Now more than ever, website management has been made easier. However, it isn’t a guarantee that things will always go according to plan. Your website can break down following an update or it can also get hacked. You might also accidentally delete some important files. The list pretty much goes on and on.
Learning how to backup website can help you save yourself from trouble if any of the situations above occur. All you have to do is implement a reliable and effective backup process and ensure that you have stored your backups as securely as possible.
Basics of Website Backups
An excellent backup solution must fulfill two criteria:
- The backup is stored in several locations.
- Backups are done regularly.
It is recommended that you keep a local copy of your backup either on an external drive or on your computer and another copy in the cloud. It may sound redundant but it can create an additional security layer in the event that one of the backups is deleted. If you don’t prefer local storage, you can use two cloud storage services instead to be safe.
The schedule for your backups must be a reflection of how frequent your website gets updated. If you always publish new content and get a lot of comments, you might want to backup your website every week or even every day. You can settle for monthly or biweekly backups if you don’t have frequent updates.
Options for Website Backups
1. Manual backup
A manual backup of your website involves connecting it through an FTP client then downloading a copy of a theme, plugin, individual file, or a full copy of the site on your local machine aside from downloading your database’s copy.
It is recommended that you manually backup your site before you make any significant alterations to your website such as:
- Updating your website theme
- Modifying a particular file
- Updating your WordPress version
Every time you perform this kind of backup, see to it that your files have corresponding dates so you will know precisely when they are from.
2. Website backup plugins
If you have a WordPress website, one of the best things about it is that there is usually an available plugin for anything you want to do with the site, such as backing it up. It will be a wise idea to develop a backup schedule for your website. Once again, the frequency of your backups must be determined according to how often your website gets updated.
3. Backup your website with the help of your hosting company
Many quality and reliable hosting providers include website backup as part of their service. The company will be the one to automatically make complete copies of your website on schedule. It is an excellent choice for most business owners who don’t have the luxury of time to perform manual backups. You might want to inquire with your hosting provider if your hosting plan includes a website backup service or if they an option to add the service. In case they don’t, it might be time for you to switch hosts.