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Web Site Data Backup | Should I be worried about my web host?
By John Parson
Data backup should get some thought from anyone with a website. At the same time though, the question comes up, should I be worried about my web hosting company? What can I do to make sure my data is protected? Let's explore some options...
The first thing you should determine is whether your web hosting provider is making regular backups to your data. There are many ways they could accomplish this but whatever they do, hopefully they're backing up your data to a separate hard drive or network storage system. If you don't see these details listed on the web hosting provider's website, you should ask them directly. Don't risk your data.
Periodically perform your own data backup. There is usually more than one way to accomplish this too. If your web hosting provider uses cPanel, it provides you with the ability to download a compressed file of your website data. Depending on how much data you have on the server, this download can take a while. It can also potentially increase the load on the server your website is on so try to do this at off hours times like late at night or early in the morning. If you don't use cPanel, look for the data backup solution your host provides. If you can't find one, contact your host about it.
Try to find out how often your web hosting provider performs data backups. If they only do it monthly and you lose data, you may find that restoring the backup gives you a site that is missing all the latest changes you made. This is still preferrable to losing the site entirely but still less than ideal. The frequency of your web hosts' backups can sometimes be discovered from their website but may very require you to ask them directly. If your host only updates monthly, ask them if they'd be willing to increase their backup frequency.
Don't make the mistake of ignoring data backups. When you least expect it, you could end up without your website. I've known prospective clients of Yowling's to have had their web hosting provider go out of business without having any kind data backup. The last thing you need is to be caught without your website and no recent backup of the site.
About the Author:
John Parson is a tech writer for Yowling Inc.
Posted on 2006-10-25
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