A backup does not matter on the day you make it, but on the day you need it: after an update that broke the website, after a file deleted by mistake, after an attack. On that day, three things count: whether a copy exists, whether it is recent enough and whether it can be restored quickly.
In short
- The 3-2-1 rule: three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, one of them in another location.
- A copy on the same server protects you from mistakes, but not from a problem with the server itself.
- Choose the frequency of your backups based on how often the website changes: a store with daily orders needs daily backups.
- A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a guarantee.
What the 3-2-1 rule says
The 3-2-1 rule is a long-standing practice from systems administration, and it works for a small website too:
- 3 copies of your data: the original and two more copies.
- 2 different types of storage: for example, the server’s disk and separate storage.
- 1 copy in another location: physically separate from the server, so that a hardware failure, a fire or a compromised account cannot take them all.
The idea behind it is simple: no single problem should be able to destroy all the copies at once.
What a website’s “data” means
A website is not just files. A complete backup includes:
- the files: the theme, the plugins, the uploaded images, the configuration;
- the database: in WordPress, this holds the text, products, orders, users and settings;
- the email, if it is on the same hosting account.
A backup of the files alone, without the database, will not bring back a WordPress site.
How often
The useful question is: how much data can you afford to lose? If a business website changes once a month, a daily backup is more than enough. An online store that receives orders every day loses, on a restore, everything that happened after the last backup — that is why it needs daily backups and, before any major change, a backup made right then.
Make a manual backup before:
- updating WordPress, the theme or an important plugin;
- changing the theme or the page builder;
- large product imports;
- moving the website.
How to apply the rule at NBT Host
On every hosting plan, backups are automatic and daily, for files, databases and email:
- one copy stays on the server, so restores are fast;
- an encrypted copy goes to storage separate from the server, also in the European Union;
- restoring from a backup made in the last 7 days is free, and in Enhance you can restore a file, a database or a mailbox yourself.
For the third copy — the one you keep yourself — download a full backup of the website from Enhance from time to time and keep it on your computer or on your company’s storage. The steps are in backup and restore.
On VPS servers, backup is not included automatically: it is a separate option, and without it, backing up your applications is your responsibility.
Test the restore
Every few months, check in a test environment that a backup can actually be restored: that the database imports, that the images are there, that the website starts. It is the only way to find out that a backup is good before you need it. Enhance can clone the website for testing, without touching the live site (cloning a website).
Common mistakes
- Backups only in the same account: if the account is deleted or compromised, the backups go with it.
- A backup that is months old, discovered on the day of the problem.
- Only the files, without the database.
- Restoring over the live website without a backup of its current state — if the restore does not fix the problem, you have also lost what you had.
If you want updates always done with a backup before and a check after, that is what WordPress Maintenance does.