It's important to keep always have a backup of your site. Here's how to do so manually:
- Connect to cPanel
- Under Files, select Backups
- Click on Download a Full Backup
- Select your choice of method - either copy the backup on an FTP server or in your current account's root directory. If you are unsure about the method to select, we recommend the second option (root directory)
- Enter an email address if none has been selected
- If you have selected FTP server backup method, fill in the external FTP server's connection details.
- Click on Generate Backup
- cPanel will send you an email to confirm when your backup has been completed. This may take several hours, so please be patient. You can then download the backup copy from the server to your local computer through FTP, or via the File Manager in your cPanel.
Please note that since backups are stored in a proprietary cPanel format, you will not be able to extract specific files from the backup archive. These backups can only be used to restore your entire account (including files, databases, emails, and statistics) in its current state by a server administrator, in the event of catastrophic data loss.
If you still have questions about creating backups in cPanel, contact us by opening a support ticket or by using our live chat feature.