it. All pages, products, orders, media, plugins and settings go back to how they were when that backup was taken.

That includes anything created after the backup. Orders, sign-ups, comments, new pages and edits made since then are replaced and will not be there afterwards.

This matters most on a shop. If you restore a backup from yesterday morning, any orders placed since yesterday morning are replaced too. Before you restore, it is worth noting down anything recent you would need to re-enter by hand — a handful of orders, a new blog post, or a price change.

Tip: Click Back up now first and wait for the new backup to appear in the list. That gives you a snapshot of the current state, so you can return to it if the restore is not what you wanted.

Troubleshooting

The backup I just took is not in the list. Backups take a few minutes to finish. Refresh the page and look again. If it still is not there after several minutes, click Back up now once more.

I cannot find a backup from the date I need. Backups are kept for 30 days. Anything older than that is no longer available to restore.

My website still looks wrong after a restore. Your browser may be showing a saved copy of the old pages. Try a hard refresh, or open the site in a private browsing window.

Deleting your website

If you ever choose to delete your website, a final backup is taken first, before anything is removed. See article 74 for how deletion works.

Article #71
Article #74
Article #64