Overview
The Backup/Restore tool in your hosting control panel creates an on-demand backup of your hosting package as a single .ZIP file, which you can download and keep on your own computer or external storage. It can also restore a backup made with the same tool back into your package.
This is different from our automatic daily snapshots. Timeline Backups takes automatic daily snapshots of your website files and databases and keeps them for up to 30 days, which you can restore from at any time. The Backup/Restore tool is for when you want your own local copy — for example before a major plugin or theme update, before migrating a site, or simply as an off-platform archive you control.
What the Backup Includes
You can choose to back up Files, Databases, or both. We strongly recommend selecting both so the backup is complete and self-consistent: a set of website files restored without its matching database will usually produce a broken site.
Please note that this tool covers website files and MySQL databases only. It does not include email mailboxes or email contents.
Creating a Manual Backup
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Log in to your ClickHere2 Client Area.
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Go to Services > My Services and open the hosting package you want to back up.
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From the package overview, select Manage to open your hosting control panel.
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Under the Web Files section, click Backup/Restore.
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Tick the boxes for the parts you want to include — Files and Databases. Leave both ticked unless you have a specific reason not to.
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Click Create Backup and wait for the process to finish. A large site with many files and a big database can take several minutes.
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Once the backup has completed, click Download and save the
.ZIPfile to your local device.
Where to Store Your Backup
Download the file rather than leaving it in the package. Store it somewhere separate from the server — an external drive, a cloud storage account, or your own backup system. A backup that only exists on the machine it is protecting is not really a backup.
It is also worth keeping more than one generation. If you take a backup before an update and the update turns out to be the problem, you will want the older copy intact.
Restoring a Backup
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Log in to your ClickHere2 Client Area and open the hosting package you want to restore into, then select Manageto open StackCP.
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Under the Web Files section, click Backup/Restore.
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Choose a Restore type:
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Replace existing files — overwrites your current files with the contents of the backup. Use this to roll the site back to a known-good state.
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Add missing files only — restores files that are absent from the live site without touching files that already exist. Useful for recovering accidentally deleted files without undoing later work.
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Restore to a temporary directory — unpacks the backup into a separate folder so you can inspect it and copy across only what you need. This is the safest option if you are unsure.
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Tick Restore Databases if you also want the database contents restored. Leave it unticked if you only want the files.
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Select the
.ZIPfile you downloaded earlier and confirm the restore.
Important Limitations
Only .ZIP files generated by this Backup/Restore tool can be restored through it. Archives you have created yourself, or exported from another hosting control panel, will not be accepted. If you need to import a database dump from elsewhere, use phpMyAdmin and its Import tab instead.
Restoring with Replace existing files is destructive — any changes made since the backup was taken will be lost. If you are not certain, use the temporary directory option first and compare.
Using Backup/Restore to Clone a Package
The tool can also be used to copy a site to another hosting package, which is handy for setting up a staging copy or a second site from the same starting point. Download a backup from the source package, open the Backup/Restore tool on the destination package, and restore with Replace existing files. After restoring, remember to update any hard-coded URLs, database connection details, and WordPress site address settings in the destination copy so the two sites do not point at each other's data.
Recommended Practice
Take a manual backup immediately before any of the following: a core CMS update, a theme or plugin update, installing a new plugin, changing DNS or name servers, or handing site access to a developer. Keep the file until you have confirmed the change worked and the site has been stable for a few days.
If you need to recover from a mistake made in the last 30 days and you do not have your own backup, our automatic daily snapshots by Timeline Backups may be able to help.
