Selective Backup (Files Only / DB Only)

<h3>Creating Partial Backups in DirectAdmin</h3> <p>Sometimes you do not need a full account backup. Selective backups let you back up only specific components &mdash; such as website files or databases &mdash; saving time and disk space. This is especially useful before making targeted changes like a theme update or database migration.</p> <h3>Files-Only Backup</h3> <ol> <li>Log in to DirectAdmin and go to <strong>Advanced Features &rarr; Create/Restore Backups</strong>.</li> <li>Under the <strong>Create Backup</strong> section, check <strong>Home directory</strong> (this includes your website files).</li> <li>Uncheck <strong>Databases</strong>, <strong>E-mail data</strong>, <strong>E-mail settings</strong>, and any other components you do not need.</li> <li>Select the domain(s) to include.</li> <li>Click <strong>Create Backup</strong>.</li> </ol> <p>This creates a backup containing only your <code>public_html</code> and other files in your home directory, without database dumps or email data.</p> <h3>Database-Only Backup</h3> <ol> <li>Go to <strong>Create/Restore Backups</strong>.</li> <li>Check only <strong>Databases</strong>.</li> <li>Uncheck all other components.</li> <li>Click <strong>Create Backup</strong>.</li> </ol> <h3>Manual Database Export via phpMyAdmin</h3> <p>For granular control over database backups, use phpMyAdmin:</p> <ol> <li>Navigate to <strong>Account Manager &rarr; phpMyAdmin</strong>.</li> <li>Select the database you want to export from the left sidebar.</li> <li>Click the <strong>Export</strong> tab.</li> <li>Choose the export method: <ul> <li><strong>Quick:</strong> Exports the entire database with default settings.</li> <li><strong>Custom:</strong> Lets you select specific tables, output format, and compression.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Select <strong>SQL</strong> as the format.</li> <li>Click <strong>Go</strong> to download the <code>.sql</code> file.</li> </ol> <div class="alert alert-info"><strong>Tip:</strong> When backing up before a CMS update (e.g., WordPress), export the database via phpMyAdmin and download a copy of the <code>wp-content</code> folder via FTP. This covers the two most critical components without creating a full account backup.</div> <h3>Manual File Backup via SSH</h3> <p>If you have SSH access, you can create targeted file archives:</p> <pre><code># Back up only public_html tar -czf ~/backups/files-only-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C ~/domains/example.com public_html # Back up a specific directory tar -czf ~/backups/uploads-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C ~/domains/example.com/public_html/wp-content uploads</code></pre> <h3>When to Use Selective Backups</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Before plugin/theme updates:</strong> Back up files and the database.</li> <li><strong>Before database schema changes:</strong> Database-only backup.</li> <li><strong>Before redesigning a site:</strong> Files-only backup of the current design.</li> <li><strong>Migrating email:</strong> Email-only backup before changing mail providers.</li> </ul>