Your host won't release your site backup. Here is how to get it back.

What migration lock-in looks like

You decide to move your WordPress site from GoDaddy Managed WordPress to a new host. Expected: download backup, upload at new host, update DNS, done.

What actually happens:

• Your dashboard has a "Backups" tab. The backups are taken but you cannot download them — the button is labeled "Restore" only.
• There is no SSH or SFTP option on managed WordPress plans.
• cPanel is not available — managed WordPress uses a custom dashboard without file-system access.
• Support says migration is a "Pro Services" engagement at $150–$500.
• You are told the only way to move the site is to pay for migration.

This is documented in r/WordPress complaints and the WHT migration thread.

The technical reality: you have WordPress admin access. That is enough.

Method 1: plugin-based export (easiest)

If your WordPress admin works, you can export from inside WordPress itself:

1. Install "All-in-One WP Migration" — free plugin, ubiquitous.
2. Plugins → All-in-One WP Migration → Export. Choose "File" as destination.
3. Wait for the export to complete — typically 5–30 minutes depending on site size.
4. Download the .wpress file. This is a complete archive: database, wp-content, uploads, theme files, plugin files.
5. At the new host, install WordPress fresh, install All-in-One WP Migration, and import the .wpress file.

Alternative plugins: Duplicator (more manual), UpdraftPlus (backup-focused), Migrate Guru (hosting-aware, sometimes requires a free account).

Caveat: some managed WordPress hosts ban these plugins specifically. WP Engine has a published banned-plugin list including backup and migration plugins. If your host blocks these, proceed to Method 3.

Method 2: database export + wp-content scrape

If phpMyAdmin is available but SSH is not:

1. phpMyAdmin → your WordPress database → Export. Method: Quick. Format: SQL. Click Go. Save the .sql file.
2. wp-content scrape via WordPress admin: There is no built-in download. If the dashboard exposes a "Media" export, use that; otherwise, use Tools → Export to get at least the XML (posts, pages, comments, categories, tags). This XML does not include media files themselves — only URLs.
3. Download media manually: use a site-scraper tool like wget against your live URLs: wget -r -l 1 -A jpg,jpeg,png,gif,webp -nc https://yoursite.com/wp-content/uploads/. This pulls all media that is publicly-linked.
4. At the new host: install WordPress, import the database via phpMyAdmin, import the XML, re-upload media into wp-content/uploads/ preserving the date-folder structure (/2023/01/).

This is slower and less complete (plugin files and theme customizations may need reinstall), but works without any file-system access at the origin.

Method 3: WordPress REST API scrape (last resort)

If even plugins and phpMyAdmin are not available — possible on Squarespace-managed WordPress or similar — you can scrape the site via the WordPress REST API:

curl https://yoursite.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?per_page=100 > posts.json
curl https://yoursite.com/wp-json/wp/v2/pages?per_page=100 > pages.json
curl https://yoursite.com/wp-json/wp/v2/media?per_page=100 > media.json

This retrieves public content as JSON. Combine with the XML export from the WordPress Tools menu, and you have a reasonably complete content dump — though without plugin state, theme customizations, or private data.

Re-import at the new host via the WP-CLI wp post create bulk commands or an importer plugin that accepts JSON.

Your legal rights to your data

Under GDPR (EU users, or US companies with EU traffic), you have a right to data portability — the host must provide your data in a commonly-used machine-readable format on request. That does not strictly require cPanel backups, but it does require some extract method. Refusing export is a GDPR violation.

Under California CCPA (2020), similar portability rights apply to California residents.

Outside these jurisdictions, your rights are contractual — whatever the TOS says. Many TOS are silent or ambiguous on export.

Practical advice: do not depend on legal escalation. Use the technical methods above. They work regardless of jurisdiction and regardless of host goodwill.

LaunchPad Host provides:

• Full cPanel access on every shared plan
• SSH on every shared plan (not just VPS)
• SFTP on every plan
• Full-account backups via cPanel or JetBackup, downloadable as .tar.gz
• On-demand migration assistance — free, not a $150 "Pro Services" line item