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Do I Need to Back Up My Company’s Website, How to Do It, and How Often to Do It
Alternative title for this blog that didn’t meet editorial standards: “H** who is you playin’ with? Back that site up!”
When was the last time you backed your website up? If the answer is “never” or “I’m not sure,” I’m going to assume you just like to live your life dangerously and you also don’t have health insurance or wear seatbelts. Because yes. It’s just as reckless to not back your company’s website up. Here’s why:
Why You Should Back Up Your Company’s Website
#1 In Case Your Website Gets Hacked…
As hackers become more and more advanced, your site security is likely to be compromised at some point. If and when this happens, it’s best to have a backup copy of your website so that you can compare the two versions to look for malicious code, or worst case scenario, restore the backup if you are unable to identify and clean the hack.
Related blog: Is My Website Hacked?
#2 In Case a Plugin or Theme Update Breaks Your Site…
For WordPress users, plugins and themes allow for simple and extremely customizable website appearance and functionality options. Keeping your plugins and themes up-to-date is extremely important for website security. Unfortunately, sometimes these updates can change the front-end appearance of your site—without warning.
If this happens during a plugin update and you have a backup, you can reinstate the outdated version of the plugin until you can resolve the issue. And absolutely always make sure to take down a site copy before updating your theme.
#3 In Case You Don’t Like a Revision to Your Site You’ve Made…
In general, if you have a copy of files that you are modifying, you don’t have to be nervous when making updates because you can always just restore your copy of that file.
How to Back Up Your Website
#1 Manually Back Up Your Website
A manual website backup involves connecting your site through an FTP client and downloading a copy of an individual file, plugin, theme, or even a full website copy onto your local machine in addition to downloading a copy of your database through PHPmyAdmin.
We recommend manually backing up your website before making any major changes to your site such as:
- Modifying an individual file.
- Updating your theme.
- Updating your version of WordPress.
When you perform this type of backup, make sure to date your files so you know exactly when they are from.
#2 Website Backup Plugins
One of my favorite things about WordPress is that more often than not, there’s a plugin available for whatever you are looking to do with your website—including back it up!
At Blue Corona, our webmasters use Backup Buddy, which notifies you when a backup is made or when there is an issue preventing a backup from being made. It also allows you to choose from several remote destinations for storing your backups, and also lets you choose between database only backups and full site copy backups.
If you have a WordPress site, it is a good idea to establish a backup schedule for your site. The frequency of the backups should be determined by how often you are updating your site.
#3 Website Backups through Your Hosting Company
Most quality hosting providers offer a site backup service where the company will automatically make full site copies of your site on a schedule. This is great option for many business owners who don’t have time for manual backups. So ask your hosting company if they have a site backup service included in your hosting plan or if they have options to add this service. If they don’t, consider switching hosts.
Related blog: How to Transfer Website Hosting Companies (And If It’s Worth It)
About The Author: As the Director of Web and Media, Chase oversees the overall health, growth, and and strategy of Blue Corona's Web Development, Design and Video services. He thrives on having candid conversations about a client's business goals that ultimately translate into a functioning, lead-driving website.
View more blogs by Chase Wolf
The information on this website is for informational purposes only; it is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. It does not constitute professional advice. All information is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact us for complete details.
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