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How to back up your website.
Most people think about backups after something breaks. A few simple habits make a bad day much less painful.
What a full backup includes
A website usually has two parts: the files and the database. If you save only one of them, you may not be able to restore the site.
Email and DNS settings are separate, so note them down too.
How often
It depends on how often your site changes. A shop that takes orders every day needs more frequent backups than a site you update once a month.
Take an extra backup before any big change, such as a plugin update or a redesign.
Keep a copy somewhere else
A backup that lives only on the same server can be lost with the server. Keep at least one copy on your own computer or in separate storage, and test a restore now and then so you know it works.