Website Backup: The Complete  Guide

One of the most overlooked management tasks is ensuring your site is properly backed up.

You’ve probably sent hours crafting quality content and optimizing your site for search engines. The worst case scenario would be to have it all disappear in the blink of an eye. But, this is a very real possibility. Server crashes, hacking attempts, or even human error can cause you to lose your data. In such scenarios, you can only restore a backup to recover your site.

Think of website backups as the digital equivalent of health insurance. You may not appreciate their importance until you’re faced with a dire situation. You will regret skipping health insurance when you have high medical bills. Similarly, neglecting regular website backups can result in catastrophic data losses.

There is so much advice on how to take a reliable website backup. This guide consolidates all the good advice and provides you a complete guide.

TL;DR: Manual backups can be an option for website management. But they are often unreliable and prone to human error. Instead, use a backup plugin like BlogVault for automated, consistent, and reliable backups. You’ll save time, reduce stress, and secure your valuable data effectively.

Understanding a website backup

Taking a backup means creating a copy of your website’s data. This means that you take a backup of databases, files and configurations. They can be restored in case something goes wrong.

While everyone can benefit from regular backups, certain types of sites, like ecommerce sites, need backups more. Ecommerce sites handle sensitive customer information, transactions, and inventory data. Losing this data could result in significant financial losses and a damaged reputation. This is why they require robust backup strategies.

How to take a website backup

The best way to take s backup is to install a backup plugin. But, there are other methods like taking cPanel backups or manual backups. In this section, we will explore three methods for creating backups. From backup plugins to web host services, and even manual processes, we’ll cover all our bases. 

1. Using a backup plugin

Backup plugins simplify the backup process and ensure your data is consistently protected. They automate the backup process and reduce the chance of human error. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned website manager, a plugin is the best way to take backups.

While there are lots of backup plugins, we’re using BlogVault. 

Take a backup using BlogVault

Once you create an account on BlogVault, you can add your site to the dashboard. Enter your wp-admin credentials. Give it a few minutes. The plugin will take a full backup of your site. Click the sync button, every time you want to take a backup on demand. 

Restore using BlogVault

1. Login to the BlogVault dashboard
2. Navigate to the backup section of your site details
3. Click Restore and choose the backup you want to restore

4. You can also choose what you want to restore.

For example, you can revert an add-on. This helps you troubleshoot a failed plugin or theme that may be causing issues. It’s also possible that you want to repair the site database, enabling users to fix corrupt or malfunctioning database tables. 

That’s it. In a few minutes, your site will be restored. 

Why choose BlogVault?
We’ve tested the top backup plugins and BlogVault is by far, the best out there. Here is why:

1. Both incremental and full backups
2. Backups are stored on secure offsite servers 
3. Automatic backups 
4. Reliable one-click restores 
5. Partial restores as neededq
6. Test restores 
7. Emergency connector to restore a fully crashed site
8. External dashboard to restore your site, if your admin panel is inaccessible
9. No performance impact of backups on site

2. Web host backups

If you can take hosting backups, they offer another easy backup solution. But you have to choose a web host that offers them. In this section, we’ll explore how to use Cloudways to take a backup. 

How to backup your site with Cloudways

1. Log in to your Cloudways account 
2. Navigate to the application you want to backup
3. Click on the Backup and Restore in the sidebar
4. Click Take Backup Now create an ad-hoc backup

How to restore a Cloudways backup

1. Login to a Cloudways hosting account
2. Find the application you want to restore
3. Click Backup and Restore in the menu
4. Choose a backup from the dropdown

5. Click Restore Application Now

Other web hosts like WP Engine also offer backups that are easy to create and restore. 

Are web host backups enough?
While they’re a good backup option, they’re not enough. In fact, relying on just web hosts backups comes with the following pitfalls:

1. Consumes server resources, slowing down your website 
2. Often comes with hidden costs for data retrieval or storage
3. Unreliable because if your server fails, you lose your backups
4. Can’t customize backups or restores

3. Manual backup

A manual backup means to manually export your website’s files and database to a secure location. This method requires you to backup the files and the database separately. We recommend that you then create a zip folder and store them together. There are different tools you can use to take a manual backup, like a cPanel backup. But, for this article, we’re using an FTP client to backup files and phpMyAdmin for the database. 

