- Copy the directory structure of your web root to an external drive, such as a USB-connected mass storage device. Use a simple copy command or utilities like WinZip, which can compress the files to a smaller size. To recover, copy the file structure back onto the drive.
- If the data is stored in a database such as MySQL, ORACLE or MS SQL server, then the backup process requires multiple steps. Databases come with export utilities that allow you to extract the data and data structures to a single file that can then be backed up to an external drive.
- If your website is run on a professional hosting site, the hosting company will normally do backups and restores for you, including your database. Inquire as to how often the backups run, how a restore is requested and how the database backups work.
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