Backup & Restore
Backup and restore describe the process of creating recoverable copies of website data and using those copies to recover from loss, corruption, mistakes, or system failure.
Creating a backup is only half of the process.
The backup needs to be usable when recovery is required.
What May Need to Be Backed Up
Depending on the website, recoverable information may include:
- Database
- Uploaded media
- Theme files
- Custom code
- Configuration
- Structured Content
- Customer or member data
- Plugin data
- Environment configuration
- DNS documentation
- Integration configuration
Version Control may already protect some code, but it does not normally replace a database or content backup.
Backup vs. Version Control
Version Control records changes to managed files over time.
A backup captures recoverable system data.
For example:
Git repository → theme source code
but:
Website backup → database + uploaded images + configuration
They solve related but different recovery problems.
The official Git documentation describes version control as a system that records file changes over time so earlier states can be recalled. Git: About Version Control
Restore Testing
A backup should not be considered dependable simply because a dashboard says:
Backup successful.
Recovery needs to be possible.
That may require testing:
- Database restoration
- File restoration
- Full-site restoration
- Offsite backup access
- Credentials
- Recovery documentation
NIST's system-recovery guidance treats backups as part of the broader process required to recover data and systems after errors or attacks. NIST: Techniques for System and Data Recovery
Recovery Point and Recovery Time
Two useful questions are:
How much data could we lose?
If the site is backed up daily, a failure immediately before the next backup could potentially lose nearly a day's changes.
How quickly do we need to recover?
A brochure website and a busy ecommerce site may require very different recovery expectations.
Common Problems
Common problems include:
- Backup stored on the same server as the website
- Database backed up but media ignored
- Backup succeeds but restoration never tested
- Retention period too short
- Only one backup copy
- Backup controlled by former vendor
- Ecommerce orders continuing while an old database is restored
- Version control incorrectly treated as a full backup
How to Improve
Define:
- What needs to be backed up
- How frequently
- Where copies are stored
- How long they are retained
- Who can access them
- How restoration works
- When restoration was last tested
The purpose of a backup is recovery, not the existence of a backup file.