This method can be time-consuming and prone to errors. It also requires a lot of technical know-how. So we do not recommend it. But here are the steps:

Backup your site manually

1. Install an FTP client like Cyberduck or Filezilla
2. Connect to your server using the FTP credentials that are found on your hosting account
3. Navigate to your website’s root directory and select all files
4. Right click and click Download to export all the files

5. Access your database tables using a database manager like phpMyAdmin
6. Select the database associated with your website
7. Click on the Export tab and choose Quick in the dropdown

8. Click Go to download the database backup to your local computer.

Store both the downloaded files and database backup in a secure location. Repeat this process regularly to ensure you have up-to-date backups.

Restore your site manually

You have to restore your files and database seperately. For example, you can restore a cPanel database backup and your files using an FTP client or File Manager.

1. Connect to your server using an FTP client 
2. Navigate to your website’s root directory
3. Right click and click Upload

4. Select the files you want to import
5. Click Overwrite, if prompted
6. Access your website database manager 
7. Select your website’s database
8. Drop the existing contents of the database
9. Click on the Import tab and select the right file 
10. Ensure SQL format is selected and click Go

Wait a few minutes and your site will be fully restored. 

Can you rely on manual backups?
No. You cannot rely on manual backups. Here are a few reasons why:

1. High risk of data loss from failures
2. Backups can be corrupted easily during this process
3. Time and resource intensive
4. Prone to human error
5. Requires technical expertise
6. Needs a lot of organizational effort

What to backup

You will often hear experts telling you to back up everything. But what does that really mean? To answer this, you have to understand your website’s file structure and database. This section will guide you through the essential components that need to be backed up: 

1. Files

The first component to back up is your website’s files. These include core files, theme files, and plugin files. They are responsible for a site’s structure, design, and functionality.

Files also encompass all images, videos, or audio files. It also includes custom scripts that provide unique features to your site. Collectively, these files make up the static elements of your websites. They determine how it looks and behaves when users visit.

2. Database tables

The second crucial component is your website’s database tables. It serves as the dynamic counterpart to your site’s files. It stores all the changing and interactive data. This includes posts and pages, which are the content you’ve created—such as blog posts and articles. It also includes user generated content like comments. All your user data, like information about registered users are also stored within their respective tables. 

Expert opinion: Are partial backups enough?

It’s understandable to wonder what type of backup you need. There are different types, one of them being partial.

Partial backups capture only certain parts of your website’s data. This is definitely quicker and more convenient than a full manual backup. Partial backups are often recommended to save on storage space, and to lessen the impact of backups on a site. 

However, this is a bad compromise to strike. Partial, as the term implies, stores only part of your website. This means they leave you vulnerable to failed restores. 

Take for example a plugin or other website add-on. A plugin will have its corresponding plugin folder in the site files, and potentially settings and other data in the database. 

Assuming you’ve followed the advice of someone who says that a database backup is all you need to restore your site. You’ve only backed up part of the plugin.

This is why we do not ever recommend partial backups. Even if you have to restore a minute part of your website, do it from a full backup. 

How often should you take a backup?

To determine frequency of backups, you need to understand your website’s needs. This can vary based on the type and activity level of your website. Here’s a guide to help you determine the best schedule for you:

• Static websites: If your website doesn’t change frequently, such as a portfolio, daily backups are necessary. 
• High-traffic websites: For websites with frequent content updates or user interactions, consider scheduling multiple backups in a day.
• E-commerce websites: E-commerce sites that handle frequent transactions, customer data, and inventory updates need more backups. We recommend that you consider real time backups throughout the day. 

What to keep in mind when maintaining backups?

The easiest way to maintain reliable backups is to use a backup plugin. but, this is crucial for the security and longevity of your website. But what makes a backup reliable? That’s the question we will answer in this section:

Type of backup

There are a couple of different types of backups that experts will refer to. 

