All of your WordPress data is stored in a MySQL database. If you find that you want to transfer your website or manually create a backup then you might need to generate a copy of this data. The easiest way to do this would be to clone your database using phpMyAdmin. In this article, we’ll explain why we think using phpMyAdmin is the easiest solution and how you can go about creating a duplicate.

Why should I Use phpMyAdmin?

Most WordPress hosting companies offer MySQL as your database management software. While it is possible to interact with MYSQL using command line tools, this can be tricky for those who might be new to WordPress or using databases. Instead, phpMyAdmin offers a web-based interface that you can use for a number of things. Using phpMyAdmin it’s possible to create backups, restore admin passwords and functionalities and move your website to a different server.

Now that you’re familiar with phpMyAdmin, let’s take a closer look at how you can create a duplicate of your database.

Duplicating Your Database With phpMyAdmin

First of all, you will need to log into the cPanel dashboard of your hosting account and locate and click on the phpMyAdmin icon. Don’t worry if your hosting provider doesn’t use cPanel. Just find the database section within your hosting account and you should see a phpMyAdmin option.

This will now take you to the phpMyAdmin interface where you can select the ‘Databases’ link at the top.

On the next screen, you will be presented with a list of available databases. Just select yours from the list.

Next, you’ll see the list of tables within your WordPress database. Select ‘Operations’ from the top menu to continue.

On the next screen, you will be prompted to provide a name for your duplicate database within the box titled ‘Copy Database To’. Double check to make sure that the ‘Structure and Data’ option is selected and then click on the ‘Go’ button.

phpMyAdmin has now created a duplicate WordPress database for you and you should see a success message once you have finished.

After that, you can click on ‘Databases’ at the top to view your newly created duplicate database.

Duplicating Your Database On Shared Hosting

For those that are on a shared WordPress hosting platform, there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to create a database directly from phpMyAdmin. Don’t worry though, you can still clone your data and insert it into a new database.

Simply select phpMyAdmin from your dashboard, locate your database and select the ‘Export’ button on the top menu, and then select ‘Custom’ after.

Now scroll to the output section and select the ‘Save output to a file’ option.

Now click on the ‘Go’ button to continue.

phpMyAdmin will now export your WordPress database and send it to your browser as a .mysql file. The next step is to create a new database where you can import this file into. Visit the cPanel dashboard and click on ‘MySQL Databases’ icon.

On the next screen, you will be able to enter a name for your new database. Once you have, click ‘Create Database‘ to continue.

cPanel will now create you a new MySQL database. However, in order to use this database, you will need to assign it to a MySQL user. Scroll down to the ‘Add user to database’ section and select your MySQL username and then your newly created database. After that, click on the Add button to continue.

Cpanel will now have granted you full MySQL privileges on your newly created database. Now that your new database is ready, you can go ahead and open phpMyAdmin from your cPanel dashboard. You need to select your newly created database and then click on the import button from the top menu.

Next, click on the choose file button to select the .mysql file you downloaded earlier and click on the ‘Go’ button to continue.

PhpMyAdmin will now upload the file from your computer and import your database. You should see a success message upon completion.