UpdraftPlus Guide: Backup WordPress to Google Drive 2026

What Is UpdraftPlus and Why Is It the World's Most Popular Backup Plugin?

UpdraftPlus is the world's most widely used WordPress backup plugin, with over 3 million active installations and more than 100 million cumulative downloads from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory. It is developed and maintained by UpdraftPlus.com, a UK-based software company with over a decade of experience in WordPress backup solutions.

What distinguishes UpdraftPlus from other backup plugins is the balance it strikes between simplicity and comprehensive features. A non-technical user can configure automatic backups to Google Drive in under ten minutes, while advanced users can set up multi-destination backups, database encryption, incremental backups, and remote management through a single interface.

Good backup practice follows the 3-2-1 rule: keep at least 3 copies of your data, on at least 2 different media types, with at least 1 copy stored off-site. UpdraftPlus makes this easy by automatically sending backups to remote cloud storage outside your hosting environment.

Installing UpdraftPlus Step by Step

1. Log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New.
3. Search for "UpdraftPlus".
4. Click Install Now on "UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin."
5. Click Activate once installation is complete.
6. Navigate to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups to begin configuration.

Configuring Backup Schedule (Files and Database Separately)

UpdraftPlus allows you to set independent schedules for file backups and database backups — a key feature because databases change more frequently than theme and plugin files.

Files Backup Schedule

In the Settings tab, find "Files backup schedule." Available intervals include manual, every 4/8/12 hours, daily, weekly, fortnightly, and monthly.

• Static blog (posts once a week) — Weekly
• Active blog (posts daily) — Weekly (files rarely change even when posts do)
• WooCommerce store — Weekly or after major theme/plugin updates

Database Backup Schedule

The database stores every post, comment, order, and user record — back it up more frequently than files.

• Blog with weekly posts — Daily database backup
• Active daily blog — Every 12 hours
• WooCommerce store — Every 4 to 6 hours
• High-traffic news site — Every 1 to 2 hours

Connecting Google Drive for Backup: Step by Step

Google Drive is the most popular remote storage choice for UpdraftPlus because every Google account includes 15 GB of free storage — enough for most small to mid-size WordPress sites.

1. In the Settings tab under "Choose your remote storage," select Google Drive.
2. Click "Click here to authenticate with your Google account."
3. A browser tab opens with Google's sign-in page. Log in with the Google account you want to use for backups.
4. Google will ask for permission for UpdraftPlus to access your Drive. Click "Allow."
5. You will be redirected back to WordPress with a confirmation message: "UpdraftPlus is now authenticated with Google Drive."
6. Click Save Changes.

Configuring Dropbox and Amazon S3 Backup

UpdraftPlus supports multiple remote storage destinations beyond Google Drive, including Dropbox, Amazon S3, Microsoft OneDrive (Premium), Backblaze B2, and FTP/SFTP.

Dropbox

Select Dropbox from the remote storage options, then click "Authenticate with Dropbox." Authorize the app in Dropbox and you will be redirected back to WordPress with confirmation. UpdraftPlus creates a folder at Apps/UpdraftPlus in your Dropbox automatically.

Amazon S3

S3 is ideal for organizations that need highly scalable, durable storage. Setup steps:

1. Create an S3 bucket in the AWS Console with an appropriate bucket policy.
2. Create an IAM user with S3 read/write permissions and generate an Access Key and Secret Key.
3. In UpdraftPlus Settings, select Amazon S3, then enter your Access Key, Secret Key, and Bucket Name.
4. Specify the region where your bucket is located.
5. Click Test S3 Settings to verify the connection before saving.

Backup Retention Policy — How Many Copies to Keep

Retention policy determines how many scheduled backups are kept before the oldest is automatically deleted. This affects both storage consumption and how far back you can restore.

