Discussion · Web Hosting
Asked 23 Dec 2025 ·
Viewed 453
·
1 answer
PSA: Test your host backups. Seriously. Do it today.
Quick story.
A client called me in a panic last week because their WordPress site got hacked. No worries, I said, we will just restore from the host's daily backup.
Guess what? The backup was corrupted. Two months of corrupted backups sitting on the server, and nobody noticed because nobody ever tested a restore.
This was on a well-known shared host (I will not name names, but it rhymes with HostGator). Their support basically said "we provide backups as a courtesy, not a guarantee" and washed their hands of it.
Luckily I had set up a weekly UpdraftPlus backup to Google Drive as a secondary measure. Saved the day.
So here is my plea: whatever host you are on, go download one of your backups RIGHT NOW and verify it actually contains your data. Set up an offsite backup as well. Do not rely on your host alone.
Your future self will thank you.
A client called me in a panic last week because their WordPress site got hacked. No worries, I said, we will just restore from the host's daily backup.
Guess what? The backup was corrupted. Two months of corrupted backups sitting on the server, and nobody noticed because nobody ever tested a restore.
This was on a well-known shared host (I will not name names, but it rhymes with HostGator). Their support basically said "we provide backups as a courtesy, not a guarantee" and washed their hands of it.
Luckily I had set up a weekly UpdraftPlus backup to Google Drive as a secondary measure. Saved the day.
So here is my plea: whatever host you are on, go download one of your backups RIGHT NOW and verify it actually contains your data. Set up an offsite backup as well. Do not rely on your host alone.
Your future self will thank you.