Website backups work pretty much similarly as insurances for companies and schools. These institutions rush to secure insurance policies for their employees and students. It only follows that if your people are valuable to you, you make necessary steps to ensure their welfare.
A primary safety measure to take as a website owner is to have a website backup. Backups are basically your website’s insurance policy to guarantee that your site is protected and safe. The digital world is exposed to a host of buggy softwares, data corruption, and insidious hackers. Without a backup, months of building your website will turn to dust and you’ll have to start from scratch.
What’s a website backup?
You might already have an idea of what a backup is or how it works. It’s simply copying your files and databases into a secondary or several sites in case the one you’re using crashes. Just as an insurance policy makes sure that an employee gets back in good shape, so does a backup for your website. It makes sure that you can run your website like it was never infected or hacked before.
Why should I backup my website?
It’s alarming how 62% of cyberattacks target small to medium-sized businesses according to IBM. Moreso, National Cyber Security Alliance reports that 60% of small businesses that get cyberattacked go bankrupt six months later. And if those stats are not enough, here are other reasons why a backup for your website is important.
Web Host
Your web host may come with its own backup system for your site, but it’s not a total guarantee. It might fail to routinely back up the latest version of your site or all of its components. Web hosts usually conduct backups for their personal security which they do not share with customers. Some would require you to pay for a backup service. Taking matters into your own hands is the best way to ensure that your website is equipped with a complete and updated backup.
Updates and upgrades
Faulty updates and upgrades can cause your website to go offline. A simple change of certain features, plugins, themes, and software meant to better your site might go wrong and affect several or all of your website data.
Malware
Having viruses, ransomware, trojan horses, and other malware in your website can bring your site down or delete valuable data. It might take weeks before your site is back and running again with all the components in place. Backups can’t totally safeguard you from them, but you can immediately get rid of them when they infiltrate your website.
Hackers
They’re everywhere and you’re always vulnerable. Just like malware, hackers are the dangers of the digital world that a backup can’t prevent. But, at least, you can stand up on your own two feet again quickly should a mishap of their doing happen.
Hardware
Don’t fool yourself into believing that it’s enough that you saved your original development site or have a backup saved in your computer because even if your computer looks like a vault for data, it is by no means indestructible or invulnerable . It’s still better to backup your website in a remote site or in the cloud.
How to backup my website?
A variety of options is available for when you need a website backup. It’s only a matter of choosing which option works best for you. Just remember that the best way to backup is by using an offsite storage. A backup that shares the same server as the website is still at risk of cyberattacks.
Manually FTPing your data in a computer, while not foolproof, is one way to secure a copy of your data. It’s a bit tedious especially when the download size of your website is big or if you regularly update it. It’s recommendable to have this as one of your options, and not as your only backup option.
Another method is using a cPanel backup. It is a simple one-click solution. It is preferable if need a backup for your hosting account or if you won’t be changing platforms.
Top website security platform Sucuri offers the best security package which includes a website backup that is user-friendly and continuously backs up depending on the frequency you set. No worries about specificities since Sucuri boasts of a backup service that is platform agnostic. It guarantees support for all platforms across all technologies.
Additionally, Sucuri’s backup service adds an extra layer of security by being “redundant” with backups. It’s not enough to have only one backup even if it’s offsite. Having several backups is a 100% guarantee that your website’s components are ready to be up and running should the current one fail you. Sucuri uses RAID 1 with several backups in different locations for maximum security.
Your business’ continuity relies on the maintenance of your website. Do you and your business a favor by preparing backups that will save you time, effort, and money when the need arises. As a company that thrives in doing everything digital, Project Assistant only trusts Sucuri once it comes to overall web security. We know firsthand how efficient and complete Sucuri’s security package is and we’d be glad to fill you in on it. Consult with us on everything about web development!
