Download a backup of your site

You can restore a backup of your site directly through your dashboard. You can also download a backup of your WordPress.com site if you want to move your site, work locally, or keep a personal archive. In this guide, you’ll learn how to download a backup of your site.

This feature is available on sites with the WordPress.com Personal, Premium, Business, and Commerce plans. For free sites, upgrade your plan to access this feature.

To download a complete backup of your site, follow these steps:

1. Visit your dashboard.
2. On the left side, hover over Jetpack.
3. Select Backup (or VaultPress if using WP Admin).
4. Find the backup you want to download. Use the date options at the top to choose a previous backup if needed.

5. Click the down arrow next to the “Restore to this point” button and click the “Download backup” option.

6. Click the “Create downloadable file” button, or select specific files to download first:
   • WordPress themes: Download your theme folder to the selected backup. Some theme settings may not be downloaded if they are saved outside the theme folder.
   • WordPress plugins: Download your plugin folder. Some plugin settings may not be downloaded if they are saved outside the plugin folder.
   • WordPress root: Download root files, such as wp-config.php and other configuration files.
   • WP-content directory: Download the wp-content folder, excluding themes, plugins, and media uploads, which you can select separately.
   • Site database: Download your posts, pages, comments, and some plugin or theme settings.
   • Media uploads: Download your media library. To restore media uploads, you must also select Site database.
7. Once you click the “Create downloadable file” button, a downloadable file will be generated. You will have the option to download it from the screen, or via a link sent to your email.

If you want to move your WordPress.com site to a self-hosted WordPress installation or a local development environment, you can use a downloaded Jetpack backup.

To use a Jetpack backup on a self-hosted or local site, follow these steps:

1. Unzip your backup file: Extract the .tar.gz file on your computer. This will create a folder with everything from your old site.
2. Open the folder: You’ll see:
   • A wp-content folder (this includes your plugins, themes, and media uploads).
   • One or more .sql files (these contain your site’s database).
3. Connect to your new site: Use FTP or your hosting File Manager to access your new WordPress site’s files.
4. Upload your content: Upload everything inside the wp-content folder to the wp-content folder on your new site. Choose to overwrite files if asked.
5. Import your database: Open your database tool (like phpMyAdmin) and import the .sql file(s):
   • If there are multiple files, import the main one (like wp_posts.sql) first, then any update files (like wp_posts-updates.sql).
   • If you want, you can merge all the .sql files into one before importing.
6. Update your site address (if needed): If your new site has a different web address, update the siteurl and home values in the wp_options table to match it.
7. Check your site: Visit your site to make sure everything—content, themes, plugins, and media—is restored.

For detailed steps, including how to import and merge files, follow Jetpack’s guide to manually restore your site.

In most cases, it is not necessary to upload a backup file to restore your site to a previous version. Before you attempt to upload a backup, follow these steps:

1. Log into your WordPress.com dashboard.
2. Navigate to Jetpack → “Backup” (or “VaultPress” if using WP Admin).
3. Locate the last known good backup of your site using the date options.
4. Click the “Restore to this point” button.

Restoring directly from Jetpack is a much more simple process than uploading a previous backup file (which is more useful for self-hosted WordPress sites).

If you want to make a copy of your WordPress.com site to another WordPress.com site, consider the following options:

• Move your domain from one site to another, which is generally easier than moving a website’s content and design.
• Clone your WordPress.com site to create an exact copy of it, that you can then add a domain to.
• Use the Migrate to WordPress.com tool to create an export of your source site and then import that content to the destination site.

If it is absolutely necessary to restore a downloaded backup file, you will need to do so manually. If you have an existing .tar.gz file, follow the guide to manually restore a backup.