You never want to get caught in a position where you have lost all the hard work you put into a website. However, this is reality, and it can happen. That means that not only do you lose site files, but all the design, code, and updates you personally did as well.

The best web hosting companies will provide you with nightly backups. However, there is also a way to back up site files using a WordPress backup and restore plugin.

Let’s take a look at the plugin in question and see all that it has to offer.

BackupGuard – WordPress Backup and Migrate Plugin

BackupGuard – WordPress Backup and Migrate Plugin is exactly that. A top of the line, complete, WordPress backup plugin that provides you a ton of functionality and features.

Despite being packed full of functionality, the plugin is lightweight, easy to use, and can be a lifesaver if something happens and your site goes down or you lose files. BackupGuard not only offers a smooth and easy way to backup and restore files, but also a way to migrate websites.

Once the plugin is installed, you will be able to easily backup and restore your WordPress files, database, or both. As mentioned above, it comes packed with features, including a cloud backup option to DropBox. Some of the other highlights include:

• Site backup: backup your website as many times as you want
• Backup files, database, or both
• Choose what folders to backup
• Select database folders to backup
• Restore your site file at any time
• Selective file or database restoration
• Download backups to your computer
• Import backups (no FTP required)
• Multisite backups supported
• Cancel the backup process whenever you want
• Explore all backup files and restore log files
• Specify custom exclude paths
• Exclude database tables
• Live progress bar to view when needed
• Dropbox upload available
• Schedule site backups

Basically, the BackupGuard plugin is a one-stop plugin for those of you who want to fully control all your website files and database backups, restorations, and migrations.

Back-Up WordPress Files and Database

Let’s dive headfirst into the process and go through the steps of setting up the plugin so that you can back up WordPress files. Before you know it you will have your site backed up and safe, no matter what happens.

Step 1: Install and Activate Plugin

In order to start creating a website file and database backups, you first need to install and activate the BackupGuard plugin. You can do this by heading over to the Plugins page in the WordPress admin dashboard of your website.

Just use the search field to search the plugin by name. When it pops up, install and activate it right from there.

Step 2: Access the Plugin Configuration and Settings

After you install and activate the plugin, you will want to access the main configuration and settings area for it. You can do this by clicking on the “BackupGuard” tab located in the left side menu area of the dashboard.

You see that this is now an available option after you activated the plugin.

This takes you to the configuration and settings. At this point, you can start to explore everything and see all the tools you have.

Step 3: Add Code to Website (if applicable)

At this point, you are on the main configuration page for the plugin. At the very top, you will see a notice that states the following:

“BackupGuard Warning: Your website is running on a LiteSpeed server. If you are experiencing problems while backing up or restoring, try to add the following code to your .htaccess file:”

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* – [E=noabort:1]

Many sites will get this warning. So, if you are having any issues, go ahead and perform the function above and add that code to the .htaccess file.

Step 4: Review Settings Tab

You see that there are several tab options on the main configuration page. We won’t go through all of them, but let’s touch on a couple. These include:

• Backups
• Cloud
• Schedule
• Settings
• System Info
• Services
• Support
• Why Upgrade

Click on the “Settings” tab and let’s take a look. Go ahead and fill in the plugin settings on how you see fit for your setup. You should do this before you create a backup.

Click the “Save” button when you are finished and let’s move on.

Lastly, before you create your first site backup, feel free to check out the other tabs. They may come in useful at certain points down the road.

For instance, the “Cloud” tab will allow you to save files to Dropbox automatically. The “Schedule” tab allows you to schedule backups according to your own preferences.

There is also a “Support” tab for accessing the plugin developers for questions, as well as a “System Info” tab for viewing the info and how it is performing on your system.

Step 5: Create a Backup

You are now ready to create your first website backup. Click on the “Backups” tab to start.

You see there are options for backup, import, etc. There is also a migration button. Let’s touch on that for one second.

Note: BackupGuard free version will help you migrate your website in case there is no change in the domain or the Database prefix. If there is any change in the domain or the DB prefix, BackupGuard Pro will be of use. So it is up to you whether you feel you need the pro version or not for migration.

In this instance, we are creating a backup. Click on the blue “Backup” button to start.

A popup box will appear with a selection of backup options. In this case, we are going to select the “Full backup” option to demonstrate.

Make that selection and then click on the “Backup” button to start the process.

The backup will start. How long it will take depends on the size of your website. You can see that a file icon was generated and you are able to view the backup progress as it goes.

Once the backup is finished, the plugin shows you a “Success” message in green under the Status column.

That’s it! You have successfully created a website backup. You can download it to your machine, use the restore button when needed, or delete it and do another one.

Remember, you can create as many website backups as you want. There is also the option of creating backups of only certain files. Play with it more until you are comfortable, but as of this point, you should be all set.

