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WordPress backups are no different than doing PC backups.  The idea is to do a backup before you lose data or stuff gets corrupted.  Let’s begin.

There are several ways to do this, but the most important thing you should know is that WordPress is comprised of two parts.

1. The external files - These are all the files on your web server in your WordPress root, the place where you installed it.  The files are what makes WordPress “go”.  You’ve got things like themes, plugins, images, and all the functions that retrieve data from the database. 
2. The database - The posts, pages, comments, things put in the sidebars, and data from some plugins are not stored as external files, but rather as data in a MySQL database that was created when you installed WordPress.  To view a post on your blog, a function is executed to query the database to fetch the post.

Backing up the external files

1. On your PC, create a folder called Backups.  You’ll keep all backups in here.
2. In the Backups folder, create another folder for the blog.  All of your blogs should have their own folders.
3. Log into your hosting control panel.  I have cPanel on my account.
4. Go to Files > File Manager and navigate to your blog.  Use File Manager to select your WordPress files, then click on Compress to write them to an archive file.
5. Locate the archive file, select it, then click on Download to download it the backup folder on your hard drive.  Don’t skip this part because if you have problems on the server end, not having a backup off-site isn’t going to do you any good. 

Backup up the database

1. Log into you WordPress blog.
2. In the Dashboard, go to Tools > Export.
3. Make sure All Authors are selected in the drop list.
4. Click on Download Export File to download it to the backup directory on your hard drive.

Database Backup Note:

Be aware that some plugins install tables, so backing up the database using WordPress’ export tool will not get those tables.  You’ll need to log into your myPHPAdmin and do a full export from there, instead.  Make sure all tables are selected, not just the WP tables. 

Additional notes

You can also go into cPanel > phpMyAdmin and do a database backup from there, but why go through all the extra steps when you can do it right from your Dashboard?  You can also import a backup from the dashboard or phpMyAdmin.

Scheduling database backups

I have my database backups run automatically and sent via email by a plugin called WordPress Database Backup.  Just set it and forget it.  I have an email filter setup so when the backup comes in, it’s moved to a backup folder in my email so I never have to deal with it.  Every couple of weeks I delete the older copies.

Additional Resources

WordPress Backups- Get detailed instructions to back up your WordPress Site and your WordPress Database. In addition, support is provided online at the WordPress Support Forum to help you through the process.

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