How to add your MainWP Dashboard to CodeGuard

In this tutorial, we are going to be adding our MainWP Dashboard Installation to CodeGuard for Backups. You can also use these steps to add any of your child sites.

After logging into your CodeGuard Dashboard, scroll down to the ‘Add Site’ section, and click on the “Add FTP/SFTP Website” button.

After you are prompted to the Add Your Website page, you will be setting your MainWP Dashboard URL as well as your SFTP/FTP Credentials.

Go ahead & enter your MainWP Dashboard’s URL and make sure SFTP/FTP is selected

(In this case, we are using Cloudways to host our MainWP Dashboard. They use SFTP by default. You can create these credentials within your Application’s Management page on Cloudways, under Application Credentials.)

Once you enter this information, click the “Test Website” button

If no errors are returned, you should be taken to the next step where you choose your Sites Root Directory , which is usually “public_html” so we’re going to make sure that’s selected and click the “Select Root Directory” button.

In the next box, you can check the “public_html” again & then click the “Begin First Backup” button.

On the next page, click the “Add Database Now” button.

Once you are on the Database page, the first three steps are going to deal with checking Codguard’s ability to connect to your server.

You may enter your Hostname or IP address here & click the “Test Connection” button below.

If the test is successful, on the next page, you are provided with CodeGuards IP addresses. You’ll want to write these down in case you need to whitelist them within your firewall. You can go ahead & click Next step.

The next step is adding your Database Credentials . Here is where you add in your Database credentials. You can find these credentials within your wp-config.php file or on your Application’s Management page.

(Cloudways supports SSH by default, so you’ll want to make sure Tunnel over SSH is selected / If your host doesn’t support SSH Tunnels, you’ll want to choose Direct MySQL instead.)

Go ahead and enter in your Database credentials & click Next step .

Select the Database you wish to backup & click "Add Databases."

That’s it! Codeguard is now set up to backup your MainWP Dashboard. You will receive an email once the backups have been completed.

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Just great work, Bogdan!

Now another tutorial for the WordPress plugin involved. :slight_smile:

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The WordPress plugin just got updated to not conflict with the Dashboard and we haven’t tested it.

It’s preferential to use the FTP/SFTP option where possible so you have your backups not relying on a plugin but a direct connection to your server.

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Thanks Ivica, however, I can’t take all the credits, @kwcjr helped a lot here (thanks Keith!) :slight_smile:

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Then, congrat to both of you :wink:

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All set up and working. Thanks @dennis for the free year! This definitely looks like a well worth while value addon for customer sites.

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A quick note that the CodeGuard WordPress plugin is a simpler and faster method especially when you are not confortable with SSH like me…

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@wpexpert I’m really glad that option worked out for you.

I’d like everyone to keep in mind however that the CG WordPress plugin takes full backups of website files and the database every day. SFTP/MySQL backups are incremental and would require less storage usage.

SFTP/MySQL connections on Cloudways were just as simple as the CG WP Plugin too. I was shocked when I set it up.

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Oh! I didn’t know that @kwcjr! I definitely need the incremental… So I guess, I need to learn SSH.
Thank you for sharing this information, very important in term of space used.

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@wpexpert I was also unaware of it until recently. Figured it would be important. :slight_smile:
You can use FTP & Direct Mysql & still gain the same perks.

SSH isn’t to bad once your wrap your head around it. It’s basically 2fa that sits on top of your regular login creds that you don’t have to type in. The same thing as using a UserName and Password except the password is split in two. Public / Private.

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