Final Thoughts

Backing up your website files and databases is a very smart move. Doing this means that you have a backup of your own files at any point in time they are needed. You can use them to restore the site you worked so hard on, should something happen.

There are a few different ways that you can do this, but using BackupGuard is one of the easiest ways, and also one of the safest and quickest. It puts the process in your hands, and allows you to import and export site files without having to use FTP.

I hope this tutorial showed you how easy it is to back up your WordPress site using BackupGuard. Try it out and see what you think.

Have you been creating your own website backup files already? What other plugins or techniques do you use to do this?

The post How to Secure WordPress Files with BackupGuard appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Backups are an essential part of running your website and should be one of the first things you set up when you start in WordPress. There are plenty of backup plugins for WordPress, but many of them are not free or they have limited features. That’s not the case here.

Today, I will demonstrate how to backup WordPress for free with the BackWPup plugin.

Why Are Backups so Important

Many new web developers think that their security plugins will guard their websites against all threats. Unfortunately, security plugins can make mistakes. The best guard for any website is an up-to-date backup of the website.

This will ensure that if anything goes wrong on your website, you can use the backup to revert to the version before the problem occurred. Now, you may be wondering when you should be using your backup.

The three most likely reasons you will need to use your backup include common WordPress errors, common web developer mistakes, like coding, etc., or cyber-attacks.

Let’s face it, one of these things will happen and your only options will be to manually fix the problem, which could take days, or use a backup to restore your website in minutes. Backups help prevent extended downtime and can quickly undo any mistakes that were made.

How to Backup WordPress for Free With BackWPup

Step 1: Installing BackWPup

The BackWPup plugin is extremely popular with over 700,000 active installs and for a good reason. It offers complete backups, automatic backup scheduling, and cloud storage options. The best part is you get to do all of this for free.

You’re probably wondering, what is the catch? There is no catch, but the difference between this plugin and a paid plugin is that you will get full support with a paid service while you’re basically on your own with a free one.

Start by going to the plugins area of WordPress and click on the “Add New” button.

Search for BackWPup in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the BackWPup plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Set a Backup Schedule

On the left-hand admin panel, click on BackWPup and select the Add new job option. This will pull up the main settings page.

One of the biggest problems with backups is finding the time to actually do them. Odds are you or someone else will forget to do it, which is why automatic backups are the best option.

It won’t take up any of your time and you can set up a schedule that works best for your website.

Before you begin, it is a good idea to decide what schedule works for you.

One thing to consider is when you regularly add new content or features to your website. If you normally upload once a week, schedule the backup after your new content would release.

This will ensure your website’s backup is always up to date.

You also need to decide what to backup. You may just want to back up everything, which is an excellent choice and recommended, but perhaps you just want to backup your content. Whatever the case, make sure you know what you want. Storing a large backup file could cost you extra money if you pay for storage.

Step 3: General Settings

Once you have a plan, it’s time to begin setting up. The first thing to do is name this new job something recognizable like Automatic Backup.

Now it is time to decide what this job will do. There are five options to choose from. You can include as many as you want, but if you are just worried about creating a backup, make sure to check the Database backup box.

Now it’s time to decide the backup format and where the backup will be stored. The Backup File Creation section has multiple subsections to look at.

By default, your backup will be a Zip file. Feel free to change it to another option if you wish, but Zip is a great option.

Next, you need to decide where to store the backup. You have eight options which include things like email and cloud storage.

If you do not pick cloud storage, make sure you do not store your backup on your server. It is a terrible practice because if your server goes under, you will lose your website and the backup to restore it.

Pick the best options for you.

Once you are done picking the settings for your backup, click on the “Save Changes” button.

Step 4: Schedule Tab

Click on the Schedule tab. Select the WordPress Cron option. You will see a schedule at the bottom. You can then choose to backup your website monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly.

I recommend picking the option that best matches your content release schedule.

Click on the “Save Changes” button to finish.

Now that you have set up when your backup will take place, it is finally time to choose what content will be backed up.

Click on the DB Backup tab. By default, everything on your website is selected. If for some reason you do not want to backup everything, deselect what you do not want to backup.

Congratulations, you have successfully set up automatic backups of your WordPress website for free. Remember not to store your backup on your server. It is not a good idea and you could lose both your website and your backup at the same time.

Create the Second Backup

Now that you have your main backup scheduled, you can create a second backup. The purpose of a second backup is to ensure that if anything happens to the first backup, you still have another option.

I know what you’re thinking, that’s pretty excessive, but let me ask you this, what happens if a hacker accesses the plugin and deletes the backup?

While it is extremely rare for anyone to go do that, it’s possible, which is why all major corporations invest in multiple backups in different locations. Luckily, it’s much easier in 2021 thanks to the cloud.

