Website Backups: How to Make Sure You Can Always Recover
What a good website backup includes, how often to back up, where to store it and how to test a restore, so a hack or a failed update is not a disaster.
A backup is the one thing that turns a disaster into an inconvenience. A hacked site, a failed update, a deleted page or a hosting company that goes offline can all be fixed in hours, if there is a recent, working backup. Without one, you may be rebuilding from scratch.
Many businesses believe they have backups and find out they do not on the day they need one. Here is how to make sure yours work. If your site runs on WordPress, its official backup documentation is a useful companion.
What a full backup includes
- Files: the website's code, theme, plugins and uploaded images and documents
- Database: pages, posts, products, orders, customers and settings
- Configuration: the settings that connect the site to its database and services
A backup of only the files, or only the database, is not enough to bring a site back.
How often to back up
Match the backup schedule to how often the site changes:
- A company website that changes a few times a month: weekly backups, plus one before every update
- A blog or busy content site: daily backups
- An online store taking orders every day: daily backups at least, and more often for the database, so you do not lose orders
Keep several copies going back in time. If an infection went unnoticed for two weeks, a backup from yesterday is infected too.
Where to store backups
Do not keep your only backups on the same server as the site. If the server fails or is hacked, the backups go with it.
Follow the 3-2-1 rule where you can: three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy in a different location, such as cloud storage with another provider.
Host backups are a start, not a plan
Many hosts include backups, which is useful. But check how often they run, how long they are kept, whether you can download them, and whether they cost extra to restore. Keep your own copy as well.
Test the restore
A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a plan. Every few months, restore a backup to a test copy of the site and check that the pages, images, forms and, for a store, the orders are all there. Write down the steps, so anyone can do it under pressure.
Protect the backups themselves
Backups contain everything, including customer data. Store them in accounts with strong passwords and two-factor login, limit who can access them, and delete old copies you no longer need, in line with your privacy policy.
A simple backup routine
- Automatic backups of files and database, on a schedule that matches your site
- A copy stored off the server, with another provider
- A backup before every update or major change
- A restore test every three months
- A written note of where backups are and how to restore them
Backups are part of every maintenance plan we run. If you would rather have them handled and tested for you, read why choose KamiKode for website maintenance.