Importance Of Website Backups
In most cases freelancers and small business attach little to no importance to website data backup until their website is infected with malware, is malfunctioning due to coding error, or is just lost due to a crash! Using the right website backup system can mitigate these otherwise disastrous website problems.
Malware injection in hacked websites is very common these days. This is done for various reasons such as bitcoin mining using your visitor’s CPU, hijacking website links for ads or redirection, etc. It results in blacklisting by search engines which is catastrophic for website SEO. Reverting the website to previous clean state using a backup is the quickest resolution. Does your current website backup system support versioning?
Loss of visitor trust is the immediate result of a malfunctioning website due a coding error. The quickest resolution is always undo-ing the change with a previous backup. How quickly can you undo something on your website using your current website backup system?
Sometimes the website is completely lost due to a server failure or what we commonly call a server crash. What would you do to recover from a total website loss if you do not have the latest website backup?
A common misconception (more likely a hope) of website owners is that their web hosting service provider will take care of any and all issues including website hacking and maintaining backups.
However, most web hosting services backup at their own schedule and at the server level (server snapshots). This is done to restore the server to a previous state in the event of server crashes and it cannot restore individual websites. There is also no guarantee that the server-level backup is recent. So if there is a server crash and the server is restored to a previous state with an older version of the website, what do you do?
How To Choose The Right Website Backup System
Now that you know what can go wrong with your website, make a list of features the website backup system needs to have.
Does it need to make manual or automated backups? Does it need to make backups with versioning? Does it need malware monitoring? Doe sit need to store backups in multiple locations so your website backups are always available?
The recommended course of action to ensure that your website is backed-up as per your list of desired features is to research and subscribe to an additional automated backup service from your web hosting provider or a third-party.
If you run a WordPress website then you can also choose from WP backup plugins. Most have paid plans that are more reliable than the free backup options. Check if these match your list of desired features.
We would recommend a third-party backup solution like CodeGuard for the following reasons:
- CodeGuard can backup several versions of your website and its databases irrespective of being self-hosted or hosted with a web hosting service provider.
- CodeGuard also allows you the option to migrate the website between service providers without changing backup services.
- CodeGuard backs up in multiple locations so if one location fails your website backups are still available.
- CodeGuard also has a WordPress backup plugin to use with your plan.
- CodeGuard is a global leader in website maintenance, disaster recovery, and backup.
- We have arranged for a free test drive with a free 7-day test plan.
- We offer you the lowest CodeGuard plan prices in India ideal for freelancers and small business.
