On 10 March 2021, a major server provider had a fire in one of their datacenters. Thousands of websites went down immediately, and as of now, it is unclear if they are able to restore any data to customers. Now imagine if this happened to you. What do you do?
What are backups, really?
Obviously, a backup is a collection of your website’s data into one file. However, different backup solutions create and store backups in different ways, and some backups contain more data than others.
For instance, WordPress backup plugins will only store content from that specific WP installation and does not include any subdomain websites or manually uploaded files outside of the WP installation. Hosting-level backups e.g. cPanel or Plesk backups include all files and databases inside the hosting plan, including email if you use server-hosted webmail.
By default, all backup solutions store backups in the same place where it was created, just like when you Zip a folder on your hard drive. Obviously, this is not a good idea – if you ever lose access to the hosting plan, your website is pretty much gone. In the worst-case scenario like above, even your server provider may not be able to restore your site. This means that:
- The thousands of dollars you spent on designing the website = GONE.
- The thousands of dollars you spent on marketing & SEO = GONE.
- The business you could’ve gotten if the website wasn’t down = GONE.
In addition, you now need to spend thousands again to redesign your website.
How to make an off-site backup
It’s important that you have a conversation with your web designer to ensure that your backups are the right kind of backup so that all your files are protected.
If all you need is a simple WordPress full-site backup, simply install Updraft Plus and follow the instructions therein. For more complicated setups, give your web designer a call, or get in touch with us for a quote.