On top of having a backup accessible to you in your local settings, like an external drive or your web server, creating a cloud backup is one of the safest things you can do. And it’s relatively cheap to do so.

Backup Your Website

Whether it is a mistake on your part, common WordPress error, server failure, or cyber-attack, a time will come when you use your backup. Backups are an essential part of protecting the content you create. They can help you avoid extended downtime on your website.

Remember, every minute your website is unavailable is a minute when your ads cannot be viewed or purchases made. In other words, a loss of money.

Make sure your backup is up to date. There’s nothing worse when a server fails and you use a 3-month-old backup. Thankfully, automatic backups will help you avoid these unfortunate situations and cloud storage makes it easy to keep your backup safe.

How easy do you find the plugin to use? Where do you store your backup?

The post How to Backup WordPress for Free With BackWPup appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Unfortunately, command-line tools are not exactly beginner-friendly and even for coding wizards, they are not considered ideal.

On the other hand, phpMyAdmin has a sleek and user-friendly interface that makes everything much easier to understand.

The main reason you will ever need to duplicate WordPress databases is to create a backup of the website or move it to another location, like a local server created with WAMP for testing.

Today, I will demonstrate how to clone WordPress databases using phpMyAdmin from cPanel.

Why Should I Use phpMyAdmin to Clone My Database

The biggest appeal of the WordPress platform is that you can make an awesome website without having any coding experience whatsoever. Other alternatives to using phpMyAdmin will require you to use command-line prompts and other coding methods, while phpMyAdmin will not.

As you can imagine using this approach seems like the obvious choice for web developers and even if you are good at coding and have years of experience, most web developers will agree on using this method as well.

The phpMyAdmin is a free software tool that allows web developers to use a web-based interface to manage their MySQL databases. The phpMyAdmin is located within the cPanel or if you are using a local server, you can find it by visiting the URL associated with your server.

This allows you to do things like moving your website from one server to another, change or restore admin passwords, and manually backup WordPress databases.

How to Clone a WordPress Database using phpMyAdmin

Today, I will demonstrate how to clone WordPress databases using phpMyAdmin from cPanel. You will need access to your cPanel, which is provided with your web hosting plans when creating an account.

Keep in mind, if your only goal is to make a backup of your website, there are many free backup plugins available to use instead that can export and import WordPress databases with ease.

Step 1: Access phpMyAdmin

Let’s start by logging into cPanel and clicking on the phpMyAdmin option. The phpMyAdmin option will allow you to access all of the databases related to your website.

Step 2: Open the Database

The phpMyAdmin will open on a new tab. Click on the Databases tab.

On this tab, you will be able to see every database available. You need to find out which one is your WordPress database and click on it. If you are unsure which one is your database, just go down the list.

You will know it is the WordPress one when you see all of the “WP_” prefixes on the file.

Step 3a: Clone Your WordPress Database (Non-Shared Hosting Plan)

Once inside the WordPress database, click on the Operations tab.

You will have four options on this page. They include Create table, Rename database to,  Copy database to, and Collation.

If you do not see the “Copy database to” box appear, that means that you are most likely on a shared server and your web host will not allow you to copy a database this way.

Skip the next few steps to find out how.

The only one you need to fill in is the “Copy database to”. Fill in the name of your WordPress database clone and click on the “Go” button.

A success message will appear when the process is finished. If you have a very large database, then the process may take several minutes. Click on the Databases tab to see your cloned database.

Step 3b: Clone Your WordPress Database (Shared Hosting Plan)

Now, if you were unable to actually see the “Copy database to” box, there is another way to make a cloned database. This is accomplished by exporting your current database’s information and then creating a new database and importing that data into the new one.

Go back to your WordPress database. Click on the Export tab.

Select the Custom option and scroll down to the “Save output to a file” section and make sure the box is checked. Click on the “Go” button at the bottom.

phpMyAdmin will now save the database as a .mysql file on your web browser. Head back on to your cPanel and click on the MySQL Databases option.

Here you can use that file you downloaded to create your cloned database. In the first textbox name your database and click on the “Create Database” button.

Once it is created, click on the “Go back” option. Scroll down to the “Add User To Database” section and select your existing MySQL username and select the database as the one you just created. Click on the “Add” button.

Now that you have created a new database go back to the database tab on phpMyAdmin. Click on your newly created database. The database should have nothing inside of it. Click on the Import tab.

Click on the “Choose File” button. Select the file you previously exported. Once you select the file, click on the “Go” button.

Congratulations, you have successfully learned two ways to create a clone of your database using phpMyAdmin. If you are using these as a backup make sure you are storing them somewhere different from your original database.

If something were to happen to the server, not only would you lose the original, but also the backup.

Always Have a Backup Plan

Unfortunately, you will encounter problems when you are in charge of a website and many of these may stem from common WordPress errors or from incompatible plugins.

