How to Back Up a WordPress Site Manually

While dotCanada's automatic daily backups protect your entire account, it's a good habit to keep a separate backup of your WordPress site - especially before updates or customizations. Here's how to do it manually.

Step 1: Back Up Your WordPress Files

The easiest way to back up your WordPress files is with a plugin like UpdraftPlus:

1. In your WordPress admin panel, go to Plugins > Add New and search for UpdraftPlus.
2. Install and activate the plugin.
3. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups.
4. Click Backup Now.
5. Choose to include files, the database, or both, then confirm.
6. Once the backup is complete, download the backup files to your computer from the UpdraftPlus dashboard.

Step 2: Back Up Your Database with phpMyAdmin

For a separate database backup, use phpMyAdmin:

1. In cPanel, go to Databases > phpMyAdmin.
2. Select your WordPress database from the left panel.
3. Click the Export tab.
4. Choose Quick export and SQL format, then click Export.
5. Save the .sql file to your computer.

What to Back Up

• Files: wp-content/ folder (themes, plugins, uploads)
• Database: All your posts, pages, settings, and user data
• Config: wp-config.php if you've customized it

Keeping a manual backup in addition to your dotCanada automatic backups gives you extra protection when you need it most. Questions? Contact our support team.