Complete Guide to Full cPanel Backups: A Step-by-Step Approach
Welcome to a full cPanel backup tutorial! If you’re managing a website or server through cPanel, knowing how to back-up your data is very important in terms of making sure you’re safe from sudden surprises such as server failures, hacks, or accidentally deleted files.
Follow along whether you’re a beginner or just need a refresher on how to have all of your site’s files, databases, email accounts, and settings safely archived. Having Backup is most important part of data management.
A full cPanel backup captures everything from your website files, databases, and email configurations to even DNS settings.
Let’s get in! Why You Need a Full cPanel Backup Before getting to the how-to, let’s briefly address the why. A full backup: Prevents Data Loss: Servers sometimes crash and malware can strike at any time. Enables quick recovery: Restore your site in minutes rather than rebuilding it from scratch. Supports migrations: You’re migrating to a new host?
A complete backup keeps everything running smoothly. Even though most hosts suggest doing routine backups, creating your own gives you far more control.
Tip: Set up weekly automated backups, but always run one by hand before making any big changes.
Prerequisites Access to your cPanel dashboard, accessed via logging in through your hosting provider’s portal. Enough space on your local machine or a remote server to store the backup file (these can be large—gigabytes for busy sites). A secure connection – use https for downloads. On to the steps!
Step 1:
Log In to cPanel Log in to your cPanel. Open your web browser and go to yourdomain.com/cpanel or the direct link provided by your host, such as server.example.com:2083. Enter your username and password
Step 2:
Go to Backup Wizard cPanel provides the Backup Wizard, an easy-to-use tool for full backups. Scroll in the dashboard down to the Files category. Click on Backup, or Backup Wizard if that exists—some hosts name it slightly differently. The wizard will walk you through choices. Choose Full Backup to include all. This tool is perfect for beginners, breaking things down into digestible parts.
Step 3:
Select Backup Components A full backup consists of several elements. In the wizard: Home Directory: This will capture all of your web site files (HTML, CSS, images, etc.) located in /public_html and subdirectories. MySQL Databases: Required for dynamic sites (WordPress, Joomla, etc.). It exports all databases. Email Accounts: This includes emails, forwards, and filters. Settings: DNS zones, SSL certificates, and account settings. Check all boxes for a true full backup. If you only need partial, such as just files, uncheck accordingly-but we’re going full here! Choose Backup Destination Decide where to save your backup: Download to Local Computer: cPanel creates a .tar.gz file you can download directly
Step 4:
Once the backup file gets opened. Press download a full account backup option.
Step 5:
Generate and Download the Backup Click Generate Backup. cPanel will begin to compress and prepare the file. Depending on the size of your site this can take 5–30 minutes. Monitor the progress bar. Once ready, you’ll see a download link.
Click the button to download the file to your computer. Once it’s saved, make sure the file size looks right—if your site is around 800 MB, the backup should be in that range too.
Tip: Add proper date to your backup filename (e.g., full-backup-2025-11-24.tar.gz) so you can keep everything organized
Step 6:
After choosing the destination, click on ‘Generate’ for an automated backup.
You can return to the backup page and check the download status. If it is still in progress, wait a few minutes, and refresh the page.
Step 7:
Click on the backup and download the backup, keep this backup securely on
Local hard-drive or in cloud protected environment.
