What Backups Protect You From
Data isn't lost only because of hackers. The most common causes are entirely mundane:
- hardware failure or a mistake by the hosting provider;
- a failed CMS or plugin update that leaves the site unable to load;
- an employee accidentally deleting products, pages, or orders;
- a site hack, malicious code, or ransomware that encrypted your files;
- an import error that overwrote prices or descriptions for thousands of products.
In each of these cases, there are only two options: restore from a backup or recreate what was lost by hand. The second often means lost orders and lost revenue.
What Needs to Be Backed Up
Backing up only the site files is a common trap. A full restore requires:
- the database: products, prices, orders, customers, page content;
- uploaded files: product photos, documents, user files;
- the site code: if it isn't stored in Git, it needs to be backed up too;
- server settings: web server, task scheduler, and certificate configurations, so you don't have to rebuild them from memory after a disaster.
It's also worth thinking about data that lives outside the site: your CRM, spreadsheets, accounting system. These are often backed up by their own services, but it's worth confirming.
How Often to Back Up and How Many Copies to Keep
The answer comes down to two questions. First: how much recent work can you afford to lose? For a blog, it might be a week; for a store with a steady stream of orders, an hour. Second: how quickly does the site need to be back up? That determines where backups are stored and how to prepare for recovery.
Typically, we back up an active store's database several times a day and its files daily. Older backups are kept for a set period so you can roll back to a state before a problem that wasn't noticed right away, such as an undetected hack.
Where to Store Backups: Options
- On the same server. The fastest restore, but the backup dies along with the server. Suitable only as an additional layer of protection.
- With the hosting provider. Convenient, but you depend on their rules: how long backups are kept, whether you can download them, and what a restore costs.
- In separate cloud storage. For example, S3-compatible storage from a different provider. Protects against a failure on the main server and is inexpensive for most sites.
- Multiple locations at once. Best practice is at least 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 of them outside your main infrastructure.
Different Projects, Different Approaches
There's no single right schedule for everyone. Here's how setups typically differ:
- Corporate website or landing page. Data changes rarely, so a daily backup with a few previous versions retained is enough. The key is that the backup is stored separately from the hosting.
- Online store. Orders come in constantly, so we back up the database more often and product photos separately, since they take up most of the space and change more slowly.
- Service with user accounts. Users upload their own files and expect them not to disappear. Here, backup encryption, restricted access to backups, and minimal possible data loss matter most.
- Multiple connected systems. If the site exchanges data with a CRM or accounting system, backups need to be in sync so orders and inventory don't drift apart after a restore.
Why Backups Need Testing
The worst-case scenario is when backups "supposedly existed," but during a disaster it turns out they're empty, incomplete, or impossible to restore. The reasons are mundane: the disk filled up, the database password changed, or after a site update, files started being saved to a different folder.
That's why we don't stop at setting up a schedule. We regularly restore a backup to a separate server, open the site, check orders and the admin panel, and record how long it took. Only a backup like that is real insurance.
What You'll Need to Provide
- access to the server or hosting where the site runs;
- an understanding of which data is most valuable to you and what would hurt most to lose;
- information about services that store data outside the site;
- a contact for the person who makes decisions during an emergency.
Common Mistakes
- Relying solely on host backups and never checking what's in them.
- Storing backups in the same folder as the site, where an attacker can find them or the same failure can destroy them.
- Backing up the database but forgetting about photos and documents.
- Keeping only one latest backup, which by the time the problem is discovered already contains corrupted data.
- Having no action plan and scrambling to find out who has the passwords during an emergency.
What Affects the Cost
- Data volume and how quickly it changes: a large catalog with thousands of photos needs a different approach than a corporate website.
- Recovery time requirements: restoring within a business day and being able to bring up a copy of the site almost instantly are different solutions.
- Number of systems: just the site, or also a CRM, other services, and multiple servers.
- Testing frequency and whether you need ongoing backup management from us.
You pay the storage provider directly for backup storage. We help you choose an option so you don't overpay for unused capacity.
FAQ
My host already makes backups. Isn't that enough? It might be, or it might not. We'll check what exactly is backed up, how long it's kept, and whether you can restore the site from it on your own.
Will backups slow down the site? Not if they're set up correctly. We schedule heavy operations for the lowest-traffic hours and back up the database in a way that doesn't lock up the store.
Can we restore just part of the data? Yes. For example, you can bring back accidentally deleted products without rolling back the whole site and losing new orders.
What if the site has already been hacked or data is lost? Contact us as soon as possible and don't overwrite anything. We'll try to find the most recent usable backup, and after the restore, we'll run a security check on the site.
Why Promodex
We've been building and supporting websites since 2015, with 750+ projects completed, and we know that a backup is often what decides whether a business loses its data or not. For us, a backup isn't a checkbox in the settings but a working tool that we test in practice. You can order backup services on their own or together with server management and technical support from our in-house team.
