When managing a WordPress website, it’s vital to keep regular backups for security and peace of mind. However, simply backing up your site doesn’t inform you about the state of those backups. You might need to verify that you are restoring the correct version or just check for specific content without fully restoring your website. Viewing a backup as a live site can help with this.

Using tools like Duplicator for creating backups and Local WP for viewing them offers a straightforward solution. Here’s how to leverage these tools to view your WordPress backups effectively.

When to View a WordPress Backup

Viewing your backup is beneficial in several situations:

• After major updates: To confirm that your backup includes all recent changes.
• Before restoration: To ensure you have the right version before restoring your website.
• Troubleshooting: To identify when a specific issue began on your site.
• Content recovery: To retrieve specific elements from an older backup without needing to restore the entire site.

Steps to View Your WordPress Backup

Here’s how to view your WordPress backup as a functioning website:

Step 1: Install and Set Up Duplicator

First, you need a backup plugin. Duplicator is an excellent choice because it’s user-friendly and suitable for all skill levels.

1. Install the Duplicator plugin from the WordPress repository.
2. Activate the plugin.

Step 2: Back Up Your WordPress Site

Once Duplicator is active, go to Duplicator » Backups and click on ‘Create New’ to start backing up your site:

1. Name your backup file for easy identification.
2. Click ‘Next’ and let Duplicator scan your site for issues.
3. If the scan is successful, proceed to click ‘Build’ to create your backup.

After the backup is completed, download the created archive file.

Step 3: Download and Install Local WP

Local WP is a free tool for setting up WordPress locally. To install it:

1. Visit the Local WP website and download the software according to your operating system.
2. Follow the installation prompts to set it up on your computer.

Step 4: Upload Your Backup to Local WP

To upload your Duplicator backup:

1. Open Local WP and click the ‘+’ button to add a new site.
2. Drag your Duplicator archive file into the window or use the ‘Select an existing ZIP’ link to upload it.
3. If the import is successful, you’ll be prompted to configure your local site settings.
4. Choose your preferred environment settings, then click ‘Import site.’

Local WP will set up your backup as a local site. Once the setup is complete, you can access your backup through the Local WP interface, allowing you to view it as a live site.

Conclusion

With these steps, you can efficiently check your WordPress backups as operational websites. This method helps you verify content, check functionality, and recover specific pieces of information without the risk of affecting your live site.

Need Help?

If managing your WordPress backups feels overwhelming, consider a maintenance service to handle backups, updates, and monitoring. This way, you can focus on creating great content without worrying about the complexities of WordPress management.

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