How to Backup Your WordPress Website Manually

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How To Backup Your Wordpress Website Manually

Backing up your WordPress website is an essential task that ensures you can restore your site in the event of a crash, hacking attempt, or plugin failure. While there are automated plugins for backups, manually backing up your WordPress site gives you complete control over your files and data.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to manually back up your WordPress website using different methods, including Virtualmin, a powerful web hosting control panel.

Why Backup Your WordPress Site?

Backups are crucial because they allow you to:

  • Recover from crashes or attacks: If your site goes down due to a security breach or a server failure, a backup allows you to restore it quickly.
  • Prevent data loss: Backing up your site ensures you never lose important content, user data, or settings.
  • Move your site to a new host: Backups are necessary if you’re migrating your site to a new server or host.

To fully back up your WordPress website, you need to back up both your WordPress files and your database.

What to Backup

A WordPress site consists of two main components that must be backed up:

  1. WordPress Files: These include core WordPress files, themes, plugins, and uploaded media.
  2. WordPress Database: This holds your posts, pages, comments, settings, and user data.

To ensure a complete backup, you need to save both the files and the database.

How to Backup WordPress Files Manually

Step 1: Using FTP or File Manager

The first step in backing up your WordPress site is to download your WordPress files.

  1. Access Your Files:
    • You can use an FTP client like FileZilla or a web-based file manager like the one in your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel or Plesk).
    • If you’re using FTP, log in with your hosting credentials.
  2. Locate Your WordPress Files:
    • Navigate to the root directory where your WordPress installation is stored (typically public_html or a folder named after your domain).
  3. Download Files:
    • Select all the files and folders (e.g., wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes) and download them to your local computer.
    • Optionally, you can prioritize downloading the wp-content folder since it contains your themes, plugins, and uploaded media.

Step 2: Using Virtualmin to Backup WordPress Files

If you’re using Virtualmin as your control panel, you can easily back up your WordPress files directly from its interface.

  1. Log in to Virtualmin:
    • Access your Virtualmin dashboard using your domain URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com:10000) and log in with your admin credentials.
  2. Navigate to the Backup Option:
    • From the left-hand side menu, click on Backup and Restore under the System Settings tab.
  3. Create a Backup:
    • Select Backup Virtual Servers and choose the virtual server (domain) associated with your WordPress installation.
    • Choose whether you want to back up the home directory (which contains WordPress files) and/or MySQL database. Make sure to select both for a complete backup.
  4. Save the Backup:
    • You can either download the backup directly to your local machine or save it to a remote location (e.g., cloud storage, FTP server).
    • Click Backup Now to start the process.

This method using Virtualmin ensures that both your WordPress files and database are backed up efficiently.

How to Backup WordPress Database Manually

Your WordPress database stores all the content, pages, posts, user information, and site settings. It is just as important as backing up your files.

Step 1: Using phpMyAdmin

  1. Log in to your Hosting Control Panel:
    • Navigate to your hosting provider’s control panel (e.g., cPanel, Plesk, or Virtualmin).
  2. Open phpMyAdmin:
    • In the control panel, find the phpMyAdmin option, typically under the Databases section.
  3. Export the Database:
    • Select the WordPress database and click the Export tab.
    • Choose Quick export and ensure the format is set to SQL.
    • Click Go to download the database backup to your computer.

Step 2: Backup WordPress Database Using Virtualmin

Virtualmin simplifies the process of backing up your database along with your files.

  1. Log in to Virtualmin:
    • Use your Virtualmin credentials to log in to your control panel.
  2. Go to Backup and Restore:
    • From the Backup and Restore section, select Backup Virtual Servers.
    • Under the backup options, ensure that both the files and MySQL databases are selected for backup.
  3. Run the Backup:
    • Virtualmin will create a backup that includes your WordPress database, which you can download or store remotely.

This is a quick and efficient way to manage backups without needing to use additional tools like phpMyAdmin.

Storing Your Backup Safely

After backing up your WordPress files and database, it’s crucial to store them securely. You can:

  • Store Locally: Keep a copy of the backup on your local machine or an external hard drive.
  • Cloud Storage: Use cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3 to store your backup files securely and access them from anywhere.
  • Remote Server: Store the backup on a remote server via FTP or another web host.

Automating Backups Using Virtualmin

If you prefer not to manually back up your site every time, Virtualmin allows you to schedule automatic backups.

  1. Set Up Scheduled Backups:
    • In Virtualmin, go to Backup and Restore > Scheduled Backups.
  2. Configure the Backup Schedule:
    • Set how often you want the backups to occur (e.g., daily, weekly, or monthly).
    • Choose whether you want to back up files, databases, or both.
  3. Choose Backup Location:
    • You can configure where the backup files are saved (local, cloud, or remote).

With automated backups, Virtualmin ensures that your WordPress website is regularly backed up without manual intervention.

Conclusion

Manually backing up your WordPress website ensures you have full control over your website’s safety and data protection. Whether using FTP, phpMyAdmin, or a control panel like Virtualmin, the steps outlined in this guide will help you create complete backups of your files and databases.

For those who use Virtualmin, the built-in Backup and Restore feature simplifies the process even further, allowing you to back up and schedule regular backups of your site with ease.

By regularly backing up your site and storing copies in secure locations, you’ll be prepared for any unexpected issues and can quickly restore your website to full functionality.

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