How to Back Up WordPress by Plesk Backup Manager

admin

4 hours ago

How to Back Up WordPress by Plesk Backup Manager backup tutorial showing files database offsite storage and restore verification

How to Back Up WordPress by Plesk Backup Manager is for Plesk admins, resellers, and business site owners who need scheduled subscription or server backups. Use this method when recurring backups, remote cloud storage, and broader protection than a single WP Toolkit backup.

A good WordPress backup includes the website files and the database. The files carry themes, plugins, uploads, configuration, and custom code. The database carries posts, pages, users, settings, WooCommerce orders, booking records, form entries, menus, and plugin data. Before you change WordPress core, PHP, DNS, plugins, themes, checkout, or a page builder, make sure you know which backup contains both halves.

When this backup method makes sense

Plesk Backup Manager is a good fit when you already have that tool available and need a practical restore path. It is especially useful before updates, redesign work, hosting migrations, malware cleanup, PHP changes, database work, and plugin troubleshooting.

Before you begin

Confirm the WordPress URL and document root so you back up the right site.
Find the database name in wp-config.php or the hosting panel.
Check free disk space; many backup failures start with a full account.
Pause risky work until the backup finishes and you can see the file.
For stores and booking sites, note the last order, booking, or form entry before the backup.

Backup steps

In Plesk, open Websites & Domains or Tools & Settings, then Backup Manager.
Choose manual backup for one-time work or Schedule for recurring backups.
Select what data to back up: configuration, mail, user files, and databases as appropriate.
Configure rotation so old backups do not consume all server storage.
Add remote storage such as FTP, Amazon S3, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, DigitalOcean Spaces, or S3-compatible storage where licensed and available.
Run the first backup and confirm it appears in Backup Manager before relying on the schedule.

Automated backups and cron

Plesk scheduled backups are server or subscription scheduled tasks, not WordPress traffic-triggered WP-Cron jobs. That makes them better for predictable overnight backups and low-traffic sites.

For WordPress plugin backups, remember that WordPress scheduled tasks often depend on WP-Cron. WP-Cron runs when WordPress receives traffic and notices a task is due. That is fine for many small sites, but low-traffic sites can run late. For business-critical sites, pair plugin schedules with a real server cron, hosting-panel backups, or provider backups where available.

How to test restore readiness

Restore from Backup Manager. For one WordPress site in a subscription, review exactly what will be restored so you do not overwrite mail, other websites, or newer database changes unnecessarily.

Do not test your only restore for the first time during an outage. Use a staging copy, temporary subdomain, local development environment, or provider restore preview when available. After restore, check login, home page, important pages, media, forms, checkout, email delivery, permalinks, and cache behavior.

Common mistakes

Using only local server storage for every backup.
Skipping database data for WordPress sites.
Not setting a retention limit.
Not knowing whether the license includes cloud backup features before promising Google Drive or OneDrive storage.

Where to store the backup

Keep at least one copy outside the web server. Good destinations include your own Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3-compatible storage, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, SFTP, a provider backup vault, or a secure internal backup server. The exact tool matters less than the restore test, retention policy, and separation from the production account.

Fix I.T. Phill recommendation

Use Plesk Backup Manager as one layer, not the whole plan. Keep a second backup path for important sites, especially WooCommerce, bookings, memberships, and agency-managed sites. Before major updates, take a fresh manual backup even if automatic backups are already scheduled.