A backup is only useful if it’s made often enough and actually works when you need it. How often you should back up your website depends on how often your website changes: a webshop with daily orders has different requirements than a business card website that’s updated a few times a year. In this article you’ll read which frequency suits your situation and how to set this up properly.
Why backup frequency is so important
A backup is essentially a snapshot: everything that happens after that moment is lost if you have to fall back on that backup. Suppose your website gets hacked on a Monday and your last backup dates from two weeks ago, then you lose all orders, comments, and changes from that intervening period. The more often your website changes, the more often a backup is actually needed.
Many entrepreneurs only start thinking about backups once something has already gone wrong: a failed plugin update, a hack, or an error in the database. At that point it’s too late to come up with a good strategy. By thinking ahead about the right frequency, you prevent facing surprises later on.
From website to daily backup to secure storage.
Which frequency suits your website
There’s no universal answer, but there is a clear rule of thumb: the more often your content changes, the more often you should back up.
- Webshop (WooCommerce): daily, preferably at night, due to new orders, stock changes, and customer data.
- Blog or news website: daily to weekly, depending on how often you publish.
- Business website with few updates: weekly is often sufficient, as long as you make an extra manual backup for major changes.
- Website during a renovation or redesign: always make a manual backup before implementing major changes.
Setting up backups correctly
Most control panels, including Plesk, offer the ability to run backups automatically on a fixed schedule. You can configure how often, at what time, and how many backups are retained.
Determine your frequency
Choose daily, weekly, or monthly based on how often your site changes.
Set a fixed time
Schedule backups at night or during quiet hours, so they don’t affect the speed of your website.
Determine retention period
Keep multiple versions over time, so you can also restore if a problem is only noticed later.
Store backups externally
Don’t store backups only on the same server as your website, but also at a different location.
At Tandata, daily backups run by default as part of every web hosting package, so you don’t need to set this up or pay extra for it yourself.
Testing and storing backups
Making a backup is one thing, but knowing whether it actually works is just as important. Therefore, occasionally test whether a restore action goes smoothly, for example on a test or staging environment. This prevents you from discovering at exactly the wrong moment that a backup is incomplete or damaged.
Also pay attention to where your backups are stored. If they’re only on the same server as your website, you’ll lose everything at once in case of a server problem. A copy at a different location, separate from your website, provides extra security.
Did something still go wrong, for example due to a hack or a failed update? Then consult the knowledge base for the step-by-step plan to restore a backup, or contact support.
Frequently asked questions
Is one backup per week enough?
For a simple website that changes little, that can be sufficient. For a webshop or active website, we recommend daily backups.
Where should I store backups?
Preferably at a different location than your website itself, so you still have a working copy even in case of server problems.
How many backups should I keep?
Keeping multiple versions over time is recommended, so you can return to a moment before a problem arose, even if it’s only noticed later.
Does Tandata make automatic backups?
Yes, at Tandata backups are made automatically every day as part of the hosting, so you don’t need to set up anything yourself.
Conclusion
How often you should back up your website depends on how active your website is: webshops and high-traffic sites need daily backups, while a quiet website is often already well protected with weekly backups. More important than the frequency is that you regularly test your backups and store them in a safe, external location.