Sawaram Suthar / 9 Mins Read
Updated: February 25, 2025
Having a website backup protects your business information and customer data in case of emergencies. Let’s explore how you can create one for your site.
Do you want to learn how to create a website backup?
Cyber attacks and the risk of data loss are looming threats that every online business faces today. No matter how careful you may be, you need a backup plan to keep your important information secure.
When you create a backup for your site, you copy all of its files, content, and important data, storing all important information in a safe place. When you lose your website data due to any unforeseen incident, the backup helps you restore everything to normal.
Sometimes, you may encounter malware attacks. Other times, you may accidentally delete something important by mistake. You can even acknowledge data loss due to a plugin or theme conflicting and corrupting your database.
Think of all the time it took for you to build your website. Now, imagine losing everything in an instant. All your content, images, custom settings, customer data, and so on. It can be a devastating experience.
We will tell you how to create a website backup and keep your business information safe.
Having a website backup is necessary. Running a website doesn't mean that you just manage a digital space. You have to protect your sensitive data and customer information.
You may run into problems abruptly. So, you must prepare for them in advance. A website backup comes in handy when you run into technical issues.
For example, you may accidentally break things while updating your website's theme or integrated plugins. You may lose your custom settings or important information. A quick fix would be to restore things to the most recent backup. It will take your site back to the working state and from there you can see what went wrong.
Having a backup is also an excellent strategy to deal with security issues. Cyber attacks or malware can compromise your data security. A backup minimizes your chances of experiencing a data loss.
Sometimes, we accidentally break things ourselves. We touch something that we shouldn't have, which ends up compromising the enhanced user experience you offer. To revert things to the way they were, you need a website backup.
It takes time and effort to build a website from scratch. You wouldn't want anything to affect the value you offer through your platform after months of hard work. An active website is like an investment and a backup protects it for you. It gives you peace of mind and allows you to focus on hacking growth rather than worrying about potential risks or security threats.
It's best to go for a complete website backup. You may want to secure every important piece of information and all your settings. However, if you're curious about what's crucial and what's not, let's break it down for you.
Let's talk about your database first, as it's the heart of your website. It's where you store all important data, such as your content, feature pages, product descriptions, order history, customer details, etc. So, you wouldn't want to exclude your database when creating a website backup. It contains information that is too valuable for you to lose.
You wouldn't want to miss out on your core website files either. Technically, you can reinstall these files if something bad happens to your site. However, having a backup makes the restoration process quick and ensures that you have the exact version as before.
Let's not forget about the media files. They include your images, videos, documents, and any other files uploaded to your site. They represent hours of work and might include custom graphics or important documents.
You wouldn't want to lose modifications you made to your theme to make it go well with your brand image. The same goes for special configurations for the installed plugins. You should back up these files to keep your site's look, feel, and functionality intact.
You need to include all these things when creating a website backup. Without them, restoring your site to the way it was may become a time-consuming and daunting activity.
You can create a website backup in different ways. We will tell you the easiest and least time-consuming ways to pull it off.
The easiest way to create a backup of your website is to use a backup plugin. There are many options that you may want to consider, such as Duplicator, UpdraftPlus, Jetpack VaultPress Backup, Solid Backups, Total Upkeep, and so on.
You can pick a solution that best meets your requirements and use it for your backup and site restoration needs.
The process to create a backup is more or less the same with all the backup plugins. So, we will just pick one to show you how it’s done. Our preferred choice is Duplicator, so let’s move ahead with that.
Step 1: Install and activate the Duplicator plugin on your website.
Step 2: Go to your site’s dashboard, access plugins, pick “Duplicator,” and click “Create New” to start creating your backup.
Step 3: Select the name for your site’s backup file and click “Next.”
Step 4: Scan your website. The process may take a few minutes. So, wait patiently and let the scanning process complete, and then click “Build.”
Step 5: Wait for the plugin to build your site’s backup for you.
Step 6: Download both “Installer” and “Backup File” to complete the process.
You must store both files in a secure location. The backup file contains your website information, and the installer file is for restoration purposes.
Another easy way to create a backup for your website is to use cPanel. You won’t need to install any plugins to create your site’s backup this way. All you need is a hosting account. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Access your site’s cPanel.
Step 2: Go to the "Files" section and then access the “Backup” option.
Step 3: Click "Download a Full Website Backup" and select your destination folder.
Step 4: Click "Generate Backup" and wait for the backup generation process to complete.
Step 5: Your full backup file will be ready in a few minutes to download.
Now that we know how to create a website backup, let’s talk about the best practices that you may want to consider.
