What are your best practices for backing up website data and restoring it in the event of a failure?

For a WordPress website, use Updraft plugins and setup an automatic backup to a third-party drive. Like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

For non-WordPress website use a server who have daily backup feature and take manual backup.

Best Practices for Backing Up and Restoring Website Data

Website backups are like insurance—they keep your data safe and ensure quick recovery during unexpected failures. Here’s how I handle backups and restorations:

1. Regular and Automated Backups

Scheduled Backups: I set up daily or weekly backups depending on your website's activity level.

Incremental Backups: Only changes are backed up after the first full backup, saving storage space and reducing server load.

Redundancy: I store backups in multiple locations—cloud services like Google Drive, AWS S3, or Dropbox, as well as local servers—for added security.

2. Comprehensive Backup Scope

Full Backups: I include your entire website—files, databases, and configurations—to ensure nothing is left out.

Selective Backups: For dynamic sites, I prioritize database backups more frequently to capture real-time updates.

3. Testing Restorations

Mock Restorations: I periodically test backup files by restoring them in a staging environment to ensure they’re complete and functional.

Versioning: I maintain multiple backup versions, allowing you to roll back to a specific point in time if needed.

4. Quick Recovery in Case of Failure

Step-by-Step Restoration: I ensure a structured process, restoring databases first, followed by files, to minimize downtime.

Disaster Recovery Plan: I implement strategies to handle worst-case scenarios, including ransomware attacks or major server crashes.

5. Secure Storage and Encryption

Encrypted Backups: I encrypt backup files to protect them from unauthorized access.

Restricted Access: I ensure backups are accessible only to authorized personnel.

Backing up is more than a safety measure—it’s a business essential. With my proactive approach, you can rest assured your website’s data is always secure and recoverable in minutes!

For backing up and restoring website data, I follow these best practices:

Regular Backups: Schedule automatic daily or weekly backups of both files and databases, depending on the website's activity level.

Multiple Locations: Store backups in multiple secure locations, such as cloud storage (Google Drive, AWS) and local drives.

Incremental Backups: Use incremental backups to save only the latest changes, reducing storage usage.

Test Restores: Regularly test backup restoration to ensure data integrity and quick recovery in case of failure.

Disaster Plan: Have a clear recovery plan to minimize downtime and ensure a smooth restoration process.

These steps safeguard website data and ensure swift recovery during unexpected issues.

For reliable website data backup and restoration, here are best practices combined with a case study showcasing their effectiveness:

Best Practices for Website Data Backup and Restoration

Automate Regular Backups:

Frequency: Set automated daily or weekly backups based on site activity. High-traffic sites may require daily or even hourly backups.

Tools Used: Reliable plugins like UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, and managed backup services from hosting providers (e.g., SiteGround, Kinsta) help automate and schedule backups.

Target Metrics: Aim for a backup completion time of under 30 minutes to avoid significant server load.

Store Backups in Multiple Locations:

Offsite Storage: Use cloud storage (e.g., Google Drive, AWS S3) in addition to local backups. This ensures data availability even if the primary server fails.

Redundancy and Data Security: Store backups in at least two separate locations to minimize data loss risks.

Backup Both Files and Databases:

Complete Coverage: Ensure that both files (e.g., images, themes, plugins) and databases (e.g., user data, content) are backed up.

Database Compression: Use compressed backups for faster storage and retrieval. Most backup tools compress databases by default, reducing file size by around 60-70%.

Routine Testing of Backups:

Test Restores: Regularly test backups by restoring them to staging environments. This helps confirm the backup’s integrity and ensures restoration reliability.

Metrics for Testing: Aim for a test restoration time of under 15 minutes to check viability without significant delays.

Use Incremental Backups for Efficiency:

Reduced Server Load: Incremental backups save only recent changes rather than full backups, making them faster and less resource-intensive.

Recovery Points: More frequent recovery points improve the chance of data recovery without significant loss. Aim for incremental backups every 2-3 hours on active sites.

Case Study: WP Engine’s Incremental Backup Solution

WP Engine, a popular managed WordPress host, implemented an incremental backup solution to support large websites with high traffic:

Incremental Backups Implementation: WP Engine introduced hourly incremental backups for clients to ensure that any data loss is minimal.

Performance Metrics:

Server Load Reduction: Incremental backups reduced server load by up to 30% compared to full daily backups, keeping websites fast and responsive.

Reduced Recovery Time Objective (RTO): With hourly backups, clients experienced minimal downtime during failures, and restoration was achievable within 15 minutes, meeting stringent RTO requirements.

Real Results: During a data recovery scenario for a major e-commerce client, WP Engine’s hourly backups allowed them to restore the website to within an hour before failure, with only minor data loss. This minimal data recovery time enabled the client to continue operations smoothly with minimal interruption.

Conclusion

By following these best practices—automated incremental backups, multi-location storage, comprehensive file and database coverage, routine testing, and incremental backups—you can ensure robust backup and restoration for your website. The WP Engine case study highlights how these practices, when applied consistently, provide a fast, reliable recovery with minimal downtime and data loss.

For website that need hosting the best option is to find a good hosting company that has a daily backup (database and files) and that offers staging version. Any change and new functionality on the website you should test first on the staging version of the website. If your hosting company does not offer automatic daily backup you need using hosting panel (like cpanel) for backup or use backup directly on CMS, for example for wordpress you can use some of plugins for backup database and files.

For website that you not need to have hosting (CMS already provide hosting) for example for shopify you copy/duplicate theme or download theme to your computer and for backup data (products, customers, orders...) you can export data directly from shopify admin panel or use some of app for backup.

The best solution is to perform daily backups or more frequent ones if the website is eCommerce (database) and store them in multiple locations.

It's crucial to store backups in different locations and use varied backup strategies to mitigate the risk of corruption or data loss.

Backup and recovery operations require a custom/specific solution tailored towards your website's needs.   If your website is pretty static, a monthly backup with offsite storage might be all you need with a simple restoration option.

If you're updating your website frequently with new pages, blog posts, real estate listings, or products, you'll want to have the automated backup run more frequently than once monthly. If you're updating the website daily, you should back up daily. 

If you have a web store or very active blog or community website, daily or multiple times per day backups are highly recommended. On the off chance you need to restore the website, losing a few hours of customer sales data can be detrimental to business operations (customer support, customer relations, etc.)

If your hosting has cPanel, there are ways to take full backups within the panel and to download them locally.  

If you're built with WordPress, you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus (free version) to automate the backup process and sync the backup files to your Google Drive, Dropbox, etc... 

The time to think about backups and restoration is TODAY. Far too many people only value the backup and disaster recovery process after something awful happens. 

For backing up website data and ensuring effective restoration in the event of a failure, I implement a comprehensive strategy that includes regular automated backups of both files and databases, typically scheduled daily or weekly depending on the site's activity level. I use reliable backup plugins or services that offer off-site storage options, such as cloud services, to ensure data safety in case of server issues. Additionally, I maintain manual backups before major updates or changes and test restoration procedures periodically to confirm that backups are functional and can be restored quickly if needed. This approach minimizes downtime and data loss, ensuring a swift recovery from any potential failures.