Before you update plugins, change themes or try something risky, it's worth taking a quick WordPress backup. WP Toolkit lets you back up and restore WordPress in one click from cPanel, so you can undo a bad change in minutes. This guide covers making a backup, restoring it, downloading a copy, and how it fits with your automatic account backups.
WP Toolkit backups vs. automatic backups
You have two kinds of backup, and they work well together:
- Automatic account backups (JetBackup 5) -- we back up your whole account three times a week and keep the last 7 backups (roughly two weeks). You don't have to do anything. These are best for recovering from something you notice later.
- WP Toolkit backups -- backups of one WordPress site that you take on demand, right before a change. These are best for "I'm about to update, let me save a copy first".
How to back up WordPress in WP Toolkit
- Log in to cPanel and go to Domains > WordPress Management (WP Toolkit).
- Find your site in the list and click Back Up / Restore on its card. (On narrow screens it may be in the card's menu.)
- Click Back Up.
- Wait for the backup to finish. It appears in the list with the date and time. A large site with many images can take several minutes.
The backup contains the site's files and its database. Backups are stored inside your Instant Access Internet Services hosting account, so they count toward your disk space. Delete old ones you no longer need.
How to restore a WordPress backup
- In Domains > WordPress Management (WP Toolkit), click Back Up / Restore on the site's card.
- Find the backup you want in the list (check the date and time) and click its restore icon.
- Read the warning and click Restore.
- When it's done, open your site and check it. Log in again if WordPress asks.
Important: restoring puts the whole site back exactly as it was at the time of the backup. Anything added after that -- new posts, comments, form entries, shop orders -- is removed. If you only need to undo a plugin or theme update, consider updating or rolling back just that plugin instead.
How to download a backup to your computer
Keeping a copy off the server is a good habit, especially before big changes.
- Open Back Up / Restore for the site.
- Click the download icon next to the backup you want and save the file.
- If your browser doesn't start a download, WP Toolkit shows where the backup file is stored in your account. Open that folder in Files > File Manager, select the file and click Download.
How to delete old backups
In Back Up / Restore, click the delete icon next to a backup and confirm. Deleting old backups frees up disk space. It doesn't affect our automatic JetBackup backups.
Restore points vs. backups
When you update WordPress or copy a staging site to live, WP Toolkit may offer to create a restore point. A restore point is a quick undo for that one operation only -- it is not a full backup, and only one is kept per site. For real protection, take a proper backup as described above.
Common questions
How often should I back up?
Our automatic backups already run three times a week. Take an extra WP Toolkit backup before every update, theme change, or large edit.
The backup failed
The most common reason is running out of disk space. Check your disk usage on the cPanel home page, delete old backups or unused files, and try again. If it still fails, open a ticket.
I need a backup from last week, but I didn't make one
Use JetBackup 5 in cPanel to restore files or the database from our automatic backups. See the JetBackup guides below.
Related guides
- How Website Backups Work on Your Hosting Account (JetBackup 5)
- How to Restore Your Whole Account to an Earlier Date (JetBackup 5)
- How to Download a Copy of Your Website Backup (JetBackup 5)
- How to Update WordPress, Plugins and Themes (and Turn On Auto-Updates)
- How to Create a WordPress Staging Site and Push It Live
Still stuck? Open a support ticket and the Instant Access Internet Services team will help.
