Most business owners assume their site is backed up somewhere. Often it is. But when something goes wrong, the questions come thick and fast: where are the website backups, how old are they, and who knows how to put one back?
This guide explains what a backup actually is, what should be in one, and how to check yours before you need it.
What a website backup is
A backup is a copy of your website, saved somewhere separate, that can be used to put the site back the way it was. For a WordPress site, that copy has two parts:
- The files: WordPress itself, your theme, your plugins, and uploaded images and documents.
- The database: your pages, blog posts, settings, and things like form entries or orders.
You need both. A copy of the files without the database is like having the shelves without the stock.
Why website backups matter for a small business
Websites break for ordinary reasons, not only dramatic ones. Some of the most common:
- A plugin or theme update clashes with something and the site stops loading
- Someone deletes a page or overwrites content by mistake
- The site is hacked and files are changed or infected
- A problem at the hosting company affects the server
- A change made by a previous developer turns out to have broken something
With a recent, working backup, most of these are an inconvenience. Without one, you could be rebuilding pages from memory or paying for a whole new site.
Think about what your site holds that you couldn’t easily recreate: years of blog posts, product details, customer reviews you’ve added, or photos you no longer have on your computer. That’s what a backup protects.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre lists regular backups among the basic steps businesses should take to protect themselves. Your website is part of that.
What a good backup setup looks like
Not all backups are equal. A good setup ticks a few boxes.
It runs automatically
Backups that depend on someone remembering to click a button tend to stop happening. Automatic backups keep running whether or not anyone is thinking about them.
It’s stored somewhere else
A backup kept on the same server as the website can be lost in the same problem. Storing copies separately means one failure doesn’t take out both.
It keeps more than one copy
Sometimes a problem goes unnoticed for days, such as a hack or a broken page nobody visited. Several backups from different dates let you go back to a point before things went wrong.
It matches how often your site changes
A brochure site that changes a few times a year doesn’t need the same schedule as an online shop taking orders every day. If your site takes bookings, orders or form entries, more frequent backups make sense, because an old copy would mean losing everything that came in since.
The same goes for big changes. Before a redesign, a major update or adding a new feature, take a fresh backup first. If the change goes badly, you can step straight back.
Someone knows how to restore it
This is the part people forget. A backup is only useful if it can be put back quickly and correctly. Restoring a WordPress site isn’t hard for someone who does it regularly, but it can be daunting the first time, especially when the site is down and customers are calling.
A restore also needs the right access: the hosting login, the backup files and, sometimes, the domain settings. If those details only live in one person’s head, write them down somewhere safe.
Questions to ask about your current backups
If you’re not sure where your website backups stand, these questions will tell you a lot:
- Is my site being backed up, and how often?
- Where are the backups stored?
- How many past versions are kept, and for how long?
- When was a backup last tested or restored?
- If the site broke today, who would restore it, and how long would it take?
- Is there an extra cost to restore?
If the answers are “I think so” and “I’m not sure”, sort it out now rather than later. Budget hosting plans often include some form of backup, but restoring it may be left to you. We explain the difference in our article on cheap hosting versus managed hosting.
Backups are one part of looking after a site
Backups work best alongside regular updates and basic security. Updates close security holes, which makes it less likely you’ll need a backup in the first place. Backups give you a way back if an update or a hack does cause trouble.
It also helps to keep your own copies of the things that matter most outside the website: your logo files, your best photos and the text for your key pages. If you ever change providers, you’ll be glad you did.
For the bigger picture, our guide to website security basics covers the other habits that keep a small business site safe.
How we handle website backups at Inversit
Our managed Australian WordPress hosting is $49.95 + GST per month and includes backups and security updates. If something goes wrong, you call a small local team in Lismore who already know your site, rather than working through a help article on your own.
If your site is with another host now, we can move it for you. Migration is free and there’s no downtime during the move. You can read more about our managed hosting, email and domains.
If you’d rather manage things yourself, that’s fine, particularly for a hobby site or an early side project. Just make sure you’ve tested a restore at least once, so you know it works before you’re relying on it.
Want to know if your site is protected?
Book a free website health check. We’ll review your site’s performance, design and SEO, flag anything that needs attention and explain it in plain English. It takes about 30 minutes, with no obligation. Call 02 6610 9202 or get in touch online.
