Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Download a WordPress Website

If you want to back up your WordPress website or move it to a different hosting provider, you may need to download your website. Downloading files and data from WordPress is a straightforward process that involves using a file transfer protocol (FTP) program or a WordPress backup plugin. Here's how to download a WordPress website.

Option 1: Using an FTP program

FTP is a common way to transfer files between computers and servers. To download your WordPress website using FTP, you need to follow these steps.

1. Download and install an FTP program such as FileZilla or WinSCP on your computer.
2. Open the FTP program and connect to your WordPress website by entering the FTP server address, username, and password provided by your hosting provider.
3. Locate the folder that contains your WordPress website files. Usually, it is named "public_html" or similar.
4. Select the files you want to download, including the WordPress core files, themes, plugins, media files, and any other custom files you added.
5. Download the files by dragging and dropping them from the remote server to your local computer.

Note that downloading your website using FTP does not include the database. If you want to download your database as well, you need to use a backup plugin.

Option 2: Using a WordPress backup plugin

Using a backup plugin to download your WordPress website is a more convenient option that includes all the files and the database. One popular backup plugin is UpdraftPlus. Here's how to use it.

1. Install and activate UpdraftPlus on your WordPress website.
2. Go to the UpdraftPlus settings page and select "Backup Now."
3. Choose the files and database tables you want to download. You can customize the backup frequency, encryption, and cloud destination if you wish.
4. Click the "Backup Now" button and wait for the plugin to generate the backup files.
5. Go to the UpdraftPlus dashboard and download the backup files to your local computer.

UpdraftPlus can also restore your website from the backup files if anything goes wrong.

Conclusion

Downloading a WordPress website is essential for backup and migration purposes. You can choose to use an FTP program or a backup plugin to download your website files and database. With the right tools and steps, you can ensure that your website remains safe and accessible.