You may also suffer a cyber attack and have your website compromised. Many safeguards are put in place to guard against them from happening in the first place, but sometimes that’s not enough. And when it does, a backup will allow you to restore your website to a previous version.

You may also need a copy of your database when switching web hosts. This will allow you to get your website up and running under a new web host. The Internet is not the safest place to run a business, but it is one of the most profitable places and the rewards outweigh the risks.

How long did it take you to clone your database? Why did you need a clone of your database?

The post How to Clone a WordPress Database Using phpMyAdmin appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Backing up and restoring your website has never been easier with a large number of plugins available. There are many reasons to backup and restore WordPress and they include mistakes made when entering shortcodes, security attack recovery, or moving your website location. Today I will demonstrate how to restore your WordPress website from backups using BackupBuddy.

Why BackupBuddy can Help Backup Your WordPress Website

There are many advantages to backing up your website and BackupBuddy will be able to help you at every step. Before making any major changes to your website you should always back it up. It is a common practice because it guarantees you can easily fix any mistakes made.

You may also be in the process of switching web hosts and you will want to backup your website when switching. Unfortunately, sometimes the switching process is not as seamless as you want it to be and if there is something wrong with your new website you can try restoring it with your older copy. Just be sure to correct the URL changes.

Security is a major concern of any website and you will want to alway be on the look out for ways to improve it. Attacks can take your website out of commission for weeks if they are not properly dealt with. You can avoid all of this downtime if you restore your website.

How to Install and Use BackupBuddy in WordPress

Today I will demonstrate how to install and use the BackupBuddy plugin in WordPress. It is a premium plugin that has a lot of great features for backing up and restoring websites. It has a very easy to use interface and is one of the best WordPress full site backup plugins available. This plugin has been around since 2010 and is very well known and respected.

Before you begin it is extremely important that you understand that this is not a free plugin. You may purchase BackupBuddy here and the cheapest package will start at 80 dollars. There are multiple backup plugins that are free, but this tutorial will focus on BackupBuddy.

After you have purchased the plugin and installed it you will notice on the left-hand admin panel that there is a BackupBuddy option. Click on the BackupBuddy option.

This is the main page that will show you your backup history and when the last one occurred. It will also let you select which backup profile to run.

To set up scheduled backups click on the Schedules option on the left-hand admin panel. You will want to set up a schedule that works around the time when you add new content. For example, if you are a blogger that adds one new blog every week it would be a good idea to schedule a backup after you have added your new content every week.

The Schedules page will display your current backup schedules and allow you to add new ones at any time. It is very simple to create a schedule and you will first want to name your backup schedule.

Next, you will want to choose your backup profile. You can choose between the database portion of your website or a full backup. If your site is on the larger side it may be a better option to only fully back up your website on a monthly basis.

It is now time to pick the Backup Interval. This will give you many options to choose from, but remember that you want to create a schedule based on how often you update the website. There is no point in creating multiple backups of the same thing.

You can now select your start date and time. This is very important. If you want your schedule to happen every two weeks on Sunday make sure you pick the start date on a Sunday at a desirable time.

Before you are finished you must select where you will store your backup. Your package does include one Gigabyte of data if you choose the my stash option. Click on the “+ Add Remote Destination” button and make your selection.  Remember you can create multiple scheduled backups that will be stored in different places. This will ensure that if one storage location fails, you can find it in another.

Make sure the Enable Schedule to run box is checked or your backup will not happen. Once you have filled in all of the information click on the “+ Add New Schedule” button at the bottom of the page.

Backing up your website is only the first part. You must also know how to restore a backup. Click on the Restore / Migrate option on the left-hand admin panel.

On this page, you will see a full list of steps to restore your website to a previous backup file. It is very simple, just follow the steps and your website will be restored.

Congratulations, you have successfully backed up your WordPress website using the BackupBuddy plugin. You can create as many scheduled backups as needed. It is very important to always keep backups in case of a major incident that would cause extended downtime on your website.

Additional Plugins

There are many WordPress automated backup plugins available for use. Here are some additional plugins I can recommend trying.

VaultPress

VaultPress is another great backup plugin for WordPress. It is also a premium plugin and plans can be purchased here. It has similar functionality as all other backup plugins. If you want to create a backup and restore it, this plugin will definitely help you.

WP-DB-Backup

WP-DB-Backup is another very popular backup plugin for WordPress. It has over 300,000 active installs. It can back up your website very easily and is easy to use. It is a great plugin worth trying.

Keep Your Website Backed Up

WordPress automated backup plugins like BackupBuddy are like an insurance policy for your website. Backups will help you solve your mistakes, plugins’ issues, or even issues due to your web host, but regardless of what causes the mistake, a backup will have you covered. It is your responsibility to keep a backup of your website.

