Reasons Why You Need Website Backup Services
A business website is probably one of the most useful tools in the technology-dependent environment. Your data is like oil and gas which you have to protect it using backup technologies. Organisations and business both small and large use websites for different reasons including:
- Establishing online visibility.
- As a marketing tool.
- To engage with existing and potential customers.
- To build business credibility.
Being this important, have you ever imagined life without a website? Or what could happen if your website was hacked and your data lost or damaged. Maybe it has happened to others, but not you. It can happen to you too.
Cybercriminals hack numerous websites every new day gaining control over your site, which results in loss of data and files among other catastrophic situations. For this reason, it is very critical to keep a backup for your web content, files, and data. There are many physical and cloud based backup options available today, some of which are free while in some cases you only need to pay a few coins and have your website safe in event of these unprecedented situations. MySQL back up tool is very effective for websites that stores data in MySQL databases.
The backup tool comes with a number of helpful features such as:
- Flexible Scheduling – It enables you to run a series of self-defined recurring jobs by specifying the task when you want it to be executed. You can also set the backup intervals.
- Cloud storage – It allows you to store the website backup on cloud storage or in your own Amazon S3 account.
- Servers – You can add as many servers to the account as need be.
- User management Feature – It allows you to create user accounts with unique user Ids and passwords as well as set specific user rights and privileges for different employees.
- Search Feature – Provides a powerful search tool to help you browse through history in a quick and easy manner.
- Data Security – Apart from helping you restore your data in case of a disaster, it enables you to store data in encrypted form, provides Public Key Authentication and SSL encrypted network communication.
Backing Up Your Website
A website comprises both your web files and a database where articles, images, and all other contents are stored. Some people think that storing their content, files, and data in a computer in their premises is safe enough, but think of what could happen to your physical computer system if someone got access to it. Website backup services are very critical for obvious reasons such as:
- Quick Disaster Recovery – In case of a malicious attack which results in data loss or corrupts your files, you need a recovery plan to get your data back almost immediately. Also, genuine users may make mistakes like deleting some data from the database or even executing updates that lead to data loss. When you have a fast and reliable backup for your website, you will be able to restore your files and content almost instantly to ensure business continuity. The best backup plan should enable you to recover data, files, and content as they were before the disaster.
- Minimize Downtime – According to statistics, most websites never get back after hacking or any other disaster which leads to data loss. In some cases, it takes a lot of time, up to weeks or months to get the website back in place. Having a backup and a disaster recovery strategy for your site can help you minimize downtime in case threats are actualized. Prolonged downtime could lead to loss of sales and customer confidence. Ensure that your site is always up and running by having regular backups.
- Saving on Resources – Website backup saves money and time. Some may argue that backup services costs money and requires time to set up and verify. While this is true, you can never compare the backup costs with how much you would lose in case of a disaster or how much you will spend to get things back together after a disaster. It is important to consider:
- The cost of losing your customers.
- The value of the time you spend to get back your site.
- The cost of IT expertise required.
It is logical to spend just a few coins on backups and save millions when a disaster strikes. Whether you have a business website, personal site, or just e-commerce site where you make direct sales, it is important to ensure that the site is ever available to your audience and this can only happen with excellent backup strategy.
