What is a Backup?
A backup is a copy of your website files, databases, and configurations stored separately from the production server. Backups protect against data loss from hardware failures, hacking, accidental deletions, or software bugs, allowing you to restore your site to a working state.
How Does Backup Work?
Backup strategies follow the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy offsite. For web hosting, this typically means the live server, a local backup on the same provider, and a remote backup on a different service (like AWS S3 or Backblaze B2).
Backups can be full (complete copy), incremental (only changes since last backup), or differential (changes since last full backup). Automated daily backups are the minimum for any production website. You should also backup before making significant changes like software updates or migrations. Always test restoring from backups — an untested backup is not a backup.