# How to Set Up Automated Website Backups
Imagine waking up on a Monday morning to find your website has been hacked, or a plugin update has caused the entire site to crash. Without a backup, you could lose years of content, customer data, and SEO progress in an instant. Setting up a robust backup system is the single most important safety net for any Brisbane business owner operating online.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of setting up automated backups using the most popular method for Australian small businesses: the UpdraftPlus plugin for WordPress. This method ensures your data is stored safely off-site, away from your web server.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure you have the following ready:
- Administrator access to your WordPress dashboard.
- A remote storage account: We recommend a free Google Drive account or a Dropbox account dedicated to your business.
- 15-20 minutes of uninterrupted time.
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Step 1: Log In to Your WordPress Dashboard
Open your web browser and navigate to your website's login page (usuallyyourdomain.com.au/wp-admin). Enter your credentials to access the backend of your site. This is where we will manage the security of your digital assets.
Step 2: Install the UpdraftPlus Plugin
On the left-hand sidebar, hover over Plugins and click Add New. In the search bar at the top right, type "UpdraftPlus". Screenshot Description: You should see a plugin titled "UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin" with over 3 million active installations. It usually features a logo with a circular arrow.Click Install Now, and once the button changes, click Activate.
Step 3: Access Backup Settings
Once activated, you can find the settings by going to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in your sidebar. You will see a dashboard with several tabs: Backup/Restore, Settings, Advanced Tools, and Premium/Extensions.Step 4: Configure the Backup Schedule
Click on the Settings tab. This is the most critical part of the process. You need to decide how often your site should back up.- Files backup schedule: Set this to 'Weekly' or 'Daily' depending on how often you update your content.
- Database backup schedule: Set this to 'Daily'. Your database contains your orders, comments, and page text, which change more frequently than your images or theme files.
- Retention: Set the "retain this many scheduled backups" to 10. This ensures you have several versions to go back to if you don't notice a problem immediately.
Step 5: Choose Your Remote Storage
Scroll down to the "Choose your remote storage" section. Never store backups on the same server as your website. If the server fails, you lose both the site and the backup.Select Google Drive or Dropbox. For most Australian small businesses, Google Drive is the easiest option as it integrates with your existing Google Workspace or Gmail account.
Step 6: Authenticate Your Storage Account
After selecting Google Drive, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.A pop-up window will appear (or a link will be provided) asking you to authorise UpdraftPlus to access your Google Drive. Click the link, log in to your Google account, and click Allow.
Note: You will be redirected to a page with a large "Complete Setup" button. Click it to return to your WordPress dashboard.Step 7: Select Which Files to Include
Back in the Settings tab, ensure that "Plugins", "Themes", and "Uploads" are all ticked. These are the core components of your site. You can usually leave "Any other directories found inside wp-content" ticked as well.Step 8: Perform Your First Manual Backup
Now that the automation is set up, let’s make sure it works. Go back to the Backup / Restore tab and click the large blue Backup Now button. Screenshot Description: A small pop-up will appear with three checkboxes. Ensure "Include your database in the backup" and "Include your files in the backup" are both ticked, and "Send this backup to remote storage" is also ticked.Click Backup Now and watch the progress bar.
Step 9: Verify the Backup
Once the process finishes (it may take a few minutes for larger sites), scroll down to the "Existing Backups" section at the bottom of the page. Screenshot Description: You should see a new entry with today’s date. Under the "Backup data" column, you should see icons for Database, Plugins, Themes, Uploads, and Others. Most importantly, you should see a small icon representing your remote storage (e.g., the Google Drive logo), indicating the backup is safely off-site.Step 10: Check Your Remote Storage
Log in to your Google Drive or Dropbox in a new tab. Look for a folder named "UpdraftPlus". Open it and verify that several zip files have been uploaded. This is your ultimate insurance policy.---
Pro Tips for Better Backups
- Check monthly: Set a calendar reminder once a month to log in and ensure the automated backups are still running successfully.
- Backup before updates: Always run a manual backup immediately before updating WordPress core, your theme, or any plugins.
- The 3-2-1 Rule: Ideally, have 3 copies of your data, on 2 different media types, with 1 copy off-site (the remote storage).
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Storing backups on the server: As mentioned, if your hosting provider has a hardware failure, your backups disappear with the site. Always use remote storage.
- Ignoring the Database: Some people only back up their images. Without the database (SQL file), your website has no structure or text.
- Using too many plugins: Only use one backup plugin. Having multiple backup systems running simultaneously can slow down your site and cause conflicts.
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Troubleshooting Common Issues
The backup keeps failing halfway through: This is usually due to "Server Timeout" issues. If your website is on a very cheap hosting plan, the server might not have enough resources to zip up all your files. Solution:* Go to the UpdraftPlus Settings, scroll to the bottom, and look for "Expert settings". Try reducing the "Split archives every" size from 400MB to 100MB. I can't authenticate with Google Drive: This often happens if you are logged into multiple Google accounts in the same browser. Solution:* Log out of all Google accounts, or perform the authentication step in an "Incognito" or "Private" browser window. My backups are taking up too much space: If your Google Drive is filling up, you may be keeping too many versions. Solution:* Reduce the "retention" count in Step 4 from 10 down to 4 or 5.---
Next Steps
Congratulations! You’ve taken a massive step in securing your business's online presence.Now that your site is backed up, you might want to look into further security measures. Check out our guide on How to Secure Your WordPress Login or learn about our Managed Website Maintenance Plans if you'd prefer our Brisbane team to handle all the technical heavy lifting for you.