Data backup is critically important for every website project or onine business, it is certainly one of the most important areas for ever website yet it is also one oof the least neglected and ignored. Every website is built around data. Changes in this data is continuous especially for websites that continually undergo changes and updates. The common of such websites are blogs, forums, social media websites. Data ‘backiup’ means making a copy of your files or having a copy of your website stored somewhere. In case of and breach, failure or damage, your website can be re-generated and restored back with the backup you have saved.
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Why you should backup
Data loss can happen in many ways, the most common causes are physical failure of your hardware, accidental error, theft or a disastrous compromise caused by an eploitation by a hacker! It is common for data loss to occur or some kind of damage caused due to a password leak, an outdated software or even an eploation of a poorly coded software. Without a backup in place to address very serious breaches, it any of these attacks are to hit your online business, it would take considerable time and expense to get things back if you are ever able to make a recover.
How to Backup Your Website in cPanel
A Website backup is essential to forestall an irrepairable or irrecoverable damage. To backup your website, there are several approaches you can use. This tutorial will show you how to do a full website backup including a backup of your files, emails, databases.
- First, login to cPanel using your username and password.
- Locate the 'files' section and click on the backup icon.
- Click on "Download a full website backup
- Leave the destination folder as Home Directory
- Enter the email to which you want the notification set after the backup is complete
- Click Generate Backup
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Using the phpMyAdmin Tool to Backup Your Database
To begin a database backup with phpMyAdmin, you should access the phpMyAdmin tool available in your cPanel:
- Select the database that you would like to backup from the Database menu (located in the upper left corner of the page). A new page will be loaded in phpMyAdmin showing the selected database.
- Scroll to the buttom and make sure the "check all" tab is checked. That will higlight all your database tabels.
- To proceed with the backup click on the Export tab: The options that you should select apart from the default ones are Save as file (which will save the file locally to your computer in an .sql format) and Add DROP TABLE (which will add the drop table functionality if the table already exists in the database backup).
- Click on the Go button to start the export/backup procedure for your database: A download window will pop up prompting for the exact place where you would like to save the file on your local computer. It is possible that the download starts automatically. This depends on your browser's settings.
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Restoring a database from a backup
To restore (import) a database from a backup, you will still have to use the phpMyAdmin tool within your control panel. First choose the database you'll be importing data into. This can be done from the corresponding menu on the left. Then click the Import tab:
You have the option of importing an .sql file which should have been generated from the backup eplained in the tutorial above. Choose the file from your local computer. Note that you are given the option to pick the character set of the file from the drop down-menu just below the upload box. If you are not certain about the character set your database is using just leave the default one.
In order to start the restore click on the Go button at the bottom-right. A notification will be displayed upon a successful database import. That will be all for database backup and restore.
Restoringa Full Backup
To be able to restore a full backup, you have to contact the Todhost customer support desk. Only a Todhost admin can restore a full backup. You need a functional backup available to be able to initiate a full backup restore request. This requires that you log in to your website cPanel, under the files section, click on backups > generate backup and the generate a full backup of your website. This can take sometime for large websites.
Downloading a full backup of your web site
If you have created a full backup of your web site, you can download the backup file.
To download a full backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Full Backup, click .
- Under Backups Available for Download, click the file that you want to download.
Downloading a partial backup
To download an existing partial backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Partial Backups, click the name of the backup file that you want to download. Depending on your web site's configuration, some or all of the following backup types may be available:
- Home directory
- MySQL databases
- E-mail forwarders
- E-mail filters
Restoring a partial backup
To restore an existing partial backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Partial Backups, click , select the partial backup file that you want to restore, and then click .
You need a website backup as a last resort when you have issues with your website. A good and safe practice in handling backups is to download it to your local computer. By so doing, you are sure that no matter what happens, you have a secure and functional backup that can always be restored.
Having your backup downloaded to your local commputer ensures that in cases of password compromise where all files you have on your website could be corrupt or deleted by a very wicked attacker, your downloaded backup can always be restored after a password reset and all backdoors have been removed.
Benefits of Website Backup
Running a website without a functional and proper backup is wrong and a failure to prepare for unforseen circumstances. Backups ocupy space but they are absolutely necessary. One way to free online space occupied by backup data is to download the backup to a local computer and then to delete the online backup and allow space for other things. Many companies and organizations run websites and do not think a backup is necessary. If you are one of those who do not think regular backup is necesary for your website, then you need to do a rethink before it is too late.
Website backup is actually something we can best describe as preparing for the rainy day.
Unfortunately,a surprising number of companies dedicate an much time to designing their website, choosing a host and getting their site hosted, and keeping it up and running. What many seem regrettably do not take seriously until it’s too late, though, are backups: an integral part of a successful website project.
Backups Will Save You Money
Imagine that your site goes down or is accidentally deleted on the host server. You get to know 3 hours later after your webhost has updated his backups. The implication is that you will loose your files as the original backup would have been overwritten by the new file backup.
Not having a backup will hurt your business as you would have lost everything and will have to start all over.
Some webmasters and site owners rely only on original development sites. I just like to say that storing the original development site isn’t enough because that original site won’t reflect small changes you make over time.
Regular backups lead to quicker reaction times in the event of a server outage, backing up your website gives peace of mind that you’ll be able to take the lead and handle any situation. Backups provide protection in the event of a virus—should your site get infected, you can default back to the most recent version without the virus
The benefits of regular backups, then, are great. Not only will backing up regularly save you money (because you’ll have less to worry about if a server goes down), it will also help you ensure that you’re prepared for any and all situations that your business and your website may come across.
Todhost offers backup services which include:
Disk Image Backups every 24 hours on our Dedicated servers. With Todhost, you are in safe hands and can always fall back on our recent backup in the event of a disaster.
You will be notified once the backup is complete. Please remember not to close the window or disconnect your internet in order not to disrupt the backup process.
Contact support if you have any issues in the process.
That's it. You now know how to backup your website.
