What a backup actually is
A website backup is a full copy of your site, saved somewhere safe, that can be put back if something goes wrong. Think of it like a spare key for your van. You hope you never need it, but the day you do, you are very glad it exists.
Most small business websites are made of two parts. There are the files, which include the design, the images and the code that makes the pages work. Then there is the database, which holds things like your page text, blog posts and any enquiries the site has collected. A proper backup copies both. A copy of only the files, or only the database, is half a spare key.
Why it matters for a small business
Websites break for all sorts of ordinary reasons. An update goes wrong. A plugin clashes with another one. Someone deletes a page by accident. A hosting company has a fault. Occasionally a site gets hacked.
None of these need to be a disaster. If there is a recent backup, the site can usually be put back to how it was before the problem. Without one, you may be looking at rebuilding from scratch, and losing whatever content you had.
For a plumber, a salon or a cleaning business, your website is often the first thing a new customer sees. Having it down for days while someone pieces it back together costs you enquiries.
How often should backups happen
The honest answer is: as often as your site changes.
- If your site rarely changes, a weekly backup may be enough.
- If you update prices, add photos of jobs or post news regularly, daily is better.
- If your site takes bookings or collects enquiries through forms, daily is the sensible minimum.
It is also worth taking a one-off backup just before any big change, such as a redesign, a major update or a move to new hosting. That way, if the change goes badly, you can step straight back.
Backups should also be kept for a while, not just overwritten each night. Sometimes a problem goes unnoticed for a week or two. If you only ever keep last night's copy, you might just be keeping a copy of the broken site. A run of backups going back a few weeks gives you options.
Where backups should be stored
This is the part people most often miss. Many hosting setups save backups on the same server as the website. That is handy for quick fixes, but it has a big weakness. If the server itself fails, gets hacked or the hosting account is closed, the website and its backups can disappear together.
A good backup plan keeps at least one copy somewhere separate. That could be:
- Cloud storage run by a different company from your host
- A separate backup service designed for websites
- A download kept safely by whoever looks after your site
The simple rule is this: never keep all your copies in one place. If one location has a bad day, another still has your site.
Testing that a backup actually works
A backup you have never tested is a hope, not a plan. It is surprisingly common for backups to run every night for months and then turn out to be incomplete or impossible to restore when they are finally needed.
Restoring means taking a backup and putting it back so the site works again. Testing a restore usually means doing this on a spare copy of the site, not the live one, and checking that:
- The pages load properly
- The images and design are all there
- Forms still send enquiries
- Recent content is included
This does not need to happen every week. Every few months, and after any major change to how the site is set up, is a reasonable rhythm. The point is to find out the backup is faulty on a quiet Tuesday, not on the day your site has gone.
What to ask your host or web person
If someone else looks after your website, you do not need to understand the technical detail. You just need clear answers to a few questions.
- How often is my site backed up?
- Does the backup include both the files and the database?
- How long are backups kept for?
- Where are they stored, and is at least one copy kept away from the main server?
- When was a restore last tested?
- If my site broke today, how long would it take to put it back?
- Is restoring included, or is it charged separately?
If the answers are vague, or you are told backups are your job without being shown how, that is worth knowing now rather than later.
Keeping it simple
You do not need to become an expert in backups. You need to know they happen, that they are stored somewhere sensible, and that someone has checked they work.
With We are Graft, backups are included in every monthly plan, along with hosting, your SSL certificate and security updates. You can see what each plan covers on our pricing page, and there are more answers on common questions in our FAQ.
Want one less thing to worry about
If you are not sure whether your current website is backed up properly, or you would rather someone else just handled it, get in touch. You can ask us anything on our contact page or message us on WhatsApp on 07459415807, and we will reply within one working day.