How to backup your website in cPanel

If you have a static website created on Dreamweaver or some other application, there will be a version of your site stored on a computer somewhere. This is your backup. And, for an extra level of security you can burn these files onto a DVD or on another backup drive.

But.

If you have a WordPress or another database driven website, your site is stored online and probably changes frequently. This means that you have no backup!

Cpanel is probably the most common, and easy to use web server administration software and is part of any decent hosting service like Hostgator.

How to backup your website in Cpanel

1. Login to your account with your username and password.
2. Click on the Backups button.
3. If you have database driven sites click on the MySql links to download those to your computer.
4. Under the heading Full Backup, click on the Generate/Download a Full Backup link.
5. Enter your email address into the field and click Generate Backup down the bottom.
6. When Cpanel has finished compiling everything into one file, you will receive an email. This shouldn’t take long if you have only a small site.
7. Refresh this screen or return to it later and click the link (which wasn’t there before) under Previous full backups saved in your home directory:
8. Wait for it to download.
9. Backup this file and any Database files onto a DVD and store somewhere safe.
10. Do this whenever you make any major changes to your site!

If you have a WordPress site, you can also export all your pages and posts from the Manage tab in the admin dashboard.

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