Can I backup my WordPress databases?

February 9, 2021 in Database Backup

Yes, you can back up your WordPress databases with CodeGuard! We connect directly to your MySQL database or over SSH. This allows us to provide the most reliable backups possible.

For a video walkthrough, please see this support article.

A. Connect Directly
Step 1. Your hosting provider most likely will require CodeGuard's IP addresses to be whitelisted before allowing us to connect. This can be done by emailing support at your hosting provider; you may be able to do it yourself in cPanel via the "Remote MySQL" panel. These are the IPs:

  • 54.236.233.46
  • 54.236.233.28
  • 54.174.91.34
  • 54.174.153.212
  • 54.174.115.171

Step 2. Gather your credentials from your control panel. This is the information you will need:

  • Hostname: Your hostname will most likely be your domain name or the IP address of your server.
  • Database Name: During the database addition process you will be able to select a database to back up from a list of the available databases. If you have more than one in your account you should determine ahead of time which database you would like to back up.
  • Username and Password: You need a MySQL username and password with permission to access the database you would like to back up. If you are unsure of these credentials, check with your host about how to add another user specifically for CodeGuard.
  • Port: The port for MySQL database connections is 3306 by default.

Step 3. Enter the information you gathered into our system.

B. SSH
You may be able to connect to your database using an SSH tunnel. If your host supports this option, you will need the following information in addition to the fields in Step 2 above:

Username and Password: The SSH username and password should have been provided to you during your hosting account setup. If not, it may be possible to retrieve them from your host's control panel.

Port: The default SSH port is 22. However, many administrators change this for additional security. If you are unsure of the SSH port for your database server, please check with your hosting provider.

If your host doesn't allow whitelisting of IPs or remote MySQL connections, you may be interested in our WordPress plugin that does not depend on these types of connections for database backups. More information on our WordPress plugin can be found here.