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If you power your website with a content management system, what really runs your website is a database. It stores your content, as well as other settings pertaining to your site. Backing up your database is one of the easiest things you can do to restore your site in the event it fails because of a server failure or site compromise. This article will show how to do that with PhpMyAdmin. Please note that screenshots here may look different from what you see because of differences in hosting provider control panels. The principles, though, will be similar.

The basic steps are:

• Log into PhpMyAdmin.
• Click the ‘Databases’ link in order to select the Appropriate database.
• Once the correct database has been selected, click the ‘Export’ link.
• Check the ‘Custom – display all possible options’ button.
• Press the ‘Go’ button, then choose to save the downloaded file.

A more detailed overview follows.

1. Log into your hosting provider’s control panel.
   Now, scroll down to the ‘Databases’ heading, thence to PhpMyAdmin, & click that link.



2. Once in PhpMyAdmin, click the ‘Databases’ link.

   

   Doing so takes you to the screen where you can choose the database you wish to back up. If you have more than one database & are uncertain as to which one powers your WordPress site, open the site’s wp-config.php file, either using your hosting provider’s file manager or an FTP (& hopefully a secure FTP) client. You’ll be looking for a line that begins with:
   define(‘DB_NAME’,… If you use Drupal, open settings.php, & if you use Joomla!, open configuration.php.

3. Once you’ve determined which database you wish to use, click the appropriate link.



4. Now that the proper database has been selected, click the ‘Export’ link.



5. The export screen appears. Check the button labeled Custom – display all possible options. Once you do so, ‘the ‘Select All’ link appears. Click it to back up all your database tables.



6. Now click the ‘Go’ button.



7. A dialog box will appear, asking if you wish to open or save the file. Choose ‘Save’.

Great! You’ve just backed up your database. Please note that if your database is very large, this may not work for you due to Php timing out prior to finishing the backup. If that happens, please refer to Backing Up Your Database from the Command Line on how to use the command line to back up your database.