How to Manually Backup Your WordPress Files

When developing your website, it is extremely important to regularly back up the files on your server. This allows you to easily get the latest version of your site up and running if something unexpected happens. The backup process can be automated with the help of various plugins or server options, but it can always be handy to know how to do it manually.

Since your website files are located in the File manager console on your server, you need to access cPanel first. Not all servers use cPanel, so if you’re not sure what platform your hosting package offers, contact your hosting provider for more information.

Before starting the backup process, create a new folder on your computer. To keep things organized, we recommend sticking to the following naming convention: the “backup” prefix, the name of your website, and the date of this backup.

Backing Up Files Using cPanel

After logging into cPanel, navigate to: File Manager settings in the control panel.

Find and open the folder in the file manager public_html. If there is more than one domain on the server, check the folder with the domain name of the website you want to back up. Right click on it and select Compress.

You can also find the Compress option in the File Manager’s toolbar. By selecting the Compress option, you will open the window with additional settings.

Mark the zip archive optionenter the name of the file and then click the button Compress Files.

Compressing time depends on the size of your files. The result will be a zip file. Download it from your server and save it to the folder you previously created for the backup files.

If you want to copy individual files rather than the entire folder, click the first file in the folder to mark it. Scroll down by holding down the SHIFT button on your keyboard and select the last file you want to mark. Right click on the selected files and click on it. Compress:

You will open a new window where you will select the zip archive option to compress the files. Enter the name of the zip file and the name of the server folder where you will save it. If you do not specify the location, a new folder with the zip file name will be created automatically:

If you follow the instructions, the result will be a zip file marked with the date the backup was performed.

Download the zip file to your computer and place it inside the folder you created earlier for this purpose. It is recommended to delete the backup file from the server after downloading, so that you do not use up space unnecessarily.

Backing Up Files Using FTP

You can back up your files by following similar instructions using an FTP client. An FTP Client (File Transfer Protocol) is a useful software that provides the connection between the website’s server and your computer.

For FTP connection we will use FileZilla software is one of the most popular and practical FTP clients. You will find details about your FTP connection here: FTP account partition in cPanel.

If you cannot find these details, you will need to contact your hosting provider.

When you log into your server using an FTP account via FileZilla, you will see two panels:

In the left panel, you will find a local site with your computer. The right side will show a remote site, in this case the live server you are connected to.

In the remote site section, you will see public_html, also known as root folder where you will find all WordPress files. In the local site section, navigate to the folder where you want to save the backup files from the server. Select the first file you want to mark. Hold down the Shift button on your keyboard and scroll down to mark all the files you want to select. Click and drag these files to the left panel.

This way you copy all the selected files from the server to your computer.

If you want, you can copy individual files by dragging each one from the live server to your computer. For example, you can move only the most important files: wp-content, .htaccess and wp-config.php.

If you want to create a complete backup of your website, you should also backup your database. The database records and stores all changes on your site. As with file backup, database backup can be done manually or using plugins, tools, and server options.

final thoughts

Using this tutorial, you can easily create a backup of your site’s files without any additional tools and plugins. Backing up your files regularly will help you avoid unwanted data loss should something unexpected happen to your site.