If you’ve ever had a moment of panic wondering what would happen if your website just… disappeared, you’re not alone. It’s one of the first questions we get from new clients, and it’s a good one.
The short answer is: when your site is managed by David Turner Designs, it’s backed up in multiple ways, at multiple levels, on a daily basis. But since “backed up” can mean a lot of different things depending on who you ask, we want to walk you through exactly what’s protecting your site and why we set it up this way.
Layer 1: Server-Level Backups with JetBackup
This is the foundation. Every website we host runs on servers equipped with JetBackup 5, which automatically creates a full backup of your entire website every single day — including your files, your database, your email accounts, and everything else tied to your hosting account.
JetBackup retains 30 days of daily backups. That means if something goes wrong today, we can restore your site to how it looked yesterday, last week, or even a month ago. And because this backup runs at the server level, it works completely independently of your website. Even if your site goes completely offline, those backups are still there and accessible.
This is your safety net. No matter what happens, we have a clean copy of your site going back 30 days.
Layer 2: WordPress-Level Backups with Softaculous
For sites running WordPress (which is most of them), we have an additional layer of backup running through Softaculous, the same tool used to install and manage WordPress on your hosting account.
Softaculous keeps its own backups of your WordPress installation, separate from JetBackup. Think of it as a second set of hands holding onto a copy of your site from a different angle. If we ever need to roll back a WordPress update or recover from a plugin conflict, Softaculous gives us a clean, WordPress-specific restore point to work from.
Layer 3: Off-Server Backups with UpdraftPlus
Here’s where things get really solid. In addition to the server-level and WordPress-level backups, we also configure UpdraftPlus on every managed site to send a copy of your backup to an off-server destination — in most cases, Google Drive.
Why does this matter? The first two layers store backups on the same hosting infrastructure as your website. That’s great for everyday recovery, but in a worst-case scenario — a serious server issue at the hosting provider, for example — you want a copy of your site that lives somewhere else entirely. That’s what the Google Drive backup does.
UpdraftPlus runs on a schedule tailored to each client’s needs. A site that gets updated frequently may back up daily. A simpler site that doesn’t change much might back up weekly. Either way, you have a current copy of your site sitting safely in cloud storage that has nothing to do with your web host.
Why Three Layers?
Because no single backup system is foolproof, and we learned that lesson the hard way so you don’t have to.
Different problems call for different solutions. A hacked site, a botched update, a hosting outage, and an accidental deletion are all very different situations. Having three independent backup systems means we have the right tool for each scenario rather than hoping one solution covers everything.
Most web hosts offer some version of backups. Very few clients ever think to ask what those backups actually cover, how long they’re retained, or what happens if the host itself has a problem. We think you deserve to know exactly what’s protecting your site — and to know that we’ve thought it through.
What This Means for You
You don’t have to think about any of this. That’s the point. Our job is to make sure that if something ever goes wrong with your website, we can fix it quickly and get you back online with minimal disruption to your business.
If you ever have questions about your specific backup setup, just ask. We’re happy to walk you through exactly what’s in place for your site.
And if your website is currently managed somewhere else and you’re not sure what backup protection you have — that’s worth finding out. We’re always happy to take a look.
David Turner Designs provides website design, development, and ongoing management services for small businesses and municipalities in the greater Gaston County area and beyond. Contact us to learn more about our managed hosting and maintenance plans.
