Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

Downloading WordPress Site to Zip: A Step-by-Step Guide

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems on the web, powering millions of websites around the world. As a WordPress user, you may need to download your WordPress site to a zip file for various reasons such as creating a backup or moving your site to a new host. In this article, we will guide you through the steps to download your WordPress site to a zip file.

Step 1: Install and Activate a WordPress Backup Plugin

To download your WordPress site to a zip file, you will need to install and activate a backup plugin. There are many backup plugins available for WordPress, but we recommend using UpdraftPlus because it is easy to use and has a free version that can be upgraded for additional features.

To install and activate UpdraftPlus:

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for 'UpdraftPlus' and click 'Install Now'.
3. Once installed, click 'Activate' to activate the plugin.

Step 2: Configure UpdraftPlus Settings

After activating UpdraftPlus, you need to configure some backup settings. To do this:

1. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click the 'Settings' tab.
3. Choose how often you want to back up your site from the 'Backup Schedule' dropdown.
4. Select the files and database you want to backup by ticking the appropriate boxes under 'Files Backup' and 'Database Backup'.
5. Choose a remote storage location to save your backups. You can choose from Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, and more.
6. Click 'Save Changes'.

Step 3: Create a Backup of Your WordPress Site

To create a backup of your WordPress site, follow these steps:

1. From the UpdraftPlus settings, click the 'Backup Now' button.
2. Wait for the backup process to complete. This may take some time depending on the size of your site.
3. Once the backup is complete, click the 'Existing Backups' tab and you should see your latest backup.
4. Click the 'Download' button next to the backup you want to download.

Step 4: Download Your WordPress Site to a Zip File

Finally, to download your WordPress site to a zip file, follow these steps:

1. After clicking the 'Download' button in step 3, a pop-up window will appear.
2. Choose 'Zip file' from the dropdown and click 'Download' to start the download.
3. Wait for the download to complete and save the zip file to your computer.

Congratulations! You have successfully downloaded your WordPress site to a zip file using UpdraftPlus. You can now use the zip file to migrate your site to a new host or for safekeeping as a backup.