It is recommended that you maintain healthy backup of your website and possibly download the backup to your local computer as a safe measure against any unforeseen disaster. The backup will be restored in case of any problem you are unable to correct. Let's take an overview on website backup.
Why Do You Need a Backup
If your website gets constant updates, then it is really important that you keep a current backup of your website. With your new and ever changing content, you can have, with a backup, an updated and safe copy of your website. If you update so frequently, then it will be good to have multiple backups for your website.
Having a Backup is a Safe policy
Sometimes, you may want to think that your web host should be maintaining a backup for you and so you need not bother about eeping your own backup. The fact is your web host may or may not keep a backup for you. Sometimes, when they do, they may not maintain regular backups to suit your needs. So it is better not to solely rely on the backup service provided by your web host.
Backups Minimize the Fallout if Your Website is Compromised
No website can claim to be completely free from the ris of an attack. The thing is certain steps and precautions can help reduce this possibility but the risk of an attack cannot be completely eliminated. The good thing with having a full backup for your entire website is that when any of these disasters come by, instead of trying to identify the error and remove backdoors and the attacker codes, you simply revert to your recently save and functional backup and then proceed to address the security issues which led to the attack. Even if you have the capacity and tools to identy and fix the breaches, it is recommended when teir is no backup.
Types of Backup Files Found in cPanel
When you have a backup file, you will need to know what type of backup it is so you can know what is saved inside. Below are examples of the format for the various backup file names along with descriptions to help you determine the contents of a backup.
Full cPanel Backup
backup-5.18.2017_18-46-23_cpaneluser.tar.gz
This is the format of a full backup file. It includes your home directory, including addon domains and subdomains, databases, email forwarders and filters.
Home Directory Backup
backup-domain.com-5-18-2017.tar.gz
This is the format of a home directory backup file. It includes all of the files in your home directory that you own as well as files which you do not own but have access to.
MySQL Backup
database_name.sql.gz
This is the format of a MySQL backup file. It only includes the data of a single database.
Email Forwarders Backup
aliases-domain.com.gz
This is the format of an Email Forwarders backup file. It includes all forwarders you've created in cPanel.
Email Filters Backup
filter_info.cpaneluser.yaml.gz
This is the format of an Email Filters backup file. It includes all account-level and user-level filters you've created in cPanel.
Full cPanel Backup
backup-5.18.2017_18-46-23_cpaneluser.tar.gz
This is the format of a full backup file. It includes your home directory, including addon domains and subdomains, databases, email forwarders and filters.
Home Directory Backup
backup-domain.com-5-18-2017.tar.gz
This is the format of a home directory backup file. It includes all of the files in your home directory that you own as well as files which you do not own but have access to.
MySQL Backup
database_name.sql.gz
This is the format of a MySQL backup file. It only includes the data of a single database.
Email Forwarders Backup
aliases-domain.com.gz
This is the format of an Email Forwarders backup file. It includes all forwarders you've created in cPanel.
Email Filters Backup
filter_info.cpaneluser.yaml.gz
This is the format of an Email Filters backup file. It includes all account-level and user-level filters you've created in cPanel.
Where to Keep Backups
Backups can be ept on your web hosting account but it is safer not to just have them there. This is because if your site has been attacked it’s possible that your backups could also have also been compromised in the attack. Having your files stored safely off your hosting account will alleviate this possibility.
Backkup Protect Against Upgrade Problems with CMS
Upgrading and updating content management systems like Joomla, WordPress and Magento can come with lots of issues. Sometimes, the new version may not be compatible with your plugin and this can create problems and give room for eploitations. When this happens, falling back on a functional and safe backup is a good idea to address the problem.
Backkup Protect Against Upgrade Problems with CMS
Upgrading and updating content management systems like Joomla, WordPress and Magento can come with lots of issues. Sometimes, the new version may not be compatible with your plugin and this can create problems and give room for eploitations. When this happens, falling back on a functional and safe backup is a good idea to address the problem.
Generating a Backup
You can generate a full website backup from the control Panel section of your website. From the filesection, click on backups and generate a full website backup. You can download the backup to a safe place on a local machine or an external saving device. If your website files are small, you can maintain your backup on your cPanel control panel.
If you download your backup to your local machine, which is the best and safest practice, at any point, you can upload the saved backup and request it be restored.
To create a full backup of your web site by using cPanel, follow these steps:
In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
Under Full Backup, click Download or Generate a Full Website Backup.
In the Backup Destination list box, select where you want to save the backup file.
If you do not want to receive an e-mail message when the backup is complete, click Do not send email notification of backup completion.
Click Generate Backup.
A cPanel full backup with Todhost can only be restored by a server admin. That will be done only after the original account is terminated. So, if you are on a shared server, you can go through support/client area page to submit a ticket for your website to be restored. You will need to state the file from where you will want your website restore to be made. The following guide will be helpful:
If you download your backup to your local machine, which is the best and safest practice, at any point, you can upload the saved backup and request it be restored.
To create a full backup of your web site by using cPanel, follow these steps:
In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
Under Full Backup, click Download or Generate a Full Website Backup.
In the Backup Destination list box, select where you want to save the backup file.
If you do not want to receive an e-mail message when the backup is complete, click Do not send email notification of backup completion.
Click Generate Backup.
