Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

Download WordPress Site via FTP: A Step-by-Step Guide

WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) in the world and is being used by millions of websites. If you are a website owner who uses WordPress, there are times when you may need to download your WordPress site via FTP. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as creating backups, moving your site to a new hosting provider, or just to edit some files offline. In this article, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to download your WordPress site via FTP.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you need to have the following:

• An FTP client (such as FileZilla, Cyberduck, or WinSCP)
• Access to your hosting provider's FTP server
• Your FTP login credentials (username and password)
• Basic knowledge of WordPress files and directories

Steps

Follow these steps to download your WordPress site via FTP:

Step 1: Connect to your FTP server

Open your FTP client and enter your FTP login credentials to connect to your hosting provider's FTP server. Once you are connected, you will see a list of files and directories on your server.

Step 2: Locate your WordPress installation

Navigate to the directory where your WordPress site is installed. This is usually located in the root directory of your server or in a subdirectory.

Step 3: Download WordPress files and directories

Highlight all the files and directories in your WordPress installation (excluding the "wp-content" directory) and download them to your local computer. You can do this by dragging and dropping the files from the server to a folder on your computer.

Step 4: Download "wp-content" directory

Next, download the "wp-content" directory from your server. This directory contains your themes, plugins, and media files. This directory is usually large in size, so it may take longer to download than the other files.

Step 5: Export your WordPress database

The last step is to export your WordPress database. This can be done through your hosting provider's control panel or through a plugin like phpMyAdmin. Once you have exported your database, save it to your local computer.

Conclusion

Downloading your WordPress site via FTP is a relatively simple process that can be done in just a few steps. It is always a good idea to create regular backups of your site to ensure that you have a copy in case something goes wrong. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can easily download your WordPress site via FTP and keep it safe and secure.