As a user, you already have many options for How To Take A Manual Backup Of Your Website Without Any Plugin like UpdraftPlus. Also, not to mention that every good hosting provider provides a free daily or weekly backup of your files and databases. Which takes quite a load off the shoulders of the webmasters.

Backup comes in handy when restoring the last saved version of your website. There are a lot of plugins that help you do it. Still, if you want to get your hands dirty and get the job done yourself without installing any plugins, this simple guide will help you understand how you How To Take a Manually Back up Your WordPress Site Without A Plugin.

How To Take A Manual Backup Of Your Website Without Any Plugin?

WordPress consists of two parts: files and databases. Files contain all the code that runs your website, whereas the database contains mainly your posts and comments. 

To ensure a successful manual backup of your site, you need to back up your databases and files individually. These two things are backed up and restored differently. This guide will guide you through all the steps and procedures needed to accomplish them.

Without wasting any time, let’s dive straight into it:

Backing up all the website files

1. Create a backup on File Manager

Open the File Manager on your web host. That is where all the files that you’re looking for are located.

You will come across a folder named public_html inside the File Manager folder. This is the root folder of your site. Just like tree roots, which store all the essential nutrients in them, this folder also houses vital stuff like all your JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and other files.

Once you locate it, open the public_html folder. It houses all the essential files that make sure your website runs the way it usually does. You need to download these as a copy of your backup to backup. To do it, select the option “Select All.”

Now, you must compress all your files and folders into a zip file. Compression is significant as these files in their proper form are very large, and downloading them like that will take a lot of time. You might even lose some files if you do it directly.

Once you have selected all the files, press the “Compress” button on the page, or you can also do the same by right-clicking on any of the selected files and then choosing the compress option from the popup box.

Now, select the “Zip Archive” format and scroll down to type and name your zip file. Keep the “public_html” before the file name, as this will help you store the zip file in the public_html folder. Now, click on the compress files button at the bottom. Depending on their size, it will take a moment to compress the files.

.

Now, you can see the file name backup.zip or any other name you had put earlier. You can refresh the page if you do not know the name. There is a “reload” option next to the Select All option we saw earlier. Remember, once you know the zip file, you need to download it and nothing else.

2. Downloading the backup on the computer

By now, your backup must be ready. It is time to download the backup file to the local PC. Although you can download the backup file from the cPanel, the download process might likely break from there, not to mention how tedious it can be.

Hence, the best practice is to download the backup using the free and open-source FTP client. You can use the FireZilla FTP client for this process. All you need to do is connect it to your web host.

You can easily connect your site using the FTP credentials. These credentials can be easily found in your cPanel account or web hosting dashboard.

Once your site is linked to the FTP client, locate and copy all of your site’s files. Look up the public_html folder and choose your backup file.

Download them to a folder on your PC and save them.

Verify by checking the same folder where you downloaded them. Make sure the files have been downloaded correctly.

To download your website, right-click once on the backup file and select “download.”

If unsure, log in to your hosting dashboard and look for the FTP settings or contact your hosting service provider.

Tip: You can also download the backup file from your cPanel, but only use this method if the file size is relatively small. The downloading process is quite the same as we saw above: locate the backup file, right-click, and download. That’s it!

Backing up the database

It is simply not enough to back up just your site files. 

Your website files do not contain all the content, like your pages and blog posts. A complete website backup also requires you to back up your MySQL database.

WordPress stores all of its data in the MySQL database. This includes all your pages, comments, and posts; hence, backing up just your site would result in an empty website with no posts, pages, images, media library, etc.

Here’s how you can make a copy of your database:

Go to your hosting cPanel and look up the PHPMyAdmin option from where you can access your site’s database.

Then, look for the “Export” option and choose the “SQL” format and the “Quick” option unless you want to select some of the more advanced settings on your way.

Lastly, click on the “go” button.

That’s it. Now, your database will get downloaded in your PC’s default download folder, from where it can be quickly restored once you upload this file in the import area of PHPMyAdmin.

Also read: Restore WordPress Site From Backup: A Step-By-Step Guide 

How Often Should You Perform A Manual Backup?

The frequency at which you update the designs, content, and other related elements of your website determines how often you should manually back up your site.

If you regularly update your site’s content, themes, and plugins, you should back it up more frequently. If not, you can wait for some time before doing it.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this, but it is always better to back up your website if you worry that you might lose new content if, by chance, it crashes.

Conclusion

Backing up your site is a vital process that should not be ignored. It comes in handy at times, like when the website crashes.

Because of this, you should back up your website more often. Keeping at least three copies of your content in different locations like a CD, desktop, cloud, or hard drive is essential.

If one of the backups gets corrupted or you lose a media, you’d still have a spare one at your disposal. This simple guide on How To Take A Manual Backup Of Your Website Without Any Plugin.

FAQs

What are the two parts of backing up your website?

Backing up your website usually revolves around two areas – backing up your database and files. These two areas make up two parts of the entire manual backup process for your website.

How long does it take to back up an entire WordPress website manually?

You should dedicate at least a 30-minute slot to ensure you can take a manual backup your website. However, it entirely depends on your backup size. The more content you have, the longer it will take for you to be able to take a manual backup of your website.

What if I encounter issues during the manual backup process?

If you encounter problems, visit the official WordPress documentation online forums or seek assistance from your host. If you are backing up your website manually, carefully follow the steps listed in the guide above. A Manual backup of your website should only be performed if you have a clear guide to follow through.