A cPanel full backup with Todhost can only be restored by a server admin. That will be done only after the original account is terminated. So, if you are on a shared server, you can go through support/client area page to submit a ticket for your website to be restored. You will need to state the file from where you will want your website restore to be made. The following guide will be helpful:
1. Upload full backup via ftp or place it somewhere accessible over web/ftp.
2. Open a support ticket with details of the backup location and name.
Support will terminate your original account (if it already exists) and restore the account using full backup. Your account including all data and settings (e.g. email, mysql db, subdomains, addon domains, filters, spam assassin settings, etc) will be restored to the state when the backup was taken.
Note that there are some limits placed by Todhost on the size of files to be restored. You will need to confirm with our support department for any clarifications on your proposed restore.
You need a website backup as a last resort when you have issues with your website. A good and safe practice in handling backups is to download it to your local computer. By so doing, you are sure that no matter what happens, you have a secure and functional backup that can always be restored.
Having your backup downloaded to your local commputer ensures that in cases of password compromise where all files you have on your website could be corrupt or deleted by a very wicked attacker, your downloaded backup can always be restored after a password reset and all backdoors have been removed.
Todhost Automatic Backup Policy
Todhost does provide automatic backup service which runs once a week on a random day. Each fresh backup overwrites any previous backups. Only one week of backups are kept at a time. The terms of our backup policy vary depending on the type of hosting account. It is uncertain that a bacup will be available at a particular time. We cannot assure you that we will always maintain a backup for an account.
Todhost backups are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed. Customers are responsible for their own backups and web content and should make their own backups for extra protection. For additional information, please refer to our Terms of Service.
Your cPanel or VPS container can be restored by Todhost after you submit a restoration request form.
Shared and Reseller Plans
Todhost may create weekly backups of shared servers for accounts that are under 5GB GB. For Reseller plans, these limits apply to each cPanel individually.
VPS Hosting Plans
We create weekly backups of VPS containers, which include everything on your VPS at the time of backup.
Linux Dedicated Servers
By default, new servers are set up with RAID 1 which mirrors data on two hard drives; however, this is not a solution for backups. Although Todhost does not make backups of Dedicated servers, there are many options available for making your own backups.
If you would like your server set up differently, or if you would like something other than RAID 1, please contact us via phone or Live Chat and we can assist you in setting up an appropriate solution.
Todhost does not create backups for dedicated servers. For information regarding how you may create full server backups on dedicated servers please reference the following article:
What If my account was suspended?
If your account is suspended less than one week before we run backups, your account will still be backed up.
If you have been suspended for more than a week when we run backups, your old backup will be erased and your account will not be included in the new backups. We will thus have no backups for your account.
Support will terminate your original account (if it already exists) and restore the account using full backup. Your account including all data and settings (e.g. email, mysql db, subdomains, addon domains, filters, spam assassin settings, etc) will be restored to the state when the backup was taken.
Note that there are some limits placed by Todhost on the size of files to be restored. You will need to confirm with our support department for any clarifications on your proposed restore.
Downloading a full backup of your web site
If you have created a full backup of your web site, you can download the backup file.
To download a full backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Full Backup, click .
- Under Backups Available for Download, click the file that you want to download.
Downloading a partial backup
To download an existing partial backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Partial Backups, click the name of the backup file that you want to download. Depending on your web site's configuration, some or all of the following backup types may be available:
- Home directory
- MySQL databases
- E-mail forwarders
- E-mail filters
Restoring a partial backup
To restore an existing partial backup, follow these steps:
- In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click Backups.
- Under Partial Backups, click , select the partial backup file that you want to restore, and then click .
You need a website backup as a last resort when you have issues with your website. A good and safe practice in handling backups is to download it to your local computer. By so doing, you are sure that no matter what happens, you have a secure and functional backup that can always be restored.
Having your backup downloaded to your local commputer ensures that in cases of password compromise where all files you have on your website could be corrupt or deleted by a very wicked attacker, your downloaded backup can always be restored after a password reset and all backdoors have been removed.
Todhost Automatic Backup Policy
Todhost does provide automatic backup service which runs once a week on a random day. Each fresh backup overwrites any previous backups. Only one week of backups are kept at a time. The terms of our backup policy vary depending on the type of hosting account. It is uncertain that a bacup will be available at a particular time. We cannot assure you that we will always maintain a backup for an account.
Todhost backups are provided as a courtesy and are not guaranteed. Customers are responsible for their own backups and web content and should make their own backups for extra protection. For additional information, please refer to our Terms of Service.
Your cPanel or VPS container can be restored by Todhost after you submit a restoration request form.
Shared and Reseller Plans
Todhost may create weekly backups of shared servers for accounts that are under 5GB GB. For Reseller plans, these limits apply to each cPanel individually.
VPS Hosting Plans
We create weekly backups of VPS containers, which include everything on your VPS at the time of backup.
Linux Dedicated Servers
By default, new servers are set up with RAID 1 which mirrors data on two hard drives; however, this is not a solution for backups. Although Todhost does not make backups of Dedicated servers, there are many options available for making your own backups.
If you would like your server set up differently, or if you would like something other than RAID 1, please contact us via phone or Live Chat and we can assist you in setting up an appropriate solution.
Todhost does not create backups for dedicated servers. For information regarding how you may create full server backups on dedicated servers please reference the following article:
What If my account was suspended?
If your account is suspended less than one week before we run backups, your account will still be backed up.
If you have been suspended for more than a week when we run backups, your old backup will be erased and your account will not be included in the new backups. We will thus have no backups for your account.