Scheduled backups are extremely useful, but do not think they are a flawless defense. You should always keep multiple copies in a different location and this is easy to accomplish by setting multiple scheduled backups to different locations. If you follow these basic guidelines you will always have at least one backup that you can use to restore your website.

Have you prevented any extended downtime on your website by restoring a backup file? Do you line up your scheduled backup with your content schedule?

The post How to Install and Use BackupBuddy in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

It is very easy to backup and restore WordPress websites thanks to the many plugins available. There are many reasons to backup and restore WordPress and they include making a mistake when manually coding, recovering from a security attack, or your host terminating or losing your account information. Today I will demonstrate how to restore WordPress from backups using UpdraftPlus.

Why it is Important to Backup Your WordPress Website

There are many advantages to backing up your website. The best use is to guard against mistakes that you would make when changing something major on your website.  You can easily mess up your site by installing and improperly using certain plugins. You may also be in the process of switching web hosts and you will want to backup your website when switching so you can easily transfer your website. If any issues arise, you can simply restore your website using the backup.

Security is one of the biggest concerns of any website and you will want to alway be on the look out for ways to improve it. Attacks can cripple your website, but if you have a backup stored somewhere, you can easily restore your website and fix the problem. Using one of the many WordPress backup plugins can help you keep your site running even after the worst events have happened.

How to Install and Use the UpdraftPlus Plugin to Backup and Restore WordPress

Today I am going to demonstrate how to install and use the UpdraftPlus plugin to backup and restore your WordPress website. This is the most popular backup plugin with over 1 million active installs. It has all of the features you will need to backup and restore your website, which includes scheduled backups and manual backups. The best part is it can all be done with the free version, which makes it very convenient to make a WordPress backup with UpdraftPlus.

Let’s start by going to the plugin area of WordPress and click on the “Add New” button.

Search for UpdraftPlus in the available Search box. This will pull up other similar plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the UpdraftPlus plugin and click on the “Install Now” button and activate the plugin for use.

On the left-hand admin panel go to Settings and click on the UpdraftPlus Backups option. This will bring you to the main settings page of the plugin.

Let’s click on the Settings tab in the middle. In this section of the plugin, you can set up scheduled backups. This is a good thing to set up because it will create backups constantly, but keep in mind that if your site has an issue and the backup is about to start, you will have a problem.

The first two options are “Files backup schedule” and “Database backup schedule”. For both of these options, you will want to choose how often they are updated and how many of the updates are kept. Remember, websites can be very large and you may not have the room for multiple copies. Select the best schedule for your website.

Once you have selected your schedule you will now want to select where you wish to save your backup. Obviously, you do not want to save your backup where your website is located. If there is a problem, you will lose both the website and backup. Luckily, UpdraftPlus gives you many options to upload your backup to. Select whichever option is best for you.

When you have made your selection you will have to sign in or set up an account depending on which storage system you have chosen.

Next you will want to choose what files you are backing up. I would recommend backing up everything in the scheduled backups. Select the files you wish to back up.

Once you have made all of your choices click on the “Save Changes” button on the bottom. You will have successfully created an automatic backup system for your website.

Of course, you may want to manually backup your website and UpdraftPlus can do that. Let’s go back to the Current Status tab that we started on.

If you want to manually backup your website at any time simply click on the “Backup Now” button.

A new window will pop up. Here you can choose what files you would like to backup. Once you have made your choices click on the “Backup Now” button. The process will begin and may take some time depending on how large your website is.

Backing up your website is only the first step. You must also know how to restore your website using one of these created backups. Let’s start by going to the “Existing Backups” tab.

Now you want to upload your backup. This can be done by either clicking on the Upload Backup Files option or Rescan Remote storage option. If you have the file readily available you can simply upload it directly. Depending on which storage system you picked earlier, the backup can be accessed through the Rescan option. Choose whichever option you find easier.

Finally, back on the Current Status tab, you can now click on the Restore button. Then click the Restore button on the new window.

Congratulations, you have successfully set up a scheduled backup system and learned how to restore your website at any time. Remember to pick a schedule that will benefit your content uploads. If you create new content every week it may be good to schedule a backup every week.

Keep Your Website Backed Up

It is extremely important to always be prepared in case there is an issue. This may be your mistake, a plugin’s issue, or even your web host’s mistake, but regardless of who causes the issue, it is your responsibility to keep a backup of your website. This will prevent long periods of downtime if it is a major issue.

Scheduled backups are extremely useful, but do not think they are full proof.  If you do have a serious issue with your website and a backup is created when this happens, you will essentially be deleting your backup in case you only keep one. You should always keep multiple copies in a different location other than the one where your website is stored. Always make a manual copy whenever you make big changes to your website. If you follow these basic guidelines you will always have at least one backup that you can use to fix your website.