First, is a full backup. A full backup includes all files, databases, and configurations of your website. This means each time you initiate a backup, you are copying your entire site. When you’re backing up a large website, this process can be time and resource intensive. However, these backups are the easiest to restore because everything is in one place. 

A different solution is incremental backups. These backups only save changes made since the last backup. They are quicker and use less storage. Thus making them ideal for frequent backups and ongoing data protection. 

The ideal solution is to start with a full backup and then create incremental backups on a more regular basis. 

Storage

The best strategy is to implement the 321 backup strategy. It involves maintaining 3 copies of your data (production data and two backups), stored on 2 different media types, with 1 backup copy offsite. This approach ensures redundancy and better protection against data loss.

But all of these copies of your sites can take up storage. Storage space is precious and expensive. You have to consider how long backups are stored and how much space you can clear. We recommend that you store backups for at least a month. This gives you ample time to restore your website, even if you hadn’t caught an issue immediately. 

Reliable restores

A restore process hinges on having thoroughly tested and verified backups. This ensures that all necessary data is captured and can be accurately restored.

Additionally, you want to be able to restore a backup easily. There should be a user-friendly restoration interface. It should work quickly to minimize downtime. 

Lastly, you should be able to restore even a crashed site. This is where BlogVault’s Emergency Connector comes in. It is able to connect to your server even if you lose access to your site and dashboard. 

Why are backups important?

Every website admin knows backups are important. But, why? Do you really need them? Can you afford to not backup your site?

• Failed updates: Software updates, including CMS, theme, or plugin updates, don’t always go as planned. They can result in compatibility issues or even crashes. Having a backup allows you to roll back to the previous, stable version. of your site, mitigating the negative impact of failed updates.
• Technical issues: Servers can experience failures, crashes, or data corruption. These can render your website inaccessible or cause data loss. With a reliable backup stored offsite, you can restore your site in minutes.
• Human error: Mistakes happen. Whether it’s accidentally deleting files or misconfiguring settings, human error can have severe consequences.  Regular backups serve as a safeguard, allowing you to recover lost or altered data with ease, thus protecting your hard work and valuable content.
• Malware infections: Websites can fall victim to malware attacks, which may compromise or corrupt your data. We don’t always recommend you restore a backup blindly, because you may also restore the malware. You will need an uncompromised version of your site that can be restored quickly. You will need to know when the site was infected for it to work correctly. But, in case you’re trying to fix website defacement, this is the only way to go. 

Final thoughts

A good backup solution should be something you can set up once and then trust to operate in the background. It should enable you to “schedule and forget” and still restore your site when needed.

BlogVault is the ultimate website backup solution that meets all these essential requirements. It offers automated, incremental backups that minimize resource consumption and capture critical data. Its offsite storage and one-click restore features ensure that your backups are both secure and easy to recover. 

With BlogVault, you can rest easy knowing that your website is continuously protected. It is always ready for a reliable restoration when things go awry. Investing in a robust solution like BlogVault can save you time, stress, and potential data loss. 

FAQs

How do I backup my whole website?

To backup your entire website, use a dedicated backup plugin such as BlogVault. It simplifies the process with automated, regular backups, and easy restoration options.

What is website backup?

A website backup is a copy of all your website’s data, including files, databases, and configurations. It ensures that you can restore your website to a previous state in case of data loss or corruption. They provide a safety net against unforeseen problems.

Where are website backups stored?

Website backups can be stored either on the same server as your website, on remote servers, or on cloud storage platforms. For enhanced security and reliability, it’s recommended to use the 321 backup strategy. Take 3 copies of your site, on at least 2 different devices with 1 different physical location.

What is a daily website backup?

A daily website backup involves automatically backing up your site’s data every day. This frequent backup schedule is especially useful for dynamic or high-traffic websites. It is to ensure that all recent changes, transactions, and updates are captured. They can be restored if necessary.

What is an example of on-site backup?

An example of an on-site backup is saving your website’s data to a local server or storage device. They imply that the backup is stored within the same physical location as your website’s primary server. While convenient, on-site backups are vulnerable to the same local risks, such as hardware failures or environmental hazards.