Website Backups: What to Save and How to Restore

Why backups matter

Backups help recover from accidental deletion, failed updates, malware or configuration mistakes. A useful website backup normally includes both website files and the database. Automatic backups may be included with your plan, but schedules, retention and restore options vary.

What should be backed up?

Website files: code, themes, plugins, uploads and configuration.
Database: posts, pages, settings, users, orders and other stored data.
Email: check whether mailbox contents are included.
DNS and service settings: keep important configuration details where appropriate.

Keep a copy outside the hosting account, since an inaccessible account may make its internal backups unavailable too.

A practical routine

Check whether automatic backups are included and how long they are retained.
Create an extra backup before major updates, migrations or configuration changes.
Download a copy to a secure location outside the hosting account.
Restrict access because backups may contain confidential information.
Periodically test that a backup can be opened and restored.

Choose backup frequency based on how much recent data you could lose and how quickly the site must be restored.

Restore carefully

Choose the correct restore point and check whether it will overwrite current files or database contents. Save the current state first if possible. For database-backed sites, restore files and database from the same point in time where practical.

After restoring, test the homepage, key pages, forms, login, checkout and integrations. Check DNS and SSL if the domain or server changed.

No backup available?

Contact your hosting provider promptly and ask whether server-side recovery points exist. Avoid changes that could overwrite recoverable data. A backup is useful only if it can be accessed and restored.