Set up automated WordPress backups before your next plugin update
Plugin updates break WordPress sites more often than most site owners expect. Running a backup before every update takes five minutes to set up and can save you days of recovery work.
The most common reason WordPress sites break is a plugin update conflict.
Not hacking. Not server failure. A plugin update that introduced a PHP error, a JavaScript conflict with your theme, or a database schema change that another plugin wasn't expecting.
The recovery timeline for a broken WordPress site without a recent backup is anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days depending on the damage, your access to the server, and whether your host's backup is current. With a backup from one hour before the update, recovery takes 15-20 minutes.
Here's how to set this up properly.
How often plugin updates cause problems
WordPress.org's own data shows that about 20% of major plugin updates introduce at least one reported bug in the first week. Not all of these break sites visibly, but white screens, broken checkout flows, missing menus, and failed contact forms after an update are events that happen to real sites every day.
The risk compounds with the number of plugins you have installed. A site with 30 active plugins is statistically more likely to encounter a conflict than one with 8.
What "backup before update" actually means
There are two versions of this:
Manual: Before pressing "Update" in your WordPress dashboard, you go to your backup plugin, run a manual backup, confirm it completed, then do the update.
Automatic: Your backup plugin integrates with WordPress's update hook and runs a backup automatically before any update happens. This requires nothing from you other than the initial setup.
The manual approach works but gets skipped. The automatic approach protects you even when you forget or when auto-updates happen overnight.
Setting up automatic pre-update backups
With WXD Backup Lite:
- Install WXD Backup Lite from the WordPress plugin directory
- Go to Settings > WXD Backup Lite
- Under "Schedule," set a daily backup at a time when your site has low traffic
- Under "Before Update," enable "Backup before plugin updates"
- Configure your storage destination (Google Drive, SFTP, or local)
- Test by running a manual backup and verifying the file appears in your storage
With this setup, whenever WordPress processes an update — whether manually triggered by you or via auto-update — a full backup runs first. If the update causes a problem, you restore from that backup.
With UpdraftPlus:
UpdraftPlus's free version offers scheduled backups but doesn't have a native pre-update hook. The UpdraftPlus premium version includes a "Clone and Migrate" feature but pre-update backups require the UpdraftVault add-on or a third-party integration.
Without a plugin:
If you have SSH access, you can add a WP-CLI command to your deployment workflow: wp db export backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql. This exports the database but doesn't back up the file system. Useful as a supplement, not a replacement.
What your backup should include
A pre-update backup should include:
- The full file system (wp-content: plugins, themes, uploads)
- The complete database
- The wp-config.php file
A database-only backup is faster but won't help if the update also modifies plugin files that you need to roll back.
Testing your restore process
Setting up backups is half the job. The other half is confirming they work before you need them.
At least once every 3 months, take your most recent backup and restore it to a staging site (your host's staging environment, or a local WordPress install with Local by Flywheel). Confirm the site loads, images display, forms work, and no plugin errors appear.
If the restore fails, you want to find out during a drill, not after a plugin update breaks your checkout at 2pm on a Friday.
Frequently asked questions
Should I enable WordPress auto-updates?
For minor WordPress core updates (security patches), yes — enable auto-updates. For major core updates and plugin updates, the safer approach is to review and apply updates manually, with a backup first. Auto-updates for plugins are convenient but remove your control over timing.
How many backups should I keep?
Minimum 30 days for most sites. For e-commerce sites with daily transactions, keep 60 days and ensure daily backups so you can restore to any point. The marginal storage cost for an extra month of backups is usually trivial.
My host says they do automatic backups. Why do I still need a plugin?
Host backups are useful but limited: they may only retain 7-30 days, they may not include all your files, and you need to file a support request (sometimes paid) to restore. A plugin backup you control means you can restore yourself in 20 minutes, any time, from any device.
WXD Backup Lite takes about 10 minutes to set up and handles the pre-update backup automatically after that. Get it on the WordPress plugin directory or read more on our products page.