Today’s post is about backing up your blog with phpMyAdmin. Personally I would go with the export/ import tool in WordPress, which will handle most of your needs. Then use the WP-DB-Backup for backing up and emergency repair of your blog. However you may need to back up your database with phpMyAdmin.
Finding your phpMyAdmin
Log in to your cPanel, or back office as provided by your webhost. You should see several boxes grouping similar programs together. You want the one called Databases. There you will see phpMyAdmin.
Finding Your Database
Now click Databases under MySQL or localhost (depending on your host). You may see a list of Databases here if you have several. Decide which one you need it, and click it.
You should see a series of tabs on the next screen. You want Export. In the box on the left you will see all the tables in the database that you have selected. If you have other programs in the database you want to choose only your WordPress tables. These will start with “wp_” However most people only have WordPress, so you can leave it as is. Make certain you have the SQL radio box checked.
What boxes you should check
Check “Structure” and then the following boxes below it.
- “Add DROP TABLE / VIEW / PROCEDURE / FUNCTION”
- “Add IF NOT EXISTS”
- Add AUTO_INCREMENT’ and
- ‘Enclose table and field names with backquotes’
Next make certain the DATA section is checked. No need to check any boxes inside this box. Then check the “Save as file” option but leave the template name as is. This will allow for easier transitions. Now you can click go and depending on your database size this may take a few minutes. Also note exactly where this file is saved, you will need it for blog recovery or import.
A bit more about this backup.
You can save it as is or as a zipped file. If you are doing major repairs to your blog, you will want to save as both just in case. This will back up all your posts and comments, however this does not back up your folders, which means your images and other uploads. Tomorrow’s post is how to recover or import your data.
