It is very important to do backup of your MySql database, you will probably realize it when it is too late. A lot of web applications use MySql for storing the content. This can be blogs, and a lot of other things. When you have all your content as html files on your web server it is very easy to keep them safe from crashes, you just have a copy of them on your own PC and then upload them again after the web server is restored after the crash.

All the content in the MySql database must also be backed up. If you have spent a lot of time making the content and it is only stored in the Mysql server, you will feel very bad if it gets lost for ever. Backing it up once every month or so makes sure you never loose too much of your work in case of a server crash, and it will make you sleep better at night. It is easy and fast, so there is no reason for not doing it.

Step 1: Log into phpMyAdmin on your server.

Step2: You can select the database that you would like to backup from the drop-down menu called Database.

Step 3: A new page will be loaded in phpMyAdmin showing the selected database. In order to proceed with the backup click on the Export tab.

Step 4: The options that you should select apart from the default ones are Save as file which will save the file locally to your computer in an .sql format and Add DROP TABLE which will add the drop table functionality if the table already exists in the database backup as shown below.

Step 5: Click on the Go button to start the export/backup procedure for your database.

A download window will pop up prompting for the exact place where you would like to save the file on your local computer. It is possible that the download starts automatically. This depends on your browser’s settings.