How backups work and how to restore one

Introduction

A backup is a saved copy of your website at a moment in time. If a file is deleted, a plugin update breaks your site, or a database is damaged, you can bring back the earlier copy.

Every hosting plan includes automatic backups at no extra cost. This guide explains how they work, what they include, and how to get something back.

How Often Backups Run

Your website is backed up automatically once a day. Backups run at night, starting from 22:00 UTC (23:00 in Lagos).

You do not need to switch anything on.

Note: A brand new website gets its first automatic backup once it is 7 days old. If you have just moved a site to us, keep the copy from your old host until then.

How Long Backups Are Kept

Each backup is kept for 7 days. After that, it is deleted to make room for newer ones.

This means you can go back up to about one week. If you notice a problem two weeks later, the backups from before the problem will already be gone.

Where Backups Are Stored

Backups are stored offsite, separate from the server your website runs on. If something goes wrong with the hosting server itself, your backups are not affected.

What a Backup Includes

Each backup holds everything your website needs:

• Files. Everything in your website’s folder, including your site’s code, uploads, images and configuration files.
• Databases. Your MySQL databases. A database is where apps such as WordPress keep posts, users, orders and settings.
• Email. Your mailboxes and the messages in them.

Restoring From a Backup

You do not have to restore everything at once. You can bring back only the part you need:

• Specific files or folders, for example one deleted image or a theme folder.
• A single database, for example after a bad plugin update.
• A single mailbox, for example after messages were deleted by mistake.
• The whole website, when everything needs to go back to an earlier day.

To restore:

1. Log in to the panel. The login guide shows how.
2. Open Websites and select your website.
3. Open the website’s backups and pick the backup from the day you want to go back to.
4. Choose what to restore: files, databases, mailboxes, or everything.
5. Start the restore and wait for it to finish. Large sites can take several minutes.

Restoring is included in your plan. There is no fee.

Note: A restore replaces what is there now with the version from the backup. If you restore a database, any orders, comments or posts added since that backup are lost. Download a copy of the current version first if you might need it.

If you are not sure which backup to use, or you cannot find the option you need, open a ticket at client.getlitehost.com/support. Tell us the website, what you want back, and roughly when it was last correct. We will restore it for you.

Downloading a Copy of Your Site

You can download your website at any time:

1. Open Websites and select your website.
2. On the overview page, under Quick links, click Download.
3. Choose the website or email, and save the file.

You get a .tar.gz file. This is a compressed archive, similar to a .zip file, that holds your site.

Note: Download gives you your site as it is right now, not an older backup. To get something from an earlier day, restore it first, or ask us in a ticket.

Keeping Your Own Copies

Our backups are a safety net, not a replacement for your own copies. For a site that takes orders, payments or sign ups, you should keep your own database exports as well.

There are two reasons:

• Seven days is short. A problem you notice late may be older than the oldest backup.
• Once a day may not be enough. A busy shop can take many orders between two nightly backups.

The simplest way to export a MySQL database is phpMyAdmin. The MySQL guide shows how. Export before any risky change, such as a large plugin update or a framework upgrade.

If you use SSH, you can export a MySQL database with one command. Replace dbuser and dbname with your database user and database name:

mysqldump -u dbuser -p dbname > dbname-backup.sql

For a PostgreSQL database, use:

pg_dump -h /var/run/postgresql -U dbuser dbname > dbname-backup.sql

Both commands ask for the database user’s password. The SSH guide shows how to connect.

Download the exported files to your own computer or cloud storage. A copy that only lives on the same hosting account is lost along with the account.

Common Questions

• Do backups cost extra? No. Daily backups and restores are part of every plan.
• Can I restore one file without touching the rest? Yes. Choose only that file or folder when you restore.
• Are my emails backed up? Yes. Mailboxes and their messages are in every backup.
• Can I get a backup from a month ago? No. Backups are kept for 7 days.
• My site is new and has no backups yet. The first automatic backup runs once the website is 7 days old.