How to Backup Your Website

Regular backups are your safety net against data loss from hacking, server failures, accidental deletions, or failed updates. Every website owner should have a backup strategy in place.

What to Back Up

A complete website backup includes:

Website files: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, themes, plugins, and uploaded media.
Database: All dynamic content — posts, pages, user accounts, settings, and configurations.
Email accounts: If your hosting includes email, back up mailboxes separately.
Configuration files: .htaccess, wp-config.php, and server settings.

Backup Methods

1. cPanel Backup Tool

Most hosting accounts with cPanel offer built-in backup:

Log into cPanel.
Navigate to Files → Backup or Backup Wizard.
Click Download a Full Account Backup to save everything.
For partial backups, download the Home Directory and individual MySQL Databases separately.

2. WordPress Plugins

Plugin	Features
UpdraftPlus	Scheduled backups to Google Drive, Dropbox, S3, and more
BackWPup	Full backups including database, files, and XML export
Duplicator	Backup and migration tool — great for moving sites
BlogVault	Real-time backups with one-click restore

3. Manual Backup via FTP

Connect to your server using an FTP client (FileZilla, WinSCP).
Download your entire web root directory (usually public_html or www).
Export your database through phpMyAdmin (SQL format).

4. SSH/Command Line

# Archive website files
tar -czf backup_files_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz /path/to/public_html

# Export database
mysqldump -u username -p database_name > backup_db_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

5. Hosting Provider Backups

Many hosts, including 10Corp, offer automatic daily or weekly backups. Check your hosting plan details — but don’t rely solely on provider backups. Always maintain your own copies.

Backup Best Practices

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: Keep 3 copies, on 2 different media, with 1 stored offsite.
Automate your backups: Schedule daily or weekly backups so you don’t forget.
Test your backups: Periodically restore a backup to a test environment to verify it works.
Store backups offsite: Use cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, AWS S3) rather than only the same server.
Retain multiple versions: Keep several recent backups rather than overwriting the same file.

How to Backup Your Website