How to Back Up a Website
Back up a website by copying the files and the database as one pair, then storing that pair off the live server. In cPanel, download a full account backup, or the home directory plus each database if that button is hidden. It counts only after a test restore loads the site.
For website owners assembling a recoverable files-and-database backup, with coordinated data capture, independent storage and an isolated restore test.
knowledge
- Read time
- 9 min
- Sections
- 11
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
What a complete website backup includes
A complete website backup is the files and the database taken at the same time. Files are the themes, plugins, uploads, and custom code. The database holds posts, products, users, and settings. Also take .htaccess and wp-config.php, which sit in the account and are easy to skip.
| Method | What you save | It worked when |
|---|---|---|
| cPanel full account backup | Home directory, databases, and forwarders in one archive | The archive is held independently and restores the expected components |
| cPanel partial | Home directory plus each MySQL database | Both downloads sit in one dated folder and the SQL file is not empty |
| WordPress plugin | wp-content and the database, sent to other storage | Today's remote files exist, and a spare address loads after a restore |
| SFTP plus phpMyAdmin | Document root, including hidden files, plus a SQL export | Files go back first, the SQL import creates the tables, and the admin login opens |
| VPS tar plus mysqldump | Web-root archive and a database dump on another machine | tar lists real files and the SQL dump is not empty |
Saving someone else's public pages for offline reading is a different job. That crawl has no database and no hosting account, so it cannot restore a site you run. A backup also does not stop a hack. It is how you recover after one.
Ask whether the backup includes mailboxes, DNS zones, runtime configuration and externally stored data. A plugin backup may omit these. Confirm actual retention, access and component-level restoration instead of assuming every host snapshot behaves alike.
How to back up a website in cPanel
On shared hosting, cPanel is the short path to a full website backup. The full account archive packs the home directory, the databases, and the forwarders into one file. Some hosts hide that button. Partial downloads still work if you take both halves.
- Log in to cPanel for the account that holds the site.
- Open Files, then Backup.
- Choose Download a Full Account Backup. If that control is missing, download the Home Directory, then download every MySQL database listed under partial backups.
- Leave the destination as the home directory and enter an email address so you know when the job finishes.
- Start the backup and wait for confirmed completion before downloading it; a job-started message is not a finished archive.
- When the email arrives, download the archive from the Backup page or File Manager onto your computer. A copy that stays in the home directory is not off the server.
- Check the size. File size alone cannot prove success or failure; inspect the archive and perform a test restore. The name should include today's date.
How to back up a WordPress website with a plugin
A plugin is the right tool when you want a schedule and a copy sent off the server without SSH. It has to save the wp-content files and the database. A tool that only exports posts is not a full website backup.
- Install one backup plugin from Plugins, then Add New. UpdraftPlus is a common pick. Any plugin that stores files and the database is enough.
- Run a backup now. Include the database, plugins, themes, and uploads.
- Send the copy to storage that is not this hosting account.
- Open that remote folder. Today's files should be there, and should contain the components expected for that backup.
You know this worked when a restore onto a spare address loads the site. The WordPress website backup service is the version WebJi® runs for you if you do not want to own the schedule.
How to back up a WordPress website without a plugin
For a busy site, arrange a coordinated recovery point or pause writes appropriately; merely exporting the database first does not guarantee consistency with files copied later. Use SFTP, not plain FTP. Do not save the archive inside public_html. That folder is on the public web. The click path for a full account archive is the cPanel full backup guide. Delete the copy left on the server once the download checks out.
- Connect by SFTP using the hostname, account and port supplied by the host; 22 is the conventional SSH port, not a guaranteed account setting. Download the actual document root and include hidden files.
- Show hidden files so .htaccess is in the download. Read DB_NAME in wp-config.php before you export.
- In phpMyAdmin choose Custom, select all tables, pick SQL, and review destructive statements such as DROP TABLE before import. Compress a database that is hundreds of megabytes. The walk-through is the phpMyAdmin export guide.
