Question

Make a WordPress backup

Answer 1

Why is it important to backup WordPress regularly?
How to backup WordPress
How to make a manual WordPress backup
Reset a WordPress page
Copy WordPress files using an FTP program (FileZilla)
Copy the WordPress database

---

Make a WordPress backup

With a WordPress backup, you can make sure you don't lose the web pages created with the WordPress content management system. If you make a successful backup , you can quickly and easily restore WordPress pages along with all their contents in case of losing data. In this way, both the appearance of the website and its functions will be maintained..

Index

1. Why is it important to backup WordPress regularly?
2. How to backup WordPress
3. How to make a manual WordPress backup
   1. Copy WordPress files using an FTP program (FileZilla)
   2. Copy the WordPress database
4. Reset a WordPress page

Why is it important to backup WordPress regularly?

WordPress is one of the most popular methods for free and easy web page design and making them accessible online. The great popularity of this CMS has the advantage, among others, that it offers an almost infinite number of WordPress themes (design templates) and plugins (extensions), which greatly facilitates the creation of web pages? Especially for people without design knowledge web or programming.

However, as with all the most used systems that have a variety of external extensions, also in WordPress there is a minimal risk that malicious software enters the system through unknown security holes or outdated plugins and causes failures on the web pages. If this happens, the consequence is often that unsaved data is lost..

Another good reason to back up WordPress regularly is that certain templates or plugins are not compatible with each other , which, in some cases, can also cause problems on the website, with the consequent loss of data.

As with any other computer system, you also need to regularly address security issues in WordPress . Next, you will discover how to do it and you will know what you should keep in mind when making backup copies of WordPress..

advice

In the article WordPress Security: the most used security plugins , you will discover with which extensions you can improve the general security of your WordPress website.

How to backup WordPress

WordPress is based on a dynamic content management system; The web pages created with it are made up of two main elements:

1. WordPress page files: templates, all plugins and images.
2. WordPress page database: this includes dynamic blog entries or, for example, products from a digital store.

To restore a WordPress website if necessary, simply backing up all files is not enough. It's just as important to secure the WordPress database on which the website is built, and creating a full backup of a WordPress page takes some work.

There are mainly four methods to create a backup of a WordPress website . The decision to choose one or the other depends mainly on your computer knowledge, your provider, the size of the website and, sometimes, also financial considerations:

	Advantage	Disadvantages
Manual backup: p. e.g. via an FTP client like FileZilla and a database program like phpMyAdmin	Full control of all backup procedures; exhaustive control of data; generally free	Can be difficult for inexperienced beginners with no prior knowledge
Backup with the WordPress plugin	Easy and simple - no special knowledge required	Depending on the plugin, there may be problems with large amounts of data, in which case paid plugin versions are usually required
Backup via provider: the hosting backs up the WordPress website for free or through a supplemental package	Easy, fast and very comfortable; no prior knowledge is necessary and is often included free of charge in the accommodation package	Often the backup is not available for a long time. Be careful if several web pages are linked to the same account: check the conditions!
Backup using an external service provider: in the cloud	Easy, comfortable and generally very safe	Paid and, from an economic point of view, it is not suitable for all web projects

In the versions of manual backup and copy via plugin, the website administrator maintains greater control of the process and of the data itself. An affordable option, in addition to being very simple and comfortable, is copying using a reputable internet provider. When it comes to backups , cloud services are generally considered very secure, but they are relatively expensive.

To make backup copies through plugins , these extensions are recommended:

• VaultPress: plugin for automatic backups with connection to the cloud
• BackWPup: popular plugin , easy to install and free in the basic version
• UpdraftPlus - one of the top rated backup plugins

advice

In our article on the best WordPress plugins to create backups, you will find more information on how to backup WordPress pages using plugins and how to restore them if necessary.

To know how to create backups manually, read on.

How to make a manual WordPress backup

As we have already mentioned, when making a WordPress backup you have to save both the files and the database of your website. If you only do one of the two steps, you may not be able to completely reset your WordPress website.

Copy WordPress files using an FTP program (FileZilla)

Files from your WordPress website can be easily copied with free downloadable FTP programs and saved on your computer's hard drive or in the cloud. We explain how to make a backup copy of the files of a WordPress page using the most popular FTP program, FileZilla, which can be downloaded for free.

1. Open FileZilla and connect to the server where your website is located. To do this, enter the server name, username and password in FileZilla. Your provider provides you with this data.

FileZilla FTP program: server access.

2. If you are connected to your server, you will see in the left part of the window the files of your local computer and, in the right part, the files and sub-files of your web page. Now drag with the mouse the set of files from your web page from the right window of your server, to a folder on your local computer . To do this, it is best to previously create a new folder for your website. Another option is to go to the top file of your web page on the right side, open the context menu with the right mouse button and select? Download ?.

Note

The best thing is that you create backup copies of all the folders and files of your website regularly, especially the folders and files that contain personal data every time you do a WordPress backup , that is, the wp-content folder and the htaccess files and wp-config.php .

If you can access all the files on your website also on the left side of FileZilla, you will have saved them locally on your computer. To be sure, you should try accessing the corresponding folder from outside of FileZilla.

Currently, many providers offer their own file and file manager , with which you can save the files of your WordPress page directly on the computer or in the cloud without having to resort to external FTP programs.

Copy the WordPress database

Once the files of your WordPress website have been saved, it is time to back up the page database. To manage WordPress databases, almost all providers use the phpMyAdmin user interface .

1. Contact your provider and access phpMyAdmin. If necessary, log in to phpMyAdmin again. The way to access MyAdmin varies by provider. Once phpMyAdmin is started, click above, in the section? Database ?.

Basic phpMyAdmin configuration: select? Database ?.

2. When you click on "Database", you will see all available databases . Select those you want to export or copy. In many cases, only a single database appears.

phpMyAdmin: list of available databases.

3. Now the database you have selected is shown in detail in table form. To save it on your computer, click? Export ?.

phpMyAdmin: database selected in detail in table format.

4. To quickly and easily copy the database of your WordPress website to your local computer, click? Continue ? in this window. To see more options for exporting databases, select? Custom - show all possible configuration options ?.

phpMyAdmin: export database tables.

Reset a WordPress page

Obviously, creating WordPress backups only makes sense if you can reload the copied WordPress files and the associated WordPress database, that is, if it serves to restore the damaged website again. In principle, you must proceed as described above, only this time in the opposite order:

1. Upload the WordPress files from the copy again through FileZilla or another FTP program on your website's server. As we have explained, for this you have to connect to the corresponding FTP program. If you use FileZilla, drag the website files saved on your computer (left field) to the corresponding section on your server (right field) with the mouse. If there is still any data left on your server, the corresponding files will be overwritten during the reset.
2. Then import the saved database back into the WordPress website using phpMyAdmin. Here also proceed as described above, only instead of "Export", you must click on "Import". Afterwards, you can search your computer for the corresponding database by clicking on the "Search" field. The extension of the database file is normally? .Sql ?.

phpMyAdmin: import the database.

advice

Many providers only allow you to load databases up to a certain size. If it is exceeded, it is recommended to convert the database SQL file to a ZIP file before uploading. In that case, the file extension to upload will be? Sql.zip ?.

If you have already uploaded the files and the database, you should be able to access your WordPress website as usual . Regardless of the type of backup used, to be safe, you should regularly try to restore your backups on a test web page. Thus, you will know for sure that your backup will work when the time comes.

---