74.6 million unique websites depend upon WordPress to stay up and running every day, with six new posts being uploaded to the site every second. If you are one of the millions that uses WordPress to manage your website, then you know how much time and effort go into maintaining a successful website.
While we hope that hacks and system failures will not become an issue, the reality is that malicious actors are out there, and user errors occur with even the most tech-savvy employees. Are you prepared for when something goes wrong? Having a backup solution for your WordPress site is similar to buying health insurance: you hope you won’t need to use it, but when you do, you’re glad you have it.
Know Your Backup Options
Any web designer or IT staff person worth their salt knows the importance of having a backup system in place for a website, but how do you know which of the many available options is best for you? There are numerous ways to perform a full backup for a website, but generally these processes be divided into three main categories:
- Relying on the web host for backup. Web hosting companies will often offer backup services as part of a package, and it can be tempting to pay a fee and consider the matter handled. Before you put your mind at ease, ensure you understand the fine print: will the service backup your actual site, or the server on which it is run? How often is the site backed up, and how long does the host maintain archives? If files are kept for only a few days, then a breach that takes a few days to detect and address can leave critical data vulnerable. If the webhosting service isn’t WordPress specific, then you may find yourself dealing with the arduous chore of reformatting all of the backed-up information.
- Run manual backups yourself. It is possible to sit down, copy all the content of your website, and save it to another location in case something goes wrong. You will need to be prepared to spend a lot of time, and perform this task regularly to be effective. Automated services remove the costs of the time spent, as well as protecting you from human error.
- Entrust your web maintenance to the people who do it best. There are numerous automated backup services available out there, offering a wide range of packages from weekly backups to ongoing backups and comprehensive website maintenance plans. These services free you up to spend your time doing what you love, without worrying about whether your site is safe.
Comprehensive WordPress Backup and Maintenance
Cinch is proud to offer a WordPress Backup service that automatically performs a daily backup of your website, while maintaining a secure, 30-day archive. In addition to the content, Cinch will also back up any WordPress themes or plug-ins, as well as any multimedia uploads, to make getting your site up and running again is easy and stress-free. For websites processing transactions or that involve frequent updating throughout the day, real-time backups are available as an add-on service.
