# Upgrade and backup

Core code, imported database content and uploaded media are separated. Before an upgrade:

1. Export the MySQL database from cPanel/phpMyAdmin.
2. Download `config.php` and the entire `uploads` directory.
3. Keep the current website ZIP until the new release is verified.
4. Apply versioned database migrations only once.
5. Never overwrite `config.php`, `uploads` or user-created backups.
6. Test login, importer validation, a practice submission, feeds, sitemaps and cron after upgrading.

Import rollback reverses content rows changed by that import. It is not a substitute for a full database and media backup.

