The questions our viewers asked
During the September 17, 2026, Office Hours livestream a few viewers brought up the topic of backups and Nathan Ingram, the agency coach here at hosting.com, had a lot of good advice.
The questions were all different, so instead of answering them separately, we are combining them all here to give you a comprehensive explanation on how to structure your backups and ensure they restore properly.
Here is what our viewers brought up during the livestream. The first one wanted to know if restoring a backup on a local environment is a sufficient test:
We're taking a website backup and using that to create a website on Local. Would that be an adequate test of restoring the backup?
Another viewer asked Nathan for wisdom on their site backups vanishing without a trace from their current host. Finally, a third wanted to know what plugins for WordPress everyone else is using for backups now.
Why isn’t one backup enough?
A single backup is a single point of failure. If that one backup doesn’t work when you need it to, you have no safety net.
If you’ve ever heard the word “redundancy” in the context of websites, it refers to the intentional duplication of critical components so when one fails, another one can immediately take its place.
That same logic applies to backups. We covered the real-world cost of having only one backup in our post on how backups brought the internet back when 20% of it went dark. We also discussed the 3-2-1 rule, a foundational data protection strategy that recommends keeping three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy stored off-site.
In this blog, we’ll take a look at the two-tier setup Nathan suggested, which is a practical starting point for the 3-2-1 rule.
What a two-tier setup looks like
The name already says a lot about what this backup configuration is about, and Nathan himself explained it plainly in one sentence:
I want two tiers of backups. I want a hosting backup, and I want my own backup that lives in my own cloud storage that I control wherever that is.
Here’s what that looks like in practice on a hosting plan that offers backups.
Tier two is your own copy. It lives on storage you have full control over. That can be a cloud account (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.), a completely separate location from your host.
Each tier covers a gap that the other doesn’t. The host’s backup is the first thing you’ll try to restore from. If that fails, now you have the safety net of your own copy you wouldn’t otherwise have if you relied on a single backup.
This is why having both is vital. Now let’s take a look at what each tier does in detail.
What does a host-level backup cover?
When it comes to most modern hosts, a host-level backup is a copy of your site’s files and databases, taken on a schedule and kept for a limited window.
Because it’s managed by your host and ready to use, restoring from it is usually the fastest option. When Nathan needs to restore a site, he says, the host’s backup is where he goes first.
The exact details of backup cadence and retention vary by provider, so it’s worth finding out exactly what yours keeps and for how long. On hosting.com’s shared hosting plans, for example, daily backups are stored off-server (on a separate server from yours), allowing you to restore your site to a previous point in time in the last 30 days.
Whatever your hosting provider offers, knowing exactly how far back you can go is critical, as well as what type of backup you have access to: partial or full. Our article on managing backups in cPanel explains the difference, as well as offers a step-by-step tutorial on creating, downloading, and restoring backups, with full restores having to go through support.
Why keep a second backup you control?
The main reason you want a second backup on storage you control is that it protects you from failures on the host’s side. If for some reason, as was the case with our second viewer, your backups disappear from the host, you still have the one you saved to restore from.
Of course, since it’s a backup you control, you can retain it for as long as you need, even after a host’s retention window closes.
Nathan’s agency keeps six months of backups for client sites in this two-tier system. A backup plugin saves copies of the site’s files and database to a cloud storage account but keeps only the most recent few in the directory. Then, the storage service’s file recovery feature holds the deleted backups for six months, so they can be pulled back when needed. As Nathan describes it himself, it’s basically six months of archives at very low cost.
That’s one example of how backups can be automated and organized and works for his agency. There is no one definitive best way to do it. Instead, create and manage your backups in a way that works for your site.
How to ensure a backup will restore properly
The reality of backups is if you’ve never used them to restore a site, all you are doing is hoping they work when they must. You don’t have a recovery plan; you have a recovery idea.
It all comes down to testing, and it can be done in two quick checks, preferably in a staging or local environment (like our first viewer did) that won’t impact your live site:
Does the backup file open? Make sure the backup file, regardless of its format (ZIP, TAR, etc.) and location, opens and the files you expect are inside.
Does the database restore? People often forget, but a site isn’t just its files. The database is equally important, so ensure your content, settings, orders, and so on restore cleanly.
Once both checks pass, click through your website and test every vital page and functionality. Confirm logins, checkouts, forms, and whatever else is necessary for your site’s proper operation.
Using a staging environment or a local copy of the website to do this should be the same process as you would use on your regular site. That’s beneficial in two ways: it simplifies the restore process and you can have reasonable confidence it will work when it counts.
How often should you test a restore?
It all depends on your website, how often it updates, and how complex it is.
In the beginning, test the restore function as soon as you set up the backups. Then, adhere to a schedule. A few times a year is a reasonable rhythm for a lot of websites, but ecommerce websites, for example, will require much more frequent testing. Every order matters for them, so losing any to a faulty restore can be crushing.
Aside from that, it’s also worth running a test when anything in the setup changes, such as a new host, a new backup plugin, or a new storage destination. Those changes are precisely the moments when a quiet failure can sneak in and remain unnoticed until the worst time.
Ultimately, pick a backup and testing cadence that fits your website’s needs and your team’s capability.
What to look for in a WordPress backup plugin
Since Nathan mentioned he uses a backup plugin in his agency, we figured it’s a great time to also mention what to look for when choosing one.
Naturally, there is no single correct answer, and the best choice will depend on your site and how you work. However, there are a few universal things worth checking when you compare options:
We know that a command line can look intimidating and even inspire a sense of dread of deleting something by accident. However, when used properly, a command line can be a massive boost in efficiency and streamline everyday tasks.
Since AI tools can use it now as well, Nathan recommends it even more:
The more we can do with WP-CLI, the better, because you can just do everything at the command line.
So, in the end, a plugin that checks at least most of these boxes would make for a good candidate. More importantly, it will make both tiers of backups easier to maintain.
Where should you start with ensuring your backups work?
The good news is you don’t need to rip everything out and rebuild your setup in one afternoon.
The first thing you should do is find out what your host offers: how often they create backups and for how long they last. If you are happy with that, your first tier is set. All that’s left is to set up that second layer in a way convenient for you.
And if your host’s backup plan isn’t what you are expecting, there are other means of creating backups, such as plugins for WordPress or cPanel, which often come with backup functionalities already packaged in.
Also, don’t forget the restore test after every major change to your website or the backup infrastructure. That way there are no surprises when you need a backup to work.
Finally, if you have questions about your own setup, want to learn more about WordPress, AI, agency work, or anything else related to web hosting, join us every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET for Office Hours, where questions like these shape the conversation.
FAQ
Should you back up your website before updating WordPress or installing a plugin?
Yes. Before major WordPress updates, plugin installations, or significant configuration changes, create a fresh backup. If something breaks, you can use it to return to a known working state rather than trying to undo several changes manually.
What is the difference between a website backup and a website migration?
A backup is a copy of your website that you can use to recover data after a problem. A migration involves moving your website to another server, hosting provider, or environment. Although a backup can be used during a migration, the process may also require changes to database settings, domain configuration, and other site components.
Website backups can contain database records, user information, customer details, and configuration files that may include credentials.
Treat backup files as sensitive data: restrict access, use encrypted storage where possible, and avoid leaving downloadable copies in publicly accessible directories. If you store backups with a third-party service, review its access controls and security options.