How to Backup SharePoint Online to Local Storage Step by Step

SharePoint Online is great for collaboration, but what if a file is deleted permanently or corrupted? Even as per CBS News, the Microsoft cloud platforms were down almost the whole day. In that case, a local copy will save you and ensure data continuity. Unfortunately, Microsoft 365 doesn’t offer any solution to backup SharePoint Online to local folder. Now, the question is how to backup SharePoint Online locally?

To answer this, I researched and found the most appropriate solutions, which I will explain step by step in this guide.

Here you’ll find:

• Why Backup SharePoint Locally
• Top 4 Backup Methods
  • Method 1. Use OneDrive Sync
  • Method 2. PowerShell
  • Method 3. Manually Downloading SharePoint Files
  • Method 4. Automated Tool
• Final Words
• FAQ’s

Why Backup SharePoint Online Locally?

Although Microsoft is known for its robust security. But having the backup SharePoint Online to local storage adds an extra layer of security. Explore the following reasons:

• Files deleted from the Recycle Bin after 93 days are unrecoverable.
• Offline copies give you a clean state to recover from.
• Local backup of SharePoint Online also helps to maintain the organisation’s compliance.
• Data recovery is seamless in case of natural disasters or cyberattacks.
• It also helps to manage your SharePoint Online storage by downloading the inactive files locally.

If your data is cleared from the Recycle Bin, then you can’t restore a deleted SharePoint site until you have a backup in your local storage. That’s why in the next section, I will show how to save a SharePoint site locally.

How to Backup SharePoint Online to Local Storage – Top 4 Solutions

Backing up SharePoint Online locally is quite easy if you know the appropriate solutions. The below section outlines four reliable solutions with proper guidelines:

Method 1. Backup SharePoint Online Locally Via OneDrive Sync Client

I learned from Microsoft’s official guide on syncing SharePoint files with the OneDrive sync app, that I can use the OneDrive sync client to backup SharePoint Online to local storage. After saving the SharePoint files locally, you can access them from the File Explorer. So, now:

1. Sign in to the SharePoint account.
2. Open the Site Library to sync.
3. Hit the Sync button.
4. Click on Sync now in the opened prompt.
5. You can open the Show my files… from the wizard to open the synced library in File Explorer.

This method is not a long-term solution for backup. After a while, you need to remove some old files from OneDrive because of storage issues.

Method 2. Use a PowerShell Script to Backup SharePoint 365

You can use the WebDAV approach to backup SharePoint Online to local storage. But make sure you are well-versed in the PowerShell scripts to get the expected results:

$Download_Path= "d:\Downloads\SharePointOnline"

$webDavUrl = "entere here”

#Create a Local Folder if it doesn't exist

If(!(Test-Path $Download_Path))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $Download_Path | Out-Null

}

#Get all files from the Site and backup them to a local folder

Get-ChildItem -Path $webDavUrl -Recurse | ForEach-Object {

$Destination_Path = Join-Path -Path $Download_Path -ChildPath (Split-Path $_.FullName -NoQualifier).Replace($webDavUrl,'');

Copy-Item $_.FullName -Destination $Destination_Path -Force
Write-host -f Green “Files are successfully copied to the $Destination_Path”
}

Method 3. Download All Files to Backup SharePoint Online to Local Storage

If you only want to backup some files from the document library, then you can download each file individually. You can also copy it into the other external hard drive for future reference. It is a manual approach and requires a lot of time. Due to this, most of the admins avoid this process. But still, if you want to use this, execute the steps below.

1. Open SharePoint Online with the appropriate credentials.
2. Move to the Document Library to backup the files.
3. Select the file, and press right-click.
4. Press the Download button to backup your SharePoint lists and libraries to local storage.

Using all of these approaches, you can backup SharePoint Online to local storage. However, managing local storage is also a difficult task, which requires additional cost and regular monitoring.

So, as an alternative solution, if you want to backup your SharePoint data to the cloud itself, then you can copy document library to another SharePoint site. Let’s see how to do this.

Method 4. Backup SharePoint Online at a Different Tenant or Site

Backup SharePoint Online locally is ok, but what if you want to access your data from another country or with a new device? For those cases, I suggest opting for a professional migration solution, which can create a replica of your data in another SharePoint site or tenant simultaneously.

I tried many solutions, and among them, I found SharePoint Online Migration Software is the most reliable one because:

Download Now Purchase Now

• No technical skills needed
• Cost-effective
• Easy-to-follow steps
• Self-explanatory interface
• Zero chances of data loss
• Maintains data hierarchy
• Preserves metadata, permissions, version history, and site templates

Below are the steps to backup SharePoint 365 to another SharePoint account:

Step 1. Download the tool on your machine. Activate it and start providing the details.

Step 2. Provide both Source and Destination platforms as Microsoft 365.

Step 3. Click on the Sites option from the workload section. Apply the integrated Date filter for filtering of sites.

Step 4. Now, add the credentials of the Source and Destination accounts. After that, validate them and move to the next step.

Step 5. Load the Sites and Users into the tool by choosing the suitable option among Import Users or Download template to manually add the users.

Step 6. Finally, click on the Start Migration button to backup your SharePoint account to another SharePoint account.

Author’s Verdict

Today, I shared some of my experiences on how to backup SharePoint online to local storage. Additionally, I explained the best solutions with step-by-step instructions clearly. So, opt for any now, and safeguard your data from cyberthreats. 

However, relying on local storage is not a good practice. So, you can also backup your SharePoint data to another SharePoint account for robust data security.

People Also Ask

Q1. Can I use PowerShell to backup SharePoint Online locally?

A – Yes, you can use PowerShell to store all the SharePoint files locally by implementing the Copy-Item $_.FullName -Destination $Destination_Path -Force command. But use this method only if you have expertise in the PowerShell commands.

Q2. How to download the documents from the SharePoint document library?

A  – For downloading the SharePoint documents locally, you need to:-

1. Open the Document Library.
2. Select the file that you want to download.
3. Press right-click on it and then Download.

Q3. Can I move SharePoint files to another account as a backup?

A – Yes, you can migrate SharePoint list to another site or tenant to store and access it whenever required. 

Q4. How do I use OneDrive sync to store SharePoint files locally?

A – You just need to open the SharePoint document library and hit the sync button.

Q5. What is the most cost-effective way to backup SharePoint Online to local storage?

A – The most cost-effective way to back up SharePoint data is to use the OneDrive Sync client for small teams or manual downloads.