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One of the single most critical things that you should have is a backup of your database. There are so many things that can go wrong such as a server crashing or a hacker getting into your account. When this happens all of your hard work and dedication is put on the line. Can you imagine if you had worked for a 3 months straight all to lose it in a day?

You may be surprised in fact that most people don’t actually even have a backup of their database. This is something extremely easy to do if your web hosting provider uses phpMyAdmin which most do.

1. Logging into phpMyAdmin

The first thing that you need to do is find the address to your phpmyAdmin database and log in. Most likely if you look around in your web host’s control panel you will find a link to phpMyAdmin. If you are using cPanel you can find the link under the Databases section in the main menu. Once you are logged in move on to the next step.

2. Selecting a Database to Backup

After logging in you will come across the main window of phpMyAdmin. Depending upon your host’s limitations there will be various options for you. Below is an image of what you will see if you are using HostGator as your web host.

On the left hand side in the blue section you will notice a listing of the databases contained within phpMyAdmin. If you know the name of your database go ahead and select it. If not, get in contact with your web host and they should be able to provide you with the answer.

3. The Database Tables Screen

Once you have selected your database you will be taken to that database’s main screen. Here you will find a listing of all the tables and a navigation bar located across the top of the tables. We are going to be focusing our attention to the navigation bar.

4. Exporting the Database File

Viewing the navigation bar, you want to click on the Export button. This will take you to a window that allows you to back up your database.

Notice the listing of the tables inside of your database directly under the Export section. To ensure that you are backing up all tables, click Select All. The entire list of names should become highlighted like in the above image. Next is the format that you would like to save your database back up to. Choose SQL so that you can upload your file back into your database or move it to another server. Don’t worry about all of the other options that are available, the defaults should be just fine for what we are doing.

At the bottom of the above image you will notice a smaller table. At the top left hand side is a checkbox with Save as file next to it. Make sure you click this checkbox so that you can download the file to your computer, otherwise it will just send the file to a directory on your actual server. You can give the file a custom name if you choose as well as the type of compression. All that compression will do is make the file smaller in size which if you have a big database is recommended.

Keep remember template checked and click Go. You will get a popup window asking where you would like to save your database back up.

How Often Should You Backup Your Database?

That is honestly up to you and how often your site is updated. If your site is being frequently updated a few times a week you could choose to update after every other update. Although if anything you should backup after every update in case something does happen. You should also backup your database before you attempt to change anything in it. That way if something does happen you will have a fresh backup and all that you have to do is upload into phpMyAdmin again.

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Depending upon how you want to setup your site you may end up needing a database. If you plan to setup a blog you are going to need a database for sure especially if you are using WordPress. The following guide will show you how to setup a MySQL database if you are using the web hosting provider, GoDaddy.com.

1. Hosting Control Center

Go ahead and login to your GoDaddy.com web hosting account if you haven’t already. After entering your login information click the My Account link. On the left hand side of the screen should be the navigation menu with all of the different sections of your hosting account. If it isn’t already selected click on the My Products section and then click on Hosting.

You will then be taken to a page listing all of your hosting accounts. Find the hosting account that you want to setup your database on and click Manage Account. You will be taken to the Hosting Control Center and there is where all the magic happens.

2. Finding the database list section

To get to the page listing the databases available for your account you are going to want to click on the green Databases tab located at the top of the screen.

From there a section located on the main page will open up allowing you to select the type of database. Go ahead and click on MySQL.

3. MySQL Database Information

Now that we are at the right page we can start setting up our MySQL database. The current page lists all of the databases being setup or that are already active under your web hosting account.

If this is your first time setting up a MySQL database the page will be empty. Go ahead and click on the Create Database button located in the upper right hand corner of the table.

4. Setting up the MySQL Database Information

After clicking Create Database you will be taken to the page where you can begin to enter information to setup your database.

1. Description (Optional) – This is not a required field and only aids you in helping you remember what the database is for should you end up creating more then one database.
2. MySQL Database/User Name (Required) – This is the user name that you are going to be using to login to your database as well as the name of the database that you will use to connect to. GoDaddy requires that the usernames are unique for the database so you may end up having to add an extra number or symbol to your username if it is already taken.
3. Enter New Password (Required) – This is the password that you will use to login to your database along with the username that you created. It must contain 7 to 14 characters, one lowercase, one uppercase and one number. It also must begin with a letter and cannot contain the username for an extra security measure.
4. Confirm New Password (Required) – Just confirms the password that you have chosen to make sure that you typed it correctly.
5. MySQL Version (Required) – Depending upon your setup you may need to choose version 4.1 instead of 5.0. Version 4.1 is selected by default but it is recommended that you choose 5.0 to reduce the chance of conflicts within the database in the future.
6. Ok/Cancel – After you have entered all your information click OK to have your database begin being setup. If there are any problems, you will receive a notification and what to do to fix the issue.

5. All done!

That’s it! If you did everything right and didn’t have any problems with your info you should be taken back to the database list page where your newly created database should be listed. However, you will not be able to access the database immediately and depending on the server load it may take a few minutes to an hour to have your database setup. Typically the earlier in the morning or the later at night you try to setup your MySQL database the quicker it will be up and running.

Once the Status column reads Setup you can click on Open Manager and proceed to log in to your newly created database!

(Hint) Should you need to edit information or view your database details you can click on the small pencil icon located in the far right hand column or click on the X to delete the database.