Database Backup

This document describes how to back up your database using phpMyAdmin (instructions as of version 2.9.0).

Note: We recommend that CMS users back up their database at least weekly. Users that update their content frequently may want to back up more often. Always keep an offline copy of your content, in case the server implodes!

Note: Backing up your database includes all data you enter except uploaded media files, such as images and PDFs. To back up those files, please see these instructions.

For this task, you will need the following:

*The URL of your phpMyAdmin (often, but not always, 'www.example.com/phpMyAdmin')
*phpMyAdmin .htaccess username/password
*phpMyAdmin MySQL username/password
*The name of your CMS's database
*Any web browser

1) Go to the address for phpMyAdmin. This probably requires you to enter a '.htaccess' password - that is, a username/password pair that your browser requests by popping up a little box. It looks something like this:

2) When you actually get to the phpMyAdmin login screen, you need to enter your MySQL user name / password. (Some configurations of phpMyAdmin don't require this, but I usually include it for extra security. Never fear, your password is encrypted before it is sent.) The phpMyAdmin login screen looks something like this:

3) Find the name of your database at the top of the left-hand column, above the database table names. For cPanel installations, this is the master account name followed by the underscore character followed by the database name. So, if the master account name was "company" and the database name was "cmsdb", then the full database name would be "company_cmsdb". Other control panel systems may name databases differently. Click on the name of your database.

4) Click on the "Export" tab at the top of the right side of the screen.

5) In the Export screen click "Select all" under the list of tables. Leave the default controls alone, except for the following controls, which should be set as below:

a) Add DROP TABLE: checked
b) Add IF NOT EXISTS: checked
c) Complete inserts: checked
d) Extended inserts: checked
e) Save as File: "gzipped" or "zipped".
f) File name template: "__DB___%Y.%m.%d" (That's two underscores followed by 'DB' followed by three underscores, then the rest. You may want to copy and paste it.)

6) Click "Go". If prompted, select a location on your hard disk to which the database backup will be downloaded.

7) Always back up your backups on physical media, such as a CD or ZIP disk.