Every website owner will eventually face a moment of panic - a hack, a bad update, an accidental deletion, a failing server. What separates a bad day from a catastrophe is one thing: a working backup. Here is how to build a backup system that actually saves you.

Table of Contents

What to Back Up

A complete website backup has two parts: files (HTML, images, code, themes, uploads) and database (all your content, users and settings). Back up both together - missing either one means an incomplete restore.

How Often to Back Up

Daily is the recommended baseline. Stores and news sites should back up daily or more. Sites that rarely change can do weekly. Whatever your cadence, back up before any major change - updates, migrations or design overhauls.

Where to Store Backups

  • Offsite cloud storage - Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3.
  • A different server or hosting account.
  • Local storage - your own computer or external drive.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two different media, one offsite.

Automatic Backups

Manual backups get forgotten. Automate instead: use a plugin, your host's backup feature, or server-level cron jobs. Most good hosting plans include automatic daily backups - enable them and verify they run.

How to Restore

  1. Choose the cleanest backup (just before the problem started).
  2. Restore files first, then the database.
  3. Verify your site works - pages, forms, login.
  4. Test a restore every few months so the process is second nature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my host back up my website automatically?

Many do, including Filofa - but treat your own offsite copy as the real insurance. Host backups help, yet a provider outage or account issue can lose them too.

What is the most common backup mistake?

Never testing a restore. A backup you cannot restore is not a backup - it is just stored data.

Backups turn disasters into inconveniences. Automate them, store them offsite, and test a restore today - you will sleep better knowing it works.