Backup

A backup is the insurance you do not think about until you need it. An update goes wrong, someone deletes the wrong page, or the site gets hacked. With a fresh copy, it is an annoyance. Without one, it is a new project.

A copy in the same place is no copy

If the backup sits on the same server as the website, it can disappear along with it. A good setup takes copies automatically and regularly, and stores them somewhere else. It must also include the database, not just the files, because that is often where orders, posts and customer details live.

Websites built from version-controlled code also have their whole history stored. Any earlier version can be brought back from there.

A copy nobody has tried

You only know a backup works once someone has restored from it. The files may be incomplete, or nobody remembers how to put them back. A copy that has never been tested is a hope, not a plan.

Three questions to send today

Send an email to whoever runs your website, or to your hosting provider: Where are the copies kept, on the same server or somewhere else? Is the database included? When was a restore last tested? At the same time, export the customer list and the images you are responsible for yourself, and put them on a drive you own.