Create an on-demand backup of your website

Before you start

• An active hosting service
• Enough space on your computer or cloud drive for the ZIP file

Applies to: Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud, Managed WordPress.

Steps

1. Open the control panel

   From your account, open Services → My Services, select the hosting service and choose Log in to Control Panel.

2. Open Backup/Restore

   Select Backup/Restore, found with the website file tools.

3. Choose what to include

   Tick Files and Databases for a complete backup. A database-only backup is quicker, often a minute or two.

4. Create the backup

   Choose Create Backup and wait for it to finish. Large sites take longer.

5. Download it now

   Choose Download and save the ZIP. The completed backup is available in the control panel for 12 hours, after which you would need to create a new one.

6. Store it safely

   Keep the ZIP on your own storage, ideally in two places, and name it with the date. Do not rename or repackage its contents if you may want to restore it with this tool.

Troubleshooting and common mistakes

The download link has gone.

Completed backups are kept for 12 hours. Create a new backup and download it right away.

You need a single database only.

Untick Files, or export the database with phpMyAdmin. See Create and manage MySQL databases.

The backup is very large or slow.

Remove old logs, caches and unused media first, then try again at a quieter time.

Common questions

Related guides

• Restore files or a database from a backupBefore restoring anything, create and download a fresh backup of the site as it is now. Then open Backup/Restore, choose a restore mode (replace existing files, add missing files only, or restore to a temporary folder), tick Restore Databases only if you want the database replaced, and upload a ZIP made by this tool. Check the site carefully afterwards.
• What you remain responsible for with backupsFoxFolio Cloud provides backup and restore tools, but you remain responsible for keeping your own independent copies of anything you cannot afford to lose. The included tools create backups on demand only. When a service ends, its data is held for 30 days and then permanently deleted, so export what you need before that. A simple routine of regular downloads, stored in two places, covers most risks.
• What Premium Website Backups covers and how it is activatedPremium Website Backups adds scheduled, recurring snapshots for one compatible FoxFolio Cloud hosting service, including the domains and subdomains attached to it. It is billed monthly and asks for your website’s domain at checkout. FoxFolio activates it manually after payment, normally within one business day, and tells you when protection has started. Until then, use the included on-demand backup tools.
• Create and manage MySQL databasesOpen the control panel, select MySQL Databases, enter a name and create the database; a short suffix is added automatically and a user is created with it. Use phpMyAdmin to import a .sql file or export a copy. Each database can hold up to 1 GB. WordPress plans are designed for one WordPress site and its single database.