7 Essential Tips To Backup Your Website

This article is submitted by Parker Hansen. He works with TopTenReviews

What would happen to your business if your web host accidentally deletes your website or your main computer with all of your website data crashed? If the thought makes you shudder, installing the most current back-up data software on your system and having a well-developed back-up plan in place will allow you to get back online quickly. To eliminate having to rebuild your website from scratch and losing valuable business because of one mistake, review this list to educate yourself about what you should know about backing up your site.

Understanding why you should back-up your site will encourage you to act quickly

1. Most website hosts most likely will not take contractual responsibility to regularly back-up your original website or the changes you make to original content. The few website hosts that do put protective measures in place to make duplicate files do so for their benefit and normally do not make the files available to clients.

2. Saving and storing the original site on a server or local computer is not enough because servers can crash and computers can develop viruses. Also, if you are the type of webmaster who makes regular changes to your content, those changes will not show up in the original version. Having a protected version of the original site data will allow you to safely add the updated content and keep your back-up site current.

There are multiple ways to back-up your website, including:

3. Install a traditional back-up software program on your computer that will automatically maintain your original files, restore valuable information if your computer ever crashes, and update old files with virus-free data. The best traditional back-up software programs can be found by reviewing the top programs. These programs do not require you to know any special programming languages, and they offer numerous restoration options.

4. Use a cloud solution to back up your system and server files. Cloud capabilities are always expanding and are an inexpensive way to store your files online. There are many cloud storage providers such as Amazon S3, justcloud.com, Mozy, SOS Online Backup, and more.

5. WordPress users who do not want to install software on their computers or who cannot upload back-up software to their servers can use plugins such as BackupBuddy, DropBox, UpDraftPlus, and Backup Scheduler.

WordPress offers over 80 search results for back-up plugins, so consider the number of downloads, how often the plugin is updated, and the amount of support provided before choosing one.

6. Automated back-up solutions services offer you a hassle-free way of updating and protecting your website. Once you setup an automated back-up service, you do nothing because the service automatically copies, updates, and restores all of your files, saving you time and money. Some of the better services are Carbonite, BackBlaze, and CrashPlan.
Once you choose a method to back-up your site, determine which files to save on split backup locations.

7. One of the most effective strategies is to establish both on-site and off-site back-up solutions. This method ensures that you will be able to access your site’s data should there be a failure at one location. On-site locations include external and internal hard drives, USB drives, and Network Attached Storage; Off-site storage includes cloud storage or storage on a server in another location.

Choosing the best back-up plan for your website takes a little research, patience, and leg work. However, your efforts will be rewarded because you now have peace of mind that a solid plan is in place to protect your site’s files against corruption and viruses.