How to Back Up Your Website (Step-by-Step)

A backup is the one thing that turns a website disaster — a bad plugin update, a hacked account, accidental deletion — into a minor inconvenience instead of a catastrophe. Here’s how to do it properly.

What a Complete Backup Includes

A website isn’t just one file — a proper backup needs to cover:

• Website files — your theme, plugins, uploads, and core software files
• The database — where your actual content, settings, and (for WordPress) posts and pages are stored

Backing up only one of these isn’t enough to fully restore a site if something goes wrong.

Step 1: Log In to Your Hosting Control Panel

Log in to your cPanel or DirectAdmin account using your usual credentials.

Step 2: Open the Backup Tool

Look for a Backup or Backup Wizard icon, typically found in the Files section of your control panel.

Step 3: Choose What to Back Up

You’ll usually have the option to download a full account backup, or to separately back up just your website files or just your database. For a complete safety net, back up both.

Step 4: Save It Somewhere Safe

This is the step people most often get wrong: downloading a backup but leaving the only copy sitting on the same server. Save your backup file to your own computer or a cloud storage service, so it survives even if the server itself has a problem.

Step 5: Make It a Habit (or Automate It)

A backup from six months ago isn’t much help if your site changes daily. Set a recurring reminder to back up manually, or better yet, use an automated backup service that runs on a schedule without you having to remember.

Skip the Manual Work Entirely

Every Edish hosting plan includes Acronis Cyber Cloud Backup, which automatically backs up your files and database on a regular schedule — no manual downloads required, and restoring is just a few clicks if you ever need to. Contact our team if you’re not sure whether automated backups are active on your account.