How to back up and restore your WordPress site

A backup is your way back after a failed update, a hack or a mistake. This guide shows how to back up with cPanel or a plugin, and how to restore.

What to back up

A WordPress site has two parts, and you need both:

• Files: everything in public_html, especially wp-content (your uploads, themes and plugins) and wp-config.php
• Database: your posts, pages, settings and users

Scheduled backups aren't part of Shared Hosting or WordPress Hosting yet, so keep your own copies, away from the server.

Back up with cPanel

1. In cPanel, open Backup.
2. Under Partial Backups, download your home directory and each database.
3. Keep the files on your computer or in cloud storage.

You can also download a full account backup, but only we can restore one of those, so partial backups are easier to use yourself.

Back up with UpdraftPlus

1. Install and activate UpdraftPlus from Plugins > Add New.
2. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups.
3. Choose a schedule, for example daily for the database and weekly for files.
4. Choose remote storage such as Google Drive or Dropbox, so your backups aren't only on the server.
5. Select Backup Now to make the first one.

Restore a backup

With UpdraftPlus

Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups, find the backup and select Restore. Choose what to restore and follow the steps.

With cPanel partial backups

In Backup, upload your home directory file under Restore a Home Directory Backup, and each database file under Restore a MySQL Database Backup.

Daily backups off the server

Our CodeGuard add-on backs up your site every day to Amazon S3, and lets you restore one file or the whole site.

If a backup or restore fails

• The backup times out. Back up the database and the files separately, and leave out large folders such as old backups.
• The restore stops halfway. Large uploads can hit limits. Upload the files with FTP and import the database in phpMyAdmin instead.
• The backup file is damaged. Download it again and check its size. Keep more than one copy.

Related guides

• How to install WordPress on GHost Cloud
• How to secure your WordPress site
• WordPress troubleshooting: common errors and fixes
• How to manage files with cPanel File Manager