Most business owners think about website backups only after something goes wrong: an update broke the site, the hosting account expired, a script infected the pages, or a developer disappeared with the only copy. A good website backup turns any of these from a disaster into an hour of work.
What can wipe out a website
- A failed update of the CMS, a plugin or the server.
- A hack that changes pages or adds spam.
- Hosting problems: an unpaid bill, a suspended account, a server failure.
- Human error: someone deletes a page, a product category or the whole database.
- Losing access: the developer who held the only copy stops answering.
None of these are rare. All of them are fixable if a recent copy exists somewhere safe.
What to back up
| Part | What it contains | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Files | Code, images, uploaded documents | The site itself and its look |
| Database | Pages, products, orders, requests, users | The content and business data |
| Settings | Server config, environment settings | Needed to run the site again |
| Domain and DNS records | Where the domain points | Needed to move to a new server |
For a static site with no database, the files are most of it. For an online store, the database with orders is the most valuable part.
How often
| Type of site | Backup frequency |
|---|---|
| Online store, bookings, frequent edits | Daily |
| Business site with a blog | Daily or weekly |
| Simple landing page | Weekly, and before any change |
| Before any update or redesign | Always, manually |
The 3-2-1 idea, simplified
A common rule among system administrators: keep 3 copies, on 2 different kinds of storage, with 1 of them off-site. For a small business this can be:
- The live site.
- Automatic backups on the hosting.
- A copy in separate cloud storage that the hosting account cannot delete.
Keep several versions
A hack can stay unnoticed for a week. If you keep only yesterday's backup, you may restore the infected version. Keep a short history, for example 7 daily and 4 weekly copies. Storage for this is cheap.
Test the restore
The most common backup problem is not a missing backup, it is a backup that does not work: a database dump that is empty, an archive missing the images folder, a password nobody remembers. Once in a while:
- Restore the backup to a test address.
- Open a few pages, check images and forms.
- Write down how long it took and what was needed.
Who is responsible
Ask your developer or hosting provider these questions, and get answers in writing:
- Are backups automatic? How often?
- Where are they stored? Is there a copy outside the main server?
- How many versions are kept?
- When was the last test restore?
- Can I download a copy myself?
If nobody can answer, assume there are no reliable backups.
Ownership matters too
Backups are useless if you cannot access them. Make sure your hosting, domain and storage accounts are in the business owner's name. See why HTTPS matters for the basics of a safe site, and hosting and support costs for what you should be paying for.
Before a migration or redesign
Moving to a new site or new hosting is the riskiest moment. Make a full backup first, keep the old site available until the new one is checked, and plan redirects. More in migrating a website without losing SEO.
How Kinto handles backups
On sites we build and support, backups run automatically, copies are stored outside the main server, and we check that restores work. You can request a copy of your site at any time; it belongs to you.
| What | Price at Kinto |
|---|---|
| Support: backups, updates, monitoring | from $900 for 6 months |
| Website with sections, backups set up at launch | from $1,800, about 12 days |
| Landing page | from $700, about 6 days |
| Online store with daily backups of orders | from $4,000, about 22 days |
Full prices are on the pricing page. Details of what support covers are in website support: what is included.
Next step
If you do not know when your site was last backed up, find out this week. Write to @kinto_am on Telegram or leave a request on the website development page, and we will check your setup. We reply within 15 minutes, 10:00 to 20:00 Yerevan time.
Updated: 2026-10-15