How to Backup Your WordPress Database and Files
by Daniel Snyder on Nov 15, 2010 • 8:58 pm 42 CommentsAre you regularly doing a wordpress database backup? According to a recent poll conducted by PC Advisor, 30 percent of people back up data every day, but one in 13 never back up valuable data! I suspect the same can be said about bloggers, and yet your blog is very valuable data and if you’re not backing it up, it’s time to learn how. There are many wordpress plugin options for backing up your blog, but I resort to old fashioned methods in which I am in 100% control of the backup, and happy seeing the data stored on my own hard drive. It’s important to avoid losing data and hours of hard work, our friend Brian at Blog Engage recently had a database issue and nearly lost a whole lot of critical content on his blog (this happened while he was running a contest and contest information was nearly lost!), luckily Brian had a very recent backup and was able to restore his database. Read the near-horror story here.
Backup Your Blog: WordPress Files Backup
Editor’s Note. UPDATE This post originally gave instructions on file backup only, and yet was titled as a database backup. I apologize for the error and the misinformation. Only downloading your files from the FTP will not backup your MySQL database (which is where your posts, comments etc. are stored). Read about backing up your database directly on wordpress.org
Doing a wordpress backup is not too difficult, depending on the size of your blog it may however take more than a few minutes. That’s okay, you can let the backup run in the background while you’re promoting your blog!
The first step is to back up your files. I like to access my files directly, and for this I use the FTP client Filezilla. (Download filezilla by clicking on the previous link) (Note: the file backup method is only for those who own their own domain, and can gain access to their FTP)
Once you’ve installed and loaded up filezilla you can simply login to your website with your FTP username and password. This is different information from your wordpress login, and you should have been provided with this FTP login information from your host. Filezilla looks like the below screen (click on the image to see it larger), your login credentials are entered at the top, while the screen splits showing your local computer system on the left and the remote server on the right.
Now you simply use filezilla like windows explorer, by clicking and dragging from the remote server to your local machine you will download all the data to the directory you specify. Simple! In this manner you can backup your blog files and do a complete backup without any extra plugins or concerns.
Step 2 requires you to do a WordPress Database Backup. The only database supported by WordPress is MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater. There are numerous plugins available to do this, or you can do it manually using phpMyAdmin. I’d like to be able to walk you through that process, but at this time the best source of information is directly from WordPress.
The plugin I am using is called WordPress Database Backup, which is simple to use and allows you to backup all or selected tables. The completed backup can then be downloaded as a tarball. Should you ever need to use the backup to restore your database you will need to utilize phpMyAdmin, and you can find instructions for that here.
What method do you use for doing a WordPress Database Backup? Or do you prefer doing it a different way? Let our reader know your thoughts with a comment below! And remember, info carnivore is a DO FOLLOW blog so commenting here will help increase your page rank!
42 comments
SERPD says:
Nov 15, 2010
How to Backup Your WordPress Database (Without a plugin!)…
Are you regularly doing a wordpress database backup? According to a recent poll conducted by PC Advisor, 30 percent of people back up data every day, but one in 13 never back up valuable data! I susp……
Tweets that mention How to Backup Your Wordpress Database | Info Carnivore -- Topsy.com says:
Nov 15, 2010
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Aschatria Xyana and Corbie77, Daniel Snyder. Daniel Snyder said: Simple advice: How to Backup Your WordPress Database (without a plugin!) http://bit.ly/ac5sce […]
DO FOLLOW LUV says:
Nov 15, 2010
How to Backup Your WordPress Database (without a plugin)…
Are you regularly doing a wordpress database backup? According to a recent poll conducted by PC Advisor, 30 percent of people back up data every day, but one in 13 never back up valuable data! I susp……
Patricia@lavenderuses says:
Nov 15, 2010
I just got techie friend do backup for me and I haven’t a clue how he did it except I think he used a plugin. I will bookmark this and get him to take a look. Thanks for sharing this Daniel.
Patricia Perth Australia
technology review says:
Nov 15, 2010
Filezilla is a very good client FTP software which enables the user to upload and download files from his site with ease.The blog of ur’s on wordpress database backup is a very informative
Thanks for postting
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach says:
Nov 16, 2010
Gotta love drag and drop! Does that download the actual posts too? I generally export them meself.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 16, 2010
All data is stored in the mysql database – including your permalink structure – posts, pages, comments, etc… since wordpress generates everything dynamically…
Bryan says:
Nov 16, 2010
Hey Dan,
Interesting post. To be honest I’ve never used those FTP programs before haha 😀 But this feature is certainly handy. Will definitely look into it.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 16, 2010
Thanks Bryan… like I said to the other guys, if you try this out – come back and let us know how it goes!
Paul says:
Nov 16, 2010
I currently use plugins to backup my database as well as my WordPress files. I have both plugins run the backups on a specific schedule, and the files are e-mailed to an account that isn’t associated with my blog.
From there I can then download the files, if I wish.
I find the fact that I can schedule the backups through cron jobs to be easier than FTP as I don’t have to worry about remembering to backup my WordPress data.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 16, 2010
Certainly a scheduled backup is valuable! There’s nothing wrong with plugins necessarily, but I always like being in control of what’s happening. 😉
Andy @ FirstFound says:
Nov 16, 2010
Thanks Daniel, I’ve added this to my Delicious bookmarks so I can refer back to it.
I’ve always had trouble backing up my personal blog, so this should help!
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 16, 2010
Cool! Thanks Andy, let us know how it goes if you use this method.
