Themes & Plugins, Tutorials

How to Make a Backup Copy of a WordPress Web Page

April 30, 2018

Saving copies of your websites is as important as saving you write-ups or report work. You can find yourself in a very tough spot after installing a wrong plugin, add-on, or theme that broke your website. You could also have your site compromised after an attack by a malicious hacker.

In our technological world, you always need to have a backup plan in place. It is significant for both individuals and businesses who own a website to have a backup plan.

Backing up your WordPress web page is very simple. Let us educate you on “How to Make a Backup Copy of WordPress Web Page” efficiently. But first, why do you need to keep a back up of your WordPress web page?

The Reasons You Should Keep a Backup Copy of Your WordPress Web Page.

Before, I had no clue on how to develop a complete backup of my WordPress website until situations forced me. I was new and confused until I learned. A backup involves keeping a copy of all your work such as your databases. It could include; post, users, comment and more. Even your webpage themes and their associated files for easy restoration should something happen.

Your WordPress site consists of files and MySQL database. Files include media, theme or plugin files, scripts and more. On the other side, MySQL is the database where your blog post, comments, and other settings you effect in your WordPress admin place are stored.

Most of the website hosts claim to offer backup solutions well; they will only back your MySQL database. Your files won’t be backed up, and you won’t recover the changes you apply to your theme it’s corrupted for example.

To make sure you are on the safe side, it’ll be good if you backup your site on your own. The following are the methods that will assist you to build a full backup of both your files and database.

Backup Your WordPress Copy Manually.

WordPress directory has sub-folders such as wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes. And files such as theme, plugin, and config.phd and more. The wp-admin folder contains all the files needed for your WordPress admin field. While the wp-content folder carries every plugin, uploads, themes, and cache and more that shouldn’t be lost at all.

The wp-includes it’s the folder that carries WordPress core files and where WordPress code is. You can backup your WordPress files manually. And download your entire WordPress directory by signing in to your server. You can do it through either cPanel or use an SFTP program.

Backup through cPanel.

Follow the following simple procedures:

Sign in to your web host and maneuver to cPanel which is usually the first page you meet when you sign in.
Go to the File Manager that will lead you to your Home directory or public_html.
At this point, you are able to locate your WordPress directory the folder that you need to backup. You will have to compress the folder before downloading.
Click on your WordPress directory and choose compress from the menu bar. Similarly, you can right-click on the folder and the menu that appears, select compress from the drop-down.
When selecting the compression type from the list; GZIP, ZIP, Tar, it’s better if you choose ZIP archive from the dialogue box.
Click on the compress files option and let the process run. Your compressed WordPress will be saved on your server.
If you want to move your archive to a safer place, click on the archive. Then select download from the menu. Or you can right-click on the archive and choose download. Then move it to a safe place on your hard disk and save the backup.

Backup through SFTP.

It’s recommended you use a file manager like Transmit or FileZilla. Because they are simple to use and lightweight. Install the software on your computer. Then restore your SFTP sign in details from your hosting account.

Now, log in the file manager (Transmit or FileZilla). And then feed in your website details. Such as website URL, nickname, special SFTP username and passcode, and turn the port number to 222.

When you login in, you will be able to view all your WordPress files. Select the file(s), right-click and choose the “Download The Selected Items” option, zip the files and name it.

WordPress Database Manual Backup.

It’s time to backup your WordPress database after a successful backup of WordPress files. Locate phpMyAdmin from your hosting panel. For cPanel users, look under Database Tools. While WP Engine users can find it from the main user dashboard. Click on the chevron icon which is next to your installation. After you sign in to phpMyAdmin, you will see administration panel.

Chose the Databases tab and listed your databases. From File Manager, maneuver to your WordPress directory and discover wp-config.php file. Right-click the file and select view, a window opens, and you will see;

</> define (‘DB_NAME’, ‘database¬_name’);

Please note the value in the second set of single quotation marks ‘database¬_name’ is your database name. You can find your database in phpMyAdmin. Then click on the database to open it. Choose all the tables you intend to backup as you tick the checkboxes and click the Export tab.

Choose the export procedure and set the format to SQL. Click the Go option and have your database in a safe folder on your computer. Now you’ll have your full backup.

Backup Your WordPress Copy Via Hosting.

Your second option is to select a hosting firm that will provide complete and daily backup services to your page. For instance, WP Engine Managed WordPress hosting. Also, they allow you to execute your backup before the main WordPress update or when updating themes. You can also sign in promptly, download zip file, and keep on your hard drive.

Backup Your WordPress Automatically with Plugins.

Backup plugins provide ease and a reliable backup plan for your page. All you need is to install your favoured WordPress backup plugin, configure few settings and you’re done. Some of the WordPress plugins you can check include;

Owning a dependable backup solution is the appropriate thing you can do for your WordPress Web page. I recommend you try and have your web page back up in several backup copies in varying mediums such as cloud, hard drive, CDs, desktop or DVDs. Do your backup on a regular basis, maybe once a month?

Final Words

To wrap this article up, try as much as you can to back up your WordPress site. It will take little time and effort, but it will save you from much hustle when anything happens.

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