Recommended Retention Numbers

• Personal blog (weekly backups) — 4 copies = 1 month of history
• Business site (daily backups) — 7 copies = 1 week of history
• WooCommerce store (backup every 12 hours) — 14 copies = 7 days
• News site (daily backups) — 30 copies = 1 month

Restoring Your Website from UpdraftPlus: Step by Step

UpdraftPlus's most praised feature is its ability to restore a complete WordPress site from the dashboard without SSH access or FTP knowledge.

Restore When Dashboard Is Accessible

1. Go to Settings → UpdraftPlus Backups → Backup/Restore tab.
2. In the "Existing Backups" section, find the backup you want to restore.
3. Click the Restore button next to it.
4. Select which components to restore: Plugins, Themes, Uploads, Others, Database. You can restore individual components without overwriting the rest.
5. Click Restore. UpdraftPlus downloads the backup from remote storage and begins restoring.
6. Wait for the "Restore successful!" message.

Restore When the Site Is Completely Down

1. Download backup files from Google Drive to your local machine.
2. Reinstall WordPress on your hosting via DirectAdmin.
3. Install UpdraftPlus on the fresh WordPress installation.
4. Go to UpdraftPlus → Settings. Use "Upload backup files" to upload the backup archives you downloaded.
5. Proceed with the standard restore process described above.

UpdraftPlus Migrator — Move Your Site Between Domains or Hosts (Premium)

UpdraftPlus Premium includes UpdraftMigrator, a tool for moving a WordPress site between domains or hosting providers — a process that normally requires technical expertise.

When to Use UpdraftMigrator

• Migrating hosting providers (e.g., moving to AsiaGB)
• Changing your site's domain name
• Cloning production to a staging environment
• Moving a subdomain site to a root domain
• Migrating a Multisite subsite to a standalone install

How It Works

1. Install UpdraftPlus Premium on both source and destination sites.
2. On the destination site, go to UpdraftPlus → Migrate/Clone and select "Receive."
3. Copy the migration key generated by the destination site.
4. On the source site, enter the migration key and destination URL, then click Send.
5. UpdraftMigrator transfers all data and automatically performs search-and-replace on all URLs in the database.

UpdraftPlus Free vs Premium: Feature Comparison

Best Practices: Backup Frequency and Restore Testing Schedule

Recommended Backup Frequencies

• Static blog (posts weekly) — Files: weekly, Database: daily
• Active blog (posts daily) — Files: weekly, Database: every 12 hours
• WooCommerce store — Files: weekly, Database: every 4 to 6 hours
• High-traffic news site — Files: daily, Database: every 1 to 2 hours

Restore Testing Schedule

• Personal blog — Test restore once a year
• Business site — Test every 6 months
• WooCommerce store — Test every 3 months on staging
• Enterprise — Monthly restore test on a dedicated staging environment

Troubleshooting: Backup Failures, Google Drive Auth Errors, and Restore Issues

Backup Fails Mid-Process (Timeout)

Common on large sites with low PHP Max Execution Time. Fix: go to UpdraftPlus → Advanced Tools → Expert Settings and reduce "Split archives into files of" to 100 MB. You can also request a PHP execution time increase from your hosting provider via DirectAdmin.

Google Drive Authorization Error

Occurs when the OAuth token expires or is revoked. Fix: go to the Settings tab, find the Google Drive section, and click "Re-authenticate with Google." If that fails, remove UpdraftPlus from your Google Account under Security → Third-party apps, then re-authorize from scratch.

Restore Fails with Error

Check PHP Memory Limit (at least 256 MB for medium sites), verify the backup file is not corrupted by checking the file size against the original, and review wp-content/debug.log for detailed error messages. Enable WP_DEBUG temporarily if needed.

No Email Notification After Backup

Shared hosting often has unreliable PHP mail() delivery. Install an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP and configure it to send through Gmail or another trusted SMTP provider so backup notifications arrive reliably.

Before restoring WordPress from a backup, check your site health with dnsxray.com — a free tool that verifies SSL, DNS records, and Security Headers to confirm your site is ready after restore.