- Check the export scope and restore the dump on a test database; even a small valid database can produce a small dump. Store the folder and the SQL file together, named with the date. A plugin that excludes uploads to save space restores a site with broken images.
How to back up a website on a Linux VPS
On a VPS you make the same pair from the shell, then copy it off the machine. Dump the database before you archive the files. A cron job only helps if the destination is another server.
- mysqldump --single-transaction provides consistent InnoDB data, not a universal snapshot of all engines or website files. Avoid concurrent schema changes; use the appropriate procedure for MyISAM, MEMORY and other data.
- Archive the web root with tar. Leave cache directories out when they are large and safe to rebuild.
- Copy both files with rsync or scp to a different machine. A copy in /root on the same VPS is not off-site.
- List the tar contents and check the SQL file is not empty. Schedule the three commands only after that manual run succeeds.
Restore on a spare server or a subdomain first. Putting a cPanel archive back is covered in the cPanel backup restore guide. A VPS restore is the same order: files first, database second.
Where to store a website backup under the 3-2-1 rule
The 3-2-1 rule means three copies, two kinds of storage, and one copy off the live server. The website itself is copy one. Copy two can be a disk or a second server. Copy three must survive the loss of that hosting account.
What counts as the second medium is spelled out in the 3-2-1 backup rule guide. If you want the off-site copy on a schedule, server backup solutions from WebJi® start at ₹1,300 a month before 18% GST for 200 GB. That price was read on 30 October 2026 and does not include the hosting plan.
How often to back up a website
Choose website backup frequency from the longest data-loss interval the business can accept. New orders may need hourly or continuous database protection; a rarely edited brochure has different needs. Keep recovery points old enough to predate unnoticed damage and review the backup frequency guide rather than treating one schedule as universal.
How to test a website backup before you need it
Test a website backup on an isolated staging environment and verify its content against the chosen recovery point. A finished archive or non-empty SQL file is not proof of a working restore.
- Restore to a staging subdomain or a folder copy first. Do not test on the live site.
- Upload the files, including .htaccess and wp-config.php if the archive omitted them. Create an empty database and import the .sql file.
- Point wp-config.php at the new database user. If the URL changed, search-replace the old domain in the database, then set the site URL.
- Load the site, log in, open a page that has an image, and submit the contact form or place a test order.
- Repeat on the live site only after staging passes, in a quiet hour, and keep the old files until the new ones load.
- An archive taken mid-migration, when half the files were already on the new server.
- A schedule that stopped months ago because nobody read the failure email.
- A password-protected archive whose password is not in a password manager.
- No named owner, so the task moves to whoever notices.
One restore test a quarter catches those. Write down who runs it, next to the list of archives.
Frequently asked questions
How do I back up my website in cPanel?
In cPanel open Backup. Use Download a Full Account Backup when it is there, wait for the email, and download the archive off the server. If that button is missing, download the home directory and every MySQL database as separate files, and keep them in one dated folder.
How often should I back up my website?
Match the schedule to how often the site changes. A shop that takes orders needs a daily copy, and another copy before a plugin or theme update. A site that rarely changes can use a monthly copy plus one before any edit. Keep three to five recent copies. The newest file alone is not enough.
Where should I store website backups?
Put at least one copy on a disk or cloud account that is not the hosting server. WebJi® server backup solutions start at ₹1,300 a month before 18% GST for 200 GB if you want that copy on a schedule. That figure was read on 30 October 2026.
How do I roll a website back to an earlier version?
A rollback is a restore of the last files-and-database pair from before the bad change. Restore the files first, then the database from that same time. Do not mix yesterday's files with an older database. Check the homepage, one inner page, and the admin login before you send visitors back.
Does my host's backup replace a copy I keep?
No. A host copy you cannot download, or that lives on the same account, is not a backup you control. Ask how often it runs and how long it is kept, and keep your own off-site pair as well. On WebJi®, scheduled off-site copies are a separate backup service, not something to assume on every hosting plan.
Last editorial update: 14 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
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