Backing Up Your Database

Before upgrading your WordPress software installation, make sure you back up your database. This step isn’t required, of course, but it’s a smart step to take to safeguard your Web site and ensure you have a complete copy of your Web site data in the event that your upgrade goes wrong.

The best way to back up your database is to use the MySQL administration
interface provided to you by your Web hosting provider. (Book II, Chapter 5
takes you through the steps of creating a new database by using the phpMy-
Admin interface.)

cPanel is a Web hosting interface provided by many Web hosts as a Web
hosting account management tool that contains phpMyAdmin as the pre-
ferred tool to use to manage and administer databases. Not all Web hosts
use cPanel or phpMyAdmin, however, so if yours doesn’t, you need to con-
sult the user documentation for the tools that your Web host provides. The
instructions in this chapter are provided by using cPanel and phpMyAdmin.

The following takes you through the steps of creating a database backup, using the same phpMyAdmin interface: