This is the second post in my Website Foundations series — practical, no-fluff advice for website owners who want to better understand what keeps a website running smoothly. Whether you manage your site yourself or work with a designer like me, these tips can save you serious time, stress, and money.
Why Website Backups Matter (A Lot)
If your website vanished tomorrow, could you get it back?
Maybe a plugin update breaks everything. Or your hosting server crashes, or your web host goes out of business overnight (this has actually happened in New Zealand). Or you’re hacked and the fatest way to get you back is from a backup. Or you accidentally delete something critical. Fortunately, things like this don’t happen a log, and when it does happen the first thing to reach for is a recent backup.
As a web designer, multiple backups are built into every care plan I offer. They’re not just “nice to have” as they’re essential.
What a Good Backup Setup Looks Like
A good backup system is like a layered safety net. It should:
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Run automatically (daily at minimum)
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Include both site files and your database
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Be stored somewhere off your hosting account
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Be easy to restore when needed (generally a one-click restore option)
Having just one backup is risky. You want multiple backups stored over time (90 days is a good length of time), in case you don’t notice something’s broken right away and have to restore from an older backup.
Why Off-Site Backups Are So Important
Usually, web hosts provide daily backups of your site, so you can restore your site from your web hosting account. However, if your backups live only on your hosting server, and your host has a major hardware failure or gets compromised, your backups could disappear with your website. I experienced something like this a few years ago, when the host I was using had a server fail and then they discovered the backups they’d outsourced to another company couldn’t cope with the restoration process. Instead of waiting for that company and its supplier to get their act together I had sites restored to a new server from a separate backup service.
That’s why I always make sure at least one backup is stored off-site, either in secure cloud storage (like Dropbox or Google Drive), or with a third-party backup system completely separate from your hosting.
Free Backup Options
If you’re managing your site yourself here are a few backup options to consider. Here are a few more options for you to consider.
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UpdraftPlus (Free Version)
The most popular free backup plugin. Let’s you back up your site to Dropbox, Google Drive, or download manually. Scheduling is included. - Duplicator (free)
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Jetpack (Free Plan)
Offers limited backups via WordPress.com’s infrastructure. More features available on paid plans.
But remember: these tools only work if they’re configured properly and monitored.
Paid & Professional Options
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UpdraftPlus Premium — for automated off-site backups and easy one-click restores
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BlogVault or ManageWP — cloud-based backups with additional tools for monitoring, uptime alerts, and security
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Hosting-level backups — for fast server restores (but I never rely on these alone)
Final Thoughts: Backups Aren’t Optional
If your website matters to your business — and I’m guessing it does — then backups are non-negotiable.
If you’re not sure whether your site is being backed up properly (or where the backups are stored), now’s the time to check. Or better yet — let me handle it for you.
Need Help?
I provide WordPress care plans that include daily backups, off-site storage, security checks, and someone you can trust to fix things when something goes wrong.
Contact me if you’d like to stop worrying about your backups and start focusing on your business.
