Cpanel - Whole Site Backup

Some time today i'm going to be moving over to a new host. Now, just figuring the best way to do this and I noticed in cpanel theres an option to make a backup of the whole site....

Does this backup include mysql databases, htaccess files, redirects, etc?

If so, is it as simple as making a backup of the whole site and then restoring the backup on the new hosts server?

Will that work?

Hi Jess,

I was just looking in the cpanel docs.
http://www.cpanel.net/docs/cp/

And I'm not sure if the MySQL databases have to be backed up separate. One thing you could do is after you make your backup, unzip it into a folder and do a search for .sql files.

I also just wrote an article on changing web hosts. If you have an ftp program and access to phpMYAdmin, you might find it handy.
http://www.find-a-web-host.com/articles ... -hosts.php

I'd just back up the mysql also just to be sure

I've used that feature once and it worked i just can't remember if it backed up the mysql.

One thing I do know from experience is that you have to change the database table prefixes in your scripts unless your username stays the same.. ie. yourname_dbname. i would however back up each seperately to be safe. the cPanel backup only works so well..

i believe you can actually do a cpanel site transfer from server to server. Not 100% on that, but pretty sure.

Yes, you can do this - but - both hosts would need to grant SSH access - which probably would not happen...

To answer your original question - You should backup your database(s) and manually move them.. CPanel site backup feature can be configured to back up everything, however, there is no guarantee that it is configured properly or even configured at all....

.htaccess files WILL NOT be included in the backup. The only CP that allows for that is H-Sphere - As directory indexes can be set in the CP - basically making .hta's obsolete (sorry, shameless H-Sphere plug) - You would need to manually install your .htaccess files with your new host..

Hope this helps...

actually there are two types of back-ups available from within cpanel. One being Full Backups and the second being a Home Directory backup. The Full Backups will backup all mysql databases (including database usernames & passwords), email addresses, mailing lists, etc. The downside to this type of backup is that it can only be restored from the servers root WHM

The Home Directory backup will not back-up mysql databases. The nice thing about this type of backup is that it can be restored using the cpanel restore a Home backup feature, so root whm access is not required.

Also, both of these types of backups will certainly include .htaccess files.

As unflux mentioned, the server to server transfer is possilbe if the new server is also a WHM/cpanel server and if someone with root whm access is willing to perform the transfer for you. There is no need for ssh access to be granted on either server for the transfer, as it is done entirely from within WHM.

Full backups arent configured properly on 90% of Cpanel servers out there - and as you said - mostly useless to typical site owner as they can only be recovered from root



Straight from CPanel docs - however - in most cases .htaccess files are lost - as are add on domains (for the most part)



Exactly - why, as originally stated - this would not really be an option - if a user does not have SSH access, they most certainly would not have root.

**EDIT - to the OP - please take my advise on this one - if you are migrating from CPanel to Cpanel - do it manually - DO NOT trust the automated CPanel migration tools - sounds like your new host knows exactly what they are doing - which is great - but, configurations on the other end can affect this migration as well - back up your HTTP, MySQL, Logs, Stats, eMail settings and simply FTP them over - may be the longest and most tedious way to do this - but, with CPanel - you dont want to take any chances on this... Just my $0.02

I have been helping clients copy sites using the CPanel tool. Even though the old host runs on Cpanel, things do happen and transfers not always successful. in which case then, a manual transfer is warranted.

Just remember that when you are transfering using the site migration tool or the backup function that you keep the usernames the same. That way, the server paths will remain the same... otherwise, you're going to have to do some reconfigurations.

I am not sure how your control panel is functioning so I cannot tell you whether it will backup just everything. When we are talking about backing up databases though, such as mysql it is not that simple, the method for backing them up is not the same and as simple as backing up html files. We are talking of three different things when talking about your website, a. the html files of your website b. the mysql database of the website c. the .htaccess files and redirects – these are all different things and the latter has to be modified most probably when you upload it to the new server. So please check on these matters.

One thing that causes a glitch is the available disc space quota on the site. If the site is using more than half its quota, the backup will be broken. The easiest way I have found is do the home directory backup, then the individual sql database backup. Then create the account on the new server with the same exact username as the old server. Upload the home directory backup, manually create the database name and dbase users. Upload the dbase backup. Enjoy a cool beverage.

Contact your new host to see if they will restore a full backup for you.