**Introduction**:
Backing up your website files and databases ensures that you can recover quickly if you accidentally delete data or suffer a compromise. cPanel provides built‑in tools for creating and restoring backups of your account.
**Creating a full cPanel backup**
1. Log in to cPanel and open the **Backup** interface (located under the *Files* section) or select **Backup Wizard** for a guided experience.
2. In the *Full Backup* section, click **Download a Full Account Backup**.
3. Choose a backup destination:
- *Home Directory* (stored in your account);
- *Remote FTP Server* or *Secure Copy (SCP)* if you want the backup saved to another server; you will be prompted for remote server details.
4. Enter an email address so cPanel can notify you when the backup finishes.
5. Click **Generate Backup**. cPanel will compress your entire account (files, databases, email accounts, DNS settings) and save it to the chosen destination.
6. When the backup completes, download the `.tar.gz` file from the “Backups Available for Download” section and store it in a safe location.
**Creating partial backups**
Sometimes you only need a copy of certain data. In the *Partial Backups* section you can download individual components of your account:
- **Home Directory** – downloads a zipped copy of all files in your account. Click **Download a Home Directory Backup** to save it to your computer.
- **MySQL Databases** – lists each database. Click the database name to download a `.sql` backup.
- **Email Forwarders and Filters** – click the appropriate links to download copies of your forwarders or filters.
**Restoring from a backup**
To restore data:
1. Return to the **Backup** interface.
2. To restore your home directory, scroll to *Restore a Home Directory Backup*, click **Choose File**, select your `.tar.gz` home‑directory backup and click **Upload**.
3. To restore a database, under *Restore a MySQL Database Backup* click **Choose File**, select the `.sql` file for your database and click **Upload**.
4. cPanel will extract the file and replace your existing files or database with the contents of the backup.
**Best practices**
- Create regular backups before making significant changes or updates.
- Store copies of your backups off‑site (e.g., on your local computer, cloud storage or another server) to protect against server failures.
- Periodically test restoring a backup in a development environment to ensure the backup is usable.
- If you are unsure about restoring a full account backup, open a support ticket and our team can restore it for you.
