Website Backups: How to Protect Your Data and Prepare for Recovery

A failed update, accidental file deletion or an error while editing a database can take a website offline. For an online store, this may mean lost orders; for a corporate website, missed customer enquiries and business downtime.

Backups make it possible to restore a website to a working state. However, simply creating archives is not enough: it is important to back up the right data, keep several versions and verify that restoration actually works.

At FairyHosting, we recommend treating backups as part of regular website maintenance. Here are the main points website owners should consider.

What should be included in a website backup

A complete backup should contain all the data required to restore the website:

• Website files: code, images, documents, themes, plugins and other components.
• Database: pages, settings, user accounts, orders and other information stored by the CMS.
• Configuration: connection parameters and settings required for the project to operate in its hosting environment.

A copy of the website files alone may not be enough. For example, on a WordPress website, images and plugin files are stored separately from the database, which contains posts, users and many website settings. Both parts are required for a complete recovery.

If corporate email is also hosted on the same hosting service, email backups should be considered separately: a website backup does not necessarily include mailboxes.

How often should backups be created?

Backup frequency depends on how quickly the data changes and how much recent information the business can afford to lose.

A website that is updated only occasionally and an online store receiving orders continuously require different backup schedules. If orders are stored in the website database, restoring yesterday's backup may result in losing records of purchases made after that backup was created.

A good starting point is a simple question: how much data can you afford to lose — a week, a day or an hour? The answer will help determine the appropriate backup frequency.

It is also useful to create an additional backup before updating the CMS, installing extensions, changing code or migrating the website.

Why keeping multiple backup versions matters

The most recent backup is not always the best one to restore. A problem may remain unnoticed for several days, while malicious code may already have been included in backups before a security incident is discovered.

If every new backup overwrites the previous one, a clean working version may no longer be available. This is why it is useful to keep a history of backups from different dates.

When choosing how long backups should be retained, consider how quickly problems are usually detected. Backup frequency and retention period should be planned together, as they address different aspects of data protection.

Where should backups be stored?

An archive stored in another folder on the same server can be convenient for quickly rolling back individual changes. However, if access to the server is lost or its storage is damaged, both the website and the backup may become unavailable.

For this reason, we recommend using separate storage for backups.

FairyHosting offers Fairy Disk for this purpose — network storage that can also be used for server backups. FTPS and SMB connections are supported. However, connecting storage by itself does not automatically create or transfer backups: these processes must be configured separately.

Access to backup archives also needs to be protected. Backups may contain customers' personal data, order history and configuration files. Do not place backup files in publicly accessible website directories, and restrict access to them to authorised users only.

How to verify that a website can actually be restored

A message confirming that an archive was created successfully does not guarantee that the entire project can be restored from it. The most reliable way to verify a backup is to test it in practice.

A test restoration should be performed in a separate environment so that the live website is not affected. After restoration, check whether:

• pages and images open correctly;
• the administration panel can be accessed;
• data is displayed correctly;
• the website's main functions are working.

For an online store, the product catalogue, shopping cart and checkout process should also be tested. Real payments, customer emails and automated integrations should be disabled in the test environment beforehand.

This kind of test helps identify incomplete backups, missing settings or environment compatibility issues before an urgent recovery is required.

How to work with backups at FairyHosting

For websites managed through Plesk, backups can be created and restored in the Backup & Restore section. Our knowledge base explains how to select data for an archive, configure a backup schedule and restore a backup. We also recommend using Fairy Disk to keep backups on a separate server.

The exact backup strategy depends on the hosting service and project configuration. A website hosted on a shared hosting plan and an application running on its own virtual server may require different backup contents and recovery procedures.

Before restoring a backup, it is important to choose the appropriate restore point and understand which current data will be overwritten. If new orders, enquiries or publications have appeared since the backup was created, they should be taken into account separately.

Frequently asked questions about backups

Does RAID replace backups?

No. Depending on the configuration, RAID can help keep a system running when individual drives fail, but it does not restore accidentally deleted files and cannot undo incorrect changes made to a database.

Is a backup plugin enough?

A plugin can automate the backup process, but its configuration still needs to be checked: which data is backed up, where the archives are stored, how many versions are retained and whether notifications are sent when a backup fails.

Can a website be restored from a backup after it has been hacked?

Yes, provided that a suitable clean backup created before the compromise is available. The cause of the breach must also be eliminated and any compromised access credentials should be changed; otherwise, the problem may occur again.

Should automatic backups be checked?

Yes. Backup jobs can fail because of insufficient storage space, connection problems or configuration changes. Monitoring backup jobs and periodically performing test restorations helps detect such problems before the backups are urgently needed.

The FairyHosting team will be happy to help you organise backups for your website or server, choose an appropriate storage solution and resolve recovery-related issues. Contact us to build a backup strategy that fits the requirements of your project.