Neglecting to backup a site

Ever work on an Excel spreadsheet or Word document and only after the application crashes or your laptop battery runs out do you remember that you forgot to save? Imagine writing a book and never pressing “save” on your manuscript.

Failing to regularly backup your website is similar. You want to back up your site to not only give you a place to restore from but to also be able to avoid potentially months of downtime if something happened.

We’ve seen hosts that claimed to have 3 different backups (1 for each of the previous 3 months) unable to restore a site due to their own bug. While we have a few hosting companies that we like and endorse, you’ll sleep better knowing that you have your own backup.

The fix:

Choose a hosting company that has an automatic backup of your WordPress that includes the underlying database, your WordPress theme, all settings, and uploaded files. Also, look for and install a backup plugin. There are a number of paid options, but you can also find some great free options that will save to your own Dropbox account.