Website Backups: How Often and Where to Store Them

Your website gets hacked. Your database corrupts. A bad plugin update breaks everything. Your developer accidentally deletes the wrong files. Without backups, any of these means starting from scratch. With good backups, it's an inconvenience rather than a catastrophe.

What Needs Backing Up

A complete website backup includes:

For more insights on this topic, see our guide on HTTP vs HTTPS: Why SSL Certificates Matter.

Files

• Website code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, etc.)
• Themes and templates
• Plugins and extensions
• Uploaded media (images, documents, videos)
• Configuration files

Database

• Content (posts, pages, products)
• User accounts
• Settings and configurations
• Orders and transactions (for e-commerce)

Both are essential. Files without database = broken site. Database without files = also broken. You need both to restore fully.

How Often to Backup

It depends on how often your site changes:

Daily Backups

Essential for:

• E-commerce sites (orders happening daily)
• Sites with user-generated content
• Frequently updated blogs/news sites
• Any site where losing a day's data matters

Weekly Backups

Adequate for:

• Brochure sites that rarely change
• Blogs updated weekly or less
• Sites where occasional data loss is acceptable

Before Any Changes

Always backup before:

• Plugin or theme updates
• CMS version upgrades
• Major content changes
• Development work

Where to Store Backups

The Golden Rule: Off-Site

Backups stored only on your web server aren't backups. If the server fails, you lose everything including backups. Always store copies somewhere else.

Storage Options

• Cloud storage: Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox, etc.
• Different hosting provider: Backup to a separate server
• Local download: Keep copies on your own computer or external drive
• Backup service: Services like UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, BackupBuddy store for you

The 3-2-1 Rule

A solid backup strategy:

• 3 copies of your data
• 2 different storage types
• 1 copy off-site

Example: Live site + cloud backup + local download.

Backup Methods

Host-Provided Backups

Many hosts offer automatic backups. Check what's included:

• How often? (Daily is ideal)
• How long are backups kept?
• Can you restore easily?
• Is it truly off-site?

Warning: Don't rely solely on host backups. If there's an account issue or the host has problems, your backups might be inaccessible.

Plugin-Based Backups

For WordPress and similar platforms:

• UpdraftPlus: Free version handles basics, sends to cloud storage
• BackupBuddy: Comprehensive backup and migration
• BlogVault: Real-time backups, good for high-traffic sites
• All-in-One WP Migration: Simple export/import

Manual Backups

For complete control:

1. Download files via FTP/SFTP
2. Export database via phpMyAdmin or command line
3. Store both together

More work but ensures you understand what you have.

Testing Your Backups

A backup you can't restore from is worthless. Periodically test:

1. Download a recent backup
2. Set up a test environment (staging site or local)
3. Attempt to restore
4. Verify the site works correctly

If you've never tested restoring, you don't know if your backups work.

Retention: How Long to Keep Backups

Keep multiple backup points:

• Daily: Last 7-14 days
• Weekly: Last 4-8 weeks
• Monthly: Last 6-12 months

Why keep old backups? Sometimes you don't notice a problem immediately. A hack might be discovered weeks later. Malware might be in your recent backups too. Older clean backups save you.

Common Backup Mistakes

• Assuming the host handles it: Verify what your host actually does. Read the fine print.
• Backing up only files OR database: You need both for full restoration.
• Storing backups only on the web server: Server dies, backups die too.
• Never testing restores: Find out your backups work BEFORE you need them.
• No automation: Manual backups get forgotten. Automate it.
• Keeping only one backup: That one backup might be corrupted or infected.

Recovery Planning

Beyond backups, think about recovery:

• Who has access to backups?
• Who knows how to restore?
• How long would restoration take?
• Is there documentation for the process?

In an emergency, you don't want to be figuring this out for the first time.

The Bottom Line

Backups are the safety net for everything else. They turn disasters into inconveniences. The time and cost of proper backups is tiny compared to rebuilding a website from nothing.

Set up automated backups, store them off-site, test periodically, and keep multiple generations. It's one of those things you'll never regret doing — and deeply regret not doing if you ever need them.

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