Have you prevented any extended downtime on your website by restoring a backup file? Do you line up your scheduled backup with your content schedule?

The post How to Use UpdraftPlus to Back up and Restore WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Otherwise, you may find that important files are no longer available when you need them.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you a couple of different ways to clone a WordPress site. From image files to databases, all the data related to your content can be easily duplicated as a result of using the right tools.

What Does It Mean to Clone A WordPress Site?

The first question we should answer is what is cloning? Cloning is creating an exact duplicate of a website. The clone should be identical to the original website.

However, each copy of the site is independent. So if you clone site A, any changes you make to the clone, site B, only show up on site B. You can begin to see the benefits already.

Experiments or changes are done on the cloned copy of the original site and do not affect (or break!) the original site.

Cloning requires access to the site’s root directory and database. So you’ll need access to those parts of WordPress in order to clone the website.

When Should You Clone a WordPress Site?

When a website is cloned, you have an exact copy of the images, content, plugins, and everything else, all duplicated perfectly. The cloned site will operate exactly as the original with the exception of the domain name. So what are some of the uses for a cloned website?

Creating a Staging Area

Perhaps you want to develop plugins, themes, or make modifications to the site in a testing environment. Instead of subjecting your primary site to the dangers of experimenting, the clone can be used as a WordPress staging environment. Some developers do this on a subdomain.

Working as a WordPress Developer

Some WordPress developers create clones for clients. Once the website development is completed, it’s easy to clone the site to the client’s hosting service. That provides a safe environment to make adjustments without fear of breaking a plugin or theme.

Creating a Backup

Creating a backup of your site can be useful. For one thing, it makes it easy to recover in the event of a disaster such as hacking or malware attack. The only downside to this is that you need to make regular clones to keep your backup files current.

Moving the Website to a New Host

Making a WordPress move from one host to another can be a complicated process. Cloning the site gives you the opportunity to make the transition without impacting visitors. Ideally, from the visitor’s perspective, no one will even know a move took place.

Now you can understand why you may want to clone a WordPress site. Let’s take a look at how you can get it done in a few simple steps.

How to Clone A WordPress Website

WordPress has no shortage of options when it comes to making a clone or your site. Here are several of the most popular ways to create a usable clone of your website.

Method 1: Clone WordPress Using Softaculous

If you have cPanel and you used Softaculous to install WordPress, cloning a WordPress site couldn’t be easier.

(If you have access to Softaculous but didn’t use it to install WordPress, you can still import your existing WordPress installation into Softaculous with just a few clicks.)

Step 1: Create a Staging Site (Clone)

The Softaculous Apps Installer calls cloning “staging” but rest assured, both of these are identical. The good news is that this is pretty easy to do and only takes a few clicks.

Log in to cPanel.

In the “Softaculous Apps Installer” section, click the “WordPress” icon.

In the “Current Installations” section, click the “Create Staging” icon. Softaculous uses the term “staging,” which, for our purposes, is the same as a “clone” of the site.

This will open the “Staging WordPress” window. Here, you can determine the barebones of your installation.

Live Installation URL is the WordPress installation that will be cloned.

Choose Installation URL

• Choose Protocol
  You can choose HTTP or HTTPS, with or without www. Choose whatever matches the live site.
• Choose Domain
  If you have multiple domains, choose the same domain as the live site. You can also select a subdomain if you have one set up.
• In Directory
  Enter the name of the directory where you want the clone site to be set up. If the directory doesn’t exist, it will be created automatically.

Database Name – you can leave whatever default value is entered here unless you have a specific need to name the database a certain way.

Click the “Create Staging” button.

You’ll see a success message.

That’s all there is to it. Your cloned site is ready to go.

Step 2: Using the Cloned Site

Log in to /wp-admin on the cloned site using the same username and password as the live site. Make your changes to the cloned site, and if you’d like, when you’re satisfied that everything is working properly, you can “push” the cloned site to the live site.

“Pushing” just means replacing the live site with the cloned version. There are a couple of different ways to do that.

In the “Current Installations” section of Softaculous, click the “Push to Live” icon on the staging site line.

The first method is to use the default options. The default options replace everything on the live site, files, and database, with the versions that exist on the cloned site.

The system creates a backup of your live site before replacing it, so if anything were to go wrong, you will have a backup.

Clicking the “Customize” tab will allow you to push only certain database tables. You should only choose this option if you’re sure of what you’re doing and comfortable with pushing incremental or partial changes.

Most of us will use the default options.

Step 3: Delete the Cloned Site (When Your Done)

Since it’s so easy to clone a site there isn’t any reason to keep it around when you’re finished using it.

To delete the clone site and database, go to the “Current Installations” section of Softaculous and click the “X” icon on the staging site line.

To completely remove the staging site, leave all of the options selected.