Creating a backup for your website is not a one-time activity. It must be an ongoing task on your to-do list. Ideally, you must schedule a complete backup of your site on a daily basis. However, different website types can make do with different frequencies.
If you upload content daily to your website, daily backups are essential. It'll be unwise to lose even a day's worth of your data. If you don't frequently upload content, you can go for weekly backups.
You can even settle for monthly backups if you barely update anything. For example, if you're running a successful e-commerce store that doesn't frequently update its product listings, scheduling monthly backups may work for you.
Even if you don't update your website much, you may encounter issues that may break your website. Your backup will safeguard your files, settings, and configurations.
Think of website backups like important documents. You wouldn't want them all stored in one place. If something was to happen to your preferred storage solution, you'll lose everything. You created a website backup to prevent this very thing, right? So, use the same logic when it comes to storing your backup files.
It goes without saying that your first choice should be local storage. Storing a backup file on your computer is cost-effective and convenient. It gives you quick access to your data. However, the system can crash, someone can steal your computer, or the operating system may go corrupt. Hence, you need multiple storage locations.
Using an external hard drive is your second-best option, especially if you have a heavy website with lots of media files.
The third option is leveraging cloud storage solutions, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3. They provide you with a safe space to store your backup files. Plus, you can access the files from anywhere in the world. You don't have to worry about physical damage, and you can protect your data from unauthorized access through multi-factor authentication.
To be extra careful, store at least three versions of recent backups. If one fails, you still have access to the other two.
Creating a backup of your website doesn't make you immune to data loss. It's only half the solution. You have to make sure that your backup file works when you need it. There's a chance it can get corrupt. You will lose all your data anyway. So, test your backup files periodically to avoid unpleasant surprises.
If you're scheduling daily backups, test them on a weekly basis. If you create weekly backups, you should test them at least once per month.
Don't use your main website for testing. It could disrupt your operations. Create a separate platform to test your backups. You can create a staging site or build a local environment on your computer using solutions like XAMPP.
When testing your backup files, go for a complete restoration process. Don't just see if the backup file works. Restore the entire site and see if everything's the way it should be. It may seem like a tedious task, but it's for your own good.
Don't worry when you find issues during testing. Be happy that you found issues preemptively. You can fix them beforehand and avoid chaos in emergencies. You must document the issues you found and how you fixed them. It serves as a troubleshooting guide for future reference.
You must always keep your website backups secure. These files contain sensitive information about your business. So, you wouldn't want to let them fall into the wrong hands.
You should start with encrypting your data. If you're using a reliable plugin to create a backup for your website, they come with a standard encryption feature. If you choose to create a backup through a different method, you can use any encryption software of your choice.
You must also be careful when picking the storage locations for your backup files. Avoid storing them in folders that others can easily access. These files are for your eyes only.
When storing your backup files on the cloud, always use strong passwords to keep your data safe and enable multi-factor authentication. You must carefully review the access permissions and only allow authorized personnel to access your files. You must also maintain a log that tells you all access details.
Just creating a website backup isn't enough. You must also have a response plan. Even when you have a full data backup, there's a high chance that you panic in emergencies without a response plan. It's what turns a potential crisis into a manageable situation.
Your plan should be detailed yet straightforward. You can start with backup locations and then proceed with the steps to restore your site, which may vary as per your choice of backup method. Your response plan must contain simple steps to recover your data. So, avoid using technical terms or jargon, and make the steps easy to follow for the layman.
You must store your response plan in multiple places, locally and on the cloud. Your plan must contain all vital information, such as login credentials, database details, contact details of concerned personnel, and so on.
You may even have to consider making multiple response plans. The way you handle each situation may be different. You may need different recovery procedures for various scenarios. You can't deal with an issue caused by a plugin or a theme the same way as recovering your site from a hack or complete failure.
Creating a backup of your website is extremely important. It helps keep your sensitive information secure and minimize the likelihood of data loss.
Your site's backup protects you when you're under a malware attack or accidentally break something you shouldn't have. It saves hours of hard work, allowing you to keep the needle moving without having to rebuild your website from scratch.
In this guide, we discussed the importance of creating a website backup, the steps to create one, and the best practices that you should embrace.
So, if you've been on the fence about whether or not you need a backup for your site, now you know and are aware of how to pull it off.
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Sawaram Suthar (Sam) is a Founding Director at Middleware. He has extensive experience in marketing, team building and operations. He is often seen working on various GTM practices and implementing the best ones to generate more demand. He has also founded a digital marketing blog - TheNextScoop.