Hunter says:
Nov 16, 2010
I never really had the guts to mess with FTP. But, this looks worth trying. Thanks for sharing.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 16, 2010
No problem! Come back and let us know how it goes… thanx for commenting! 🙂
John Soares says:
Nov 17, 2010
Daniel, I use this method occasionally. It’s simple, it works, and you don’t have to install a plugin.
My host, Hostgator, also does a complete backup of all my files every Sunday, although it overwrites the backup files from the week before.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 17, 2010
To all those that commented, please read this update.
*** This post originally gave instructions on file backup only, and yet was titled as a database backup. I apologize for the error and the misinformation. Only downloading your files from the FTP will not backup your MySQL database (which is where your posts, comments etc. are stored). Read about backing up your database directly on wordpress.org or read the updated post. Thanks, and again I apologize!
Sophie@Wordpress tutorial 2010 says:
Nov 17, 2010
Daniel,
I am using wp db backup plugin too. It is very easy to use and a must have plugin to install.
Thanks.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 17, 2010
The plugin is super simple to use as you say, but I don’t like it’s lack of features… I think one of these plugins needs a restore database option, in case that ever becomes the case.
Sophie@Wordpress tutorial 2010 says:
Nov 17, 2010
Daniel,
So true, it would be really awesome if it has restore feature.
Thank you for replying.
Thiru says:
Nov 18, 2010
Thanks for the tutorial dani, Hope would be helpful to most of wordpress blog owners. you done it in a good way.
Ajinkya@BLOG404 says:
Nov 18, 2010
Thats really cool but I prefer using dropbox that automatically takes backup of my wp blog posts . Do check it out , its much simpler 😀
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 18, 2010
I am somewhat familiar with dropbox, though I’d never considered it for this purpose. Thanks for the tip!
Alvin Lim Fong Yee says:
Nov 19, 2010
I use FileZilla to transfer files to my blog. It is very useful and easy to use. But for backup purpose, I would use the integrated cpanel backup feature to download all files and database.
Daniel Snyder says:
Nov 19, 2010
Yeah FileZilla is the best FTP software I’ve found! Thanks for sharing.
Six of My Biggest Blogging Mistakes, Round 2 | Info Carnivore says:
Nov 20, 2010
[…] « How to Backup Your WordPress Database and Files Number ONE thing Computer users neglect! […]
Ana @ Internet Marketing Tools says:
Dec 2, 2010
Definitely great info for those who are capable of following your simple directions, Daniel.
I, on the other hand, am a plugin or outsourcing kind of gal! 🙂
Ana Hoffman
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 2, 2010
Thanks for your comment Ana. I use a plugin for my database of course, but the files I like to backup from FTP. Not sure of any plugins that will backup your files as well, though I’m sure some exist.
Tek3D says:
Dec 16, 2010
I back up WordPress files and database manually and don’t install any softwares or plugins. To get WordPress files, I go to the File Manager in Cpanel, compress all and then download this file. And to backup database, I export tables and download them to my computer. It is that simple and easy. 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 16, 2010
I guess Cpanel is your host? Not everyone has a host that provides file management like that. In addition where exactly are you exporting your tables? How are you doing that from within wordpress without a plugin?
Dave Clements says:
Dec 16, 2010
As much as I hate to use plugins, WP-DB-Backup is one that I have to keep running because making manual daily backups is very tedious. I’ve also been trialling Updraft lately which is very helpful.
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 16, 2010
Dave, what is updraft all about? Can you share more?
Dave@Do It With WordPress says:
Dec 16, 2010
Sure thing. It’s a lightweight plugin that allows you backup your themes folder, plugins folder and one other folder (uploads maybe?) as well as your database, on a regular schedule (daily for instance). It can either save it to a folder on your server, or send it off by email, FTP or Amazon S3 among other services. Care-free backups 🙂
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 17, 2010
Thanks for sharing about it Dave! I hope readers who are interested here will give it a try.
Pete Carr says:
Dec 18, 2010
Hi Daniel,
I use Filezilla, also the WP Database Plugin. My theme allows me to export it’s files to a file on my computer also. Call me paranoid but I do like to have all bases covered.
Thanks
Pete
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 20, 2010
Thanks Pete, you’re using the exact same process as me! It’s a good feeling to have all your files in your own possession. 🙂 I agree!
Darran says:
Dec 19, 2010
I use phpMyAdmin to backup. The WordPress export XML file misses out on some information. The only trouble is when I am moving my site to another location.
Daniel Snyder says:
Dec 20, 2010
Good point here Darran – not all plugins cover all your data properly … How often and why would you be moving your site? Perhaps the odd move, but you sound like you do that regularly.
SEO services says:
Jan 21, 2011
Nice writeup once again, expecting more of these on your blog in the near future!!..
Daniel says:
Feb 5, 2011
I use phpMyAdmin as well, or the MySQL administrator which exports all data in text file in SQL format. However, your tutorial is more for non programming skilled people. Another great post Daniel. Cheers.
Daniel Snyder says:
Feb 6, 2011
Well thanks – definitely want EVERYONE to be able to and aware of the importance of backing up data, it is a good thing it can be done simply. Right now I still feel however that should the need arise to restore a database that a vast majority of wordpress users would be stumped and struggling… it’s just not quite as simple.
You ARE Backing Up, But How Do You Store Your Backups? | Dragon Blogger says:
Mar 27, 2011
[…] of content about the importance of backing up your data. Even I have written a how-to post about backing up your wordpress database and files. Something I suspect the majority of individuals do not consider is taking your backup one step […]