Click the “Remove Installation” button.

Method 2: Clone a WordPress Site Using a Plugin

For this method, we will use a popular clone and migration plugin called Duplicator, a WordPress migration plugin. There are several plugins that can clone WordPress sites, and I’ll list a few more options in a minute.

Duplicator creates two files from your WordPress site: an archive file and an installer file. The archive contains copies of your site data and MySQL database. The installer is a PHP file that will extract and install the archive in the new location.

Here’s how you clone a WordPress site using the Duplicator plugin.

Step 1: Create a Copy of Your WordPress Site and Download It

The first thing you want to do is install and activate the Duplicator plugin from the plugin’s page in your WordPress admin area.

Once the plugin has been installed and activated on your site click the “Duplicator” tab. This will take you to the main page of the plugin where you can create a clone.

Click the “Create New” tab to get started.

Enter a name for the file to help you identify it and click the “Next” button.

The Duplicator WordPress clone plugin will scan the site and let you know if there are any issues with your settings. It’s normal to get warnings, especially since everyone is using different versions of WordPress, PHP, etc.

There may also be some web host warnings based on the size of your site. Click the “Continue with the build process” checkbox, then click the “Build” button to keep going.

When your website package has been completed, you will see the page below and receive links to download two files: the Installer and the Archive.

Download both files to your computer.

Step 2: Upload the Copy of Your Site

Upload the two files to your new location or server. To do this, you will need to use an FTP Client. There are a lot of good ones available. If you don’t have one, I recommend FileZilla or Transmit (for Mac users) as an alternative.

Log in to the server (or directory on your existing server) where you want to set up the clone.

Drag and drop the two files into the target directory.

Step 3: Set Up a Database For Your Website’s Clone

Every WordPress website uses a database. Your clone is no different, so we need to set up an empty database. This will allow you to use the Duplicator installer to import the contents of your original site’s database to your new one. I’m using cPanel.

In cPanel, there are several options related to databases. Look for “MySQL Databases.”

Click it to create a new database. You need to create the database and then add a user. You will see both options available on the New Database page.

Now create a user.

And finally, add the user to the database.

Note: When you add the user to the database make sure you click the “All Privileges” checkbox.

Step 4: Finish the Clone

Now that you have added the database and both of the Duplicator files are on your server, you can access the new website through your browser.

Just add /installer.php to the URL, like:

https://ggexample.com/clone/installer.php

Duplicator will run and will alert you of any problems and ask you to proceed. In most cases it’s safe to continue.

Duplicator will ask you to enter the database credentials that you created. Enter the details and Duplicator will import your old database into the new one.

Duplicator will ask you a couple more simple questions regarding permalink and structure updates as well as the URL path. The fields should be pre-filled, but you can complete them if they are empty.

Duplicator will do the rest, including deleting both the installer and the archive files. Just click through the prompts.

That’s it! You have now successfully cloned a WordPress site using Duplicator.

Note: That zip file you create when making a copy of your website is essentially a backup of your website. It is worth hanging onto it just in case anything happens. This will ensure you have a backup to restore your website in the event that something goes wrong.

Other WordPress Clone Plugin Options

If you are interested in other WordPress clone plugin options, here are a few more to look into and consider. They all get the job done, it’s just a matter of preference.

UpdraftPlus

UpdraftPlus makes WordPress backups and restoration very simple and easy. It is actually the highest-ranking and most popular backup plugin in the WordPress repository. You can back up your files and database into the cloud and then restore them with a couple of clicks of a button.

All-in-One WP Migration

All-in-One WP Migration easily exports your WordPress website and database without needing a lot of technical knowledge. You can upload your WordPress site to a different location using a drag and drop technique. This plugin also has a “find and replace” option that will automatically fix any problems that occur while using the plugin.

BackupBuddy

BackupBuddy uses a specific 5-step plan for backing up or cloning WordPress sites. With just a few clicks, BackupBuddy backs up your entire WordPress website from within the WordPress dashboard. There is no free version of this one, but it’s a very solid WordPress clone plugin.

WP-Migrate DB

WP-Migrate DB is perhaps just a solid as anything else mentioned above is WP-Migrate DB. You can export your database as a MySQL data dump (much like phpMyAdmin), do a find and replace on URLs and file paths, handle serialized data and then save it to your computer as an SQL file.

The main big drawback of this WordPress clone plugin is that the pro version is very expensive and you might have to buy it in order to do everything you want if you’re a developer.

Method 3: Using Your Hosting Account

Many web hosts provide a variety of additional tools that customers can take advantage of. At GreenGeeks, we offer simpler solutions than many others and added a staging area directly from your account desktop.

You may have the option to create a clone directly through these options, but it is entirely dependent on your web host.

If your web host does not offer these features, it might be time to switch to a better one.

