What gets backed up
A website has two halves. The files hold the theme, the plugins and the uploaded images. The database holds the pages, posts, settings and anything visitors send through forms. A backup needs both, taken at the same moment, or a restore can leave you with pages that point to images that aren't there.
| Backup | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daily copy | Once a day | Covers lost content, bad edits and quiet problems found later |
| Restore point | Right before any update or bigger edit | Lets us undo a change that causes trouble |
| Off-server copy | Each backup is stored away from the web server | If the server or the hosting account has a problem, the copies are safe elsewhere |
How long copies are kept
We keep a rolling set of daily copies, so a problem found a few weeks late can still be traced back to a clean version. The retention period is listed in your quote and can be longer for sites that change often or hold orders.
When we restore
- An update breaks the layout, a form or the checkout
- Someone deletes a page or overwrites content by mistake
- The site is hacked and needs to go back to a clean version before the fix
- You move to a new host and need the site rebuilt there
Restores are part of the plan. If a restore follows a hack, we also look for how the attacker got in and close it.
Backups that actually restore
A backup nobody has tried to restore is a guess. From time to time we restore a copy to a private test address and click through it to confirm it works.
Questions
Can I get a copy of my backups?
Yes. They are your site's files and data. Ask and we send a download link to a recent full copy.
My host already makes backups. Do I need more?
Host backups are useful, but they often sit on the same system as the site and may only go back a few days. Our copies are kept separately and taken before every change.
Send the address of your website and tell us what bugs you about keeping it up. We reply with questions or a written quote for a plan.