Backups are one of those things nobody thinks about until they need one. A good backup can turn a disaster into a minor inconvenience. Here is what you need to know to protect your website.

Why backups matter

Websites break for all sorts of reasons. An update might clash with a plugin. Someone might delete the wrong page. A password might be guessed and the site defaced. Even careful website owners make mistakes.

A backup is a copy of your website from a point in time. If something goes wrong, you can restore that copy and get back to how things were.

Hosting problems happen too, though rarely. Having more than one copy, stored in more than one place, means you are never relying on a single safety net.

What should be backed up?

A complete backup covers two things. First, your files: the website software, themes, plugins and uploaded media such as images and documents. Second, your database, which on a WordPress site holds your posts, pages, settings, users and, for shops, orders.

Backing up only one of these is not enough. Files without the database, or the other way round, will not give you a working site.

How often?

The right frequency depends on how often your website changes. A brochure site that is updated once a month needs less frequent backups than a busy shop taking orders every day. As a rule, ask yourself how much work you would be happy to lose, and back up at least that often.

Daily backups are a sensible baseline for most websites. Take an extra manual backup before any big change, such as a theme update or a major plugin upgrade.

The 3-2-1 rule

A popular rule of thumb is 3-2-1: keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy kept somewhere else entirely. In practice, that might mean your live website, your host’s backups and a copy you download to your own computer or cloud storage now and again.

The idea is simple. No single failure, whether a server problem, an account issue or a mistake, should be able to wipe out every copy.

Retention: how far back can you go?

Sometimes a problem goes unnoticed for days. A hacked site might look normal for a while before anyone spots the issue. Keeping several backups from different dates, rather than just the latest one, gives you a better chance of finding a clean copy to restore.

Test your restores

A backup you have never restored is a backup you hope works. Every so often, check that you can actually restore a copy, ideally to a test location rather than over your live site. Knowing the process before you need it saves a great deal of stress.

Backups and security work together

Backups are not a replacement for good security, and security is not a replacement for backups. Strong passwords, updated software, malware protection and a firewall reduce the chance of problems. Backups are your recovery plan when something gets through anyway.

Where to keep your own copies

If you download backups yourself, store them somewhere safe and separate from your hosting, such as encrypted cloud storage or an external drive. Label them clearly with the date, and delete very old copies you no longer need. Remember that backups can contain personal data, such as customer details, so look after them as carefully as the live site.

Backups at RapidLayer

Every RapidLayer shared hosting plan includes daily backups, alongside free SSL, malware protection and a firewall. We still recommend keeping your own copy of anything important, so you are always in control. Learn more on our security page or compare our web hosting plans.