Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Download a Whole WordPress Website: A Step-by-Step Guide

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems in the world, powering millions of websites. As a site owner, you may want to download a copy of your website for various reasons - creating a backup, migrating to another hosting provider, or cloning your site for development or testing purposes.

Whatever your reason, this article will guide you through the process of downloading a whole WordPress website using two methods.

Method 1: Using a Plugin

1. Choose a plugin: There are numerous WordPress plugins available that can help you download your website files and database. One of the most popular plugins is UpdraftPlus. You can search for and install the plugin from the WordPress Plugin Repository by going to 'Plugins' > 'Add New', then typing 'UpdraftPlus' in the search bar.
2. Configure the plugin: Once installed, navigate to the UpdraftPlus settings by going to 'Settings' > 'UpdraftPlus Backups'. Here, you'll be able to customize your backup settings, including how often you want the plugin to backup your website files and database, where you want to store the backup files, and which files you want to exclude from the backup.
3. Create a backup: After configuring the plugin, you can create a backup by clicking on 'Backup Now' button. The plugin will create a backup of your website, compress it into a .zip file, and store it in the location you specified in the settings.
4. Download the backup: Finally, you can download the backup file by clicking on 'Existing Backups' and selecting the backup you just created. Click on 'Download' button to download the .zip file to your computer.

Method 2: Manual Download

This method involves using an FTP client to download your website files and phpMyAdmin to download your database.

1. Connect to your server: Use an FTP client such as FileZilla to connect to your server. Enter your website credentials (host, username, password) to connect to your server.
2. Download website files: Once connected, navigate to the root folder of your website and download all the files to your computer by dragging and dropping them from the remote server to your local computer.
3. Export your database: Next, log in to phpMyAdmin by entering the URL provided by your hosting provider and login credentials. Select your website's database, then navigate to 'Export' tab. Select the 'Quick' option, then click 'Go' button. This will download a copy of your database as a .sql file to your computer.
4. Zip the files: Finally, compress your website files and database into a .zip file for easy download.

In Conclusion

Downloading a whole WordPress website may seem daunting, but with the right tools, it can be done easily. Whether you prefer to use a plugin or do it manually, remember to keep your website files and database safe by creating regular backups.