Note: Even if you web host does support this feature, how you access it may be different.

Step 1: Locate the Staging Option

The first thing you need to do is actually find the option. Begin by logging into your web hosting account. Once there, click on the Hosting option.

Click on the domain you want to clone. After that hover over the WordPress option and select the Staging option.

Step 2: Create A Staging Environment (Clone)

You’ll now see a full list of the domain and all of the subdomains. This even includes the ones that do not have WordPress installed on them. Locate the one you want to clone and click on the three verticle dots on the right of it.

Click on the Create Staging option.

A small pop-up box will appear. It has four pieces of information that you need to fill in, but half of it should already be good to go. In the Directory text box, type “dlr” to satisfy it.

Simply name the site and click on the “Create” button.

Afterward, you should see a message stating that the staging was successful. Reload the page to see it at the bottom.

Step 3: Access Your Cloned Site

Then, click on the link and you can begin interacting with your site’s clone. It will have identical admin information, so the login will be the same as your main site.

It’s Easy to Clone A WordPress Website

Creating a clone of your WordPress website has never been easier. Between a plethora of plugins and options like Softaculous, you have no shortage of options to consider.

It’s an extremely useful feature that allows you to test changes without impacting your live site. Taking the time to set one up can be the difference between success and failure.

What kind of methods do you use to create backups and clones for your WordPress sites? Have you experienced problems moving or cloning your WordPress site from one location to another?

The post How to Clone a WordPress Site and When You Should appeared first on GreenGeeks.

In fact, a proper backup of WordPress can get your site back up and running in mere moments making recovery simple and quick.

In this article, I’m going over a few ways you can backup a WordPress website. These are all free methods to use and may mean the difference between a quick recovery and extensive downtime.

Manually Backing Up Your Website

First, let’s take a look at how to create a backup of the site manually. This is a fairly easy process, but it does require the use of an FTP program. File Transfer Protocol applications, or FTP, give you direct access to your website.

You’ll also need access to phpMyAdmin in your cPanel hosting account.

Downloading Site Files

FileZilla FTP
FTP programs are useful when it comes to creating backups, making edits or even transferring your website from one host to another. One of the more popular platforms is FileZilla. This free software is supported by most major computer operating systems and is exceptionally easy to use.

Using FileZilla, copy your entire website’s directory from your web host to your computer. This can take an exceptionally long time depending on the size of your site and the speed of your Internet connection.

File Manager
If you’re pressed for time, you can also create a ZIP archive to download your site. This is often a bit faster and keeps your files protected while on your computer system. You can access File Manager by clicking its icon from cPanel.

To do this, you select all of the files in your website directory and click, “Compress.”

After following the on-screen instructions, File Manager will then create a downloadable ZIP file complete with all of your site’s information.

Downloading the Database

The website files are only half of the backup. Now, you’ll need to download the database for WordPress. Without it, you won’t have accounts or content and the site will be unusable.

Click the phpMyAdmin tool from cPanel. It’s located under the “Databases” section.

Find your database in the left column and click it. If you only have one website available, it may be the only one present. If you’re not sure which database to choose, edit your “wp-config.php” file from your website. It will display which database it uses.

Click the “Export” option from the top toolbar.

Leave the format as SQL and click the “Go” button.

Your computer’s download prompt will then launch and the system will save the database.

Using Plugins to Backup WordPress

WordPress has an abundance of quality plugins for backing up a website. The hardest part is picking which one to use because all of them have excellent functionality. My favorites are the ones that connect to Dropbox because I use cloud storage for keeping redundant copies safe.

To install a plugin, find one you like and click to install and activate it. Some will come with custom settings while others will start working automatically. It really depends on the plugin you install. Take the time and read through the descriptions of each one before making a decision.

Just make sure you install a plugin that creates backups of both the files and your database.

Using Softaculous to Backup WordPress

If you use Softaculous to install WordPress, you can set it up to create automatic backups as well. While you may not have as much control of the file as you would with the above solutions, it’s still a useful feature and could save you from extended periods of downtime.

Click “Softaculous Apps Installer” from the cPanel menu.

Click the “Installations” box in Softaculous.

Find your website and click the pencil icon on the right.

Scroll down and adjust your backup settings and requirements. You can choose the location of the file, how often backups are performed, how many past copies are in the rotation and even selecting files or folders to exclude.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Save Installation Details” button. Softaculous will then do the rest for you.

Keep Your Backups Regular

It’s always a good idea to be safe than sorry when it comes to your website. Whether it’s from accidental coding that crashes a site or the after effects of a hacking, backups can save time as well as money. Don’t assume you’re doing enough to keep your site safe and secure.

What are some of your favorite plugins for protecting WordPress? How much experience do you have using FTP applications and other website development software?

The post How to Backup WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.