A WordPress backup has two parts — your files and your database — and a proper backup needs both. cPanel makes it possible to grab either manually, though an automated plugin is worth setting up too.
1. Back up your files
In cPanel, open File Manager, navigate to your site's root folder, select everything, and compress it into a zip archive. Download that archive to your computer.
2. Back up your database
Open phpMyAdmin from cPanel, select your WordPress database from the left-hand list, click Export, and choose the Quick export method with SQL format.
3. Store backups somewhere safe
Keep a copy off your hosting account entirely — Google Drive, Dropbox, or a local external drive. A backup stored only on the same server offers no protection if that server has a problem.
4. Restoring your files
To restore, upload your zip archive back into File Manager and extract it, overwriting the existing files.
5. Restoring your database
In phpMyAdmin, select the database, click Import, choose your saved SQL file, and run the import. Your site should reflect the backed-up state once it completes.
6. Automate it going forward
Manual backups are easy to forget. Installing UpdraftPlus and scheduling weekly automatic backups to cloud storage removes the need to remember at all.
Key takeaway: A backup is only useful if it's stored somewhere separate from your hosting account — keep at least one copy off-server at all times.