Back up before update

The best way to be sure of having a good backup and to help understand the process is to perform the backup manually.

For this the most important things to remember are that you need backups of both the files AND the database to have a full WordPress backup. Also it is a worthwhile exercise to perform a test restore as a backup that cannot be restored is as bad as no backup at all.

To make a manual file backup you can use an ftp client such as filezilla to copy the site files to your own computer.

You can backup the database using phpmyadin from your hosting control panel, or there may be a db backup button your host provides. This will download a file to your computer containing the database export.

Once you are comfortable with the manual process, the automatic backup tools that are available will be very easy to follow.

Thank you for your help. I have backed up my files manually on Filezilla and will check with my host for database backup. Thanks so much!

Ok, I appear to be safe in terms of files and database with my Bluehost account. I have been advised by one of their technicians to deactivate plug-ins and to change my theme to twenty-twelve or twenty-thirteen before running the update. It makes sense to me to deactivate the plug-ins, but do you thnk it’s necessary to change my theme? I am using Pilcrow, a WordPress theme.

Thanks,
Lisa

I never change the theme before I update and I have always been OK, so it is probably not essential, however I don’t know whether the tech knows something about their hosting that I don’t.

Ok, thanks for the advice; I’ll give it a shot!

It worked just perfectly! Thanks so much!

excellent! I’m pleased to hear that.