Is my website backed up, and can you restore it?

The short version

• E-3 website care clients: your site is backed up daily.
• A restore puts the whole site back to an earlier copy. Anything added since, such as orders or form entries, can be lost.
• For one bad page edit, an undo is usually better than a full restore.
• Not with E-3? Ask your host four things: when, what, where, and how far back.

Can E-3 restore my site?

Sites in E-3’s website care are backed up daily. When something goes wrong, such as a bad update, a deleted page or a hack, that means a copy from before the problem is normally there to go back to.

To ask for a restore, email support@e3help.me or call 814-399-4655. Tell us what you need back and roughly when it was last right. For a site that’s down, call. Replies usually come within one business day.

How do I check backups if someone else hosts my site?

1. Find out who makes them: your host, your web company, a backup plugin, or nobody.
2. Ask when the last successful backup ran. Ask for the date, not just “yes, we back up.”
3. Ask what it includes. It needs both files and database (below).
4. Ask where it’s stored. At least one copy should live somewhere other than the website’s server.
5. Ask how far back you can go. Several days or weeks of copies is safer than only the latest.
6. Ask when a restore was last tested. A backup nobody has restored is a hope, not a plan.
7. Write the answers down with today’s date.
   • Expected result: a dated note you can check again next year, or when you change hosts.

If you manage the site yourself, look for Backups in your hosting control panel or your backup plugin’s settings. Most show recent backups with dates.

What does a backup need to include?

WordPress’s guide to WordPress backups says you need both parts to fully restore a typical site:

Part	What’s in it
Files	WordPress itself, your theme, plugins, and every uploaded image and PDF
Database	Pages, posts, settings, users, form entries and orders

A backup with only one half usually can’t bring the site back. The same guide suggests weekly backups for sites that rarely change and daily ones for busier sites. Most business sites belong in the daily group, because forms and orders arrive every day. It also recommends keeping several recent copies in separate places, not only on the site’s own server.

Why does this matter?

You hope you never need a backup, so it’s easy to assume it’s there. The time you find out is the worst time: the day a site breaks. WordPress’s hacked site FAQ says that with a backup you should be able to restore, and suggests asking your host about its backup policy. A restore only helps if a clean copy from before the problem exists, which is why keeping more than yesterday’s copy matters.

What should I know before a restore?

1. Save anything new you want to keep, such as recent orders or form entries.
2. Ask whether a partial restore would do, for example just the files, or just one page.
3. Pick the right date: the last copy from before the problem started.
4. Check the site afterwards on a computer and phone, and test your forms. See add or change a form for how to test one.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• Moving hosts: take your own full backup before cancelling the old account. Its backups usually vanish when the account closes.
• “Best effort” host backups: some hosts keep backups for their own use. Ask whether you can request a restore, and how.
• Online stores: orders arrive all day, so ask how often the database is backed up.
• Hosted builders such as Squarespace or Wix use version history instead of downloadable backups. Check their help pages.
• A problem nobody noticed for days: yesterday’s backup may already include it. Older copies help.

What if this didn’t work?

• Nobody can say when the last backup ran: treat it as if you have none. Take one now and set a schedule.
• The backup won’t restore: it may be incomplete or damaged. Ask the host to help.
• The restored site still has the problem: the copy may be from after it started. Try an earlier one, with help.

Related questions

• How do I undo a website change?
• Do you keep my WordPress site and plugins updated?
• What’s included when E-3 looks after your site?
• WordPress backups explained