Back-Up for Website

[Woodyo]

I'm currently getting a new website designed and I need to ask the designer about back-up etc , I'm not very technically minded when it comes to these things . If he was to get knocked down by a bus and his servers etc got burnt down what back up should i have ??? Can the website be copied and stored somewhere else ?? Some help would be appreciated.

[wensleydale]

I'm currently getting a new website designed and I need to ask the designer about back-up etc , I'm not very technically minded when it comes to these things . If he was to get knocked down by a bus and his servers etc got burnt down what back up should i have ??? Can the website be copied and stored somewhere else ?? Some help would be appreciated.

Just ask for a copy of all the files- you can keep on a HD, Cloud, USB stick- wherever you want.

[BeerFunk]

It depends how the site has been designed, but chances are that SQL tables would have to be rebuilt or restored too.

[Shaun]

I was given a completely copy of all my website files. Not that I'd know what to do with them....but I got a copy of them, lol.

[SamV]

You'd want a copy of all the files + a database dump on a hard drive/CD. I'd also make sure that you have control of the Domain name/DNS.

[Marc J]

For a static site you just need a copy of all the files, and be sure to keep a copy of any changed files as and when they are changed.

For any database driven site (Wordpress / Joomla / Drupal etc.) you'll need the files and database(s).

Most hosts offer automated backups, and these can be either to somewhere else on the same server, FTPd to another location or emailed to an address.

In the past I've recommended a simple perl script (http://www.thewebhostinghero.com/tools/ftp-backup-script.txt). This uses FTP only but has the advantage of backup up files and databases in one go, with the option to FTP to another location. Run it with a cron job (all hosts should offer these).

For database only, I've heard http://dwalker.co.uk/phpmysqlautobackup/ is good (emails you a dump of your database(s)).

[Marc J]

Here's a better link for the FTP Backup Script, complete with instructions: -

http://www.webhostinghero.com/ftp-backup-script-for-websites-and-mysql/

[velocityroadshow]

Have they built your site around wordpress CMS? As if they have you can get some great free apps that will back it up for you?