Key takeaways
- A server snapshot is a quick copy kept on the same hosting platform. It’s great for rolling back a bad update.
- An offsite backup is stored somewhere else entirely. It’s what saves you if the server, account or host fails.
- You want both. Snapshots for speed, offsite backups for survival.
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two types of storage, with one offsite.
- Keep backups long enough to reach back past a hidden infection. Malware can sit unnoticed for weeks.
A server snapshot and an offsite backup are not the same thing. A snapshot is a point-in-time copy stored on the same platform as your website. It’s quick to restore, but it can disappear along with the server. An offsite backup is stored in a separate location, so it survives when the server, hosting account or provider doesn’t. A safe website has both.
What is a server snapshot?
A snapshot is a picture of your whole server, or your site’s files and database, at one moment. Most hosts can take one in seconds, and restoring one is just as fast. That makes snapshots perfect before risky jobs, such as a big update or a plugin change.
The catch is where they live. Snapshots are usually stored on the same platform, and often under the same account, as the website itself. If that platform has a serious failure, or someone gains access to your account, the snapshots can go too.
What is an offsite backup?
An offsite backup is a copy of your files and database sent to separate storage. Ideally that’s with a different provider and behind different logins. It’s slower to restore than a snapshot, but it’s independent. If your server is lost, hacked or locked, the offsite copy is still there.
Which disasters does each one protect against?
| What goes wrong | Snapshot | Offsite backup |
|---|---|---|
| An update breaks the site | Best choice. Fast rollback. | Works, but slower. |
| Someone deletes a page by mistake | Works, if recent. | Works. |
| The site is hacked | Risky. Recent snapshots may include the malware. | Best choice, if you keep older copies. |
| The server fails | May be lost with the server. | Survives. |
| Your hosting account is compromised or closed | Usually lost. | Survives, if stored with different logins. |
What is the 3-2-1 rule?
The 3-2-1 rule is a simple, widely used guide for backups. Keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy offsite. Newer versions add one copy that can’t be changed or deleted, and a check that restores actually work.
Regular backups are also one of the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight strategies for reducing cyber risk.
How long should you keep website backups?
Long enough to reach back past a problem you didn’t notice straight away. Malware is often quiet. It may sit on a site for weeks before anyone spots a redirect or a Google warning. If you only keep seven days of backups, every copy may already be infected.
As a guide, keep daily backups for at least 30 days, and a few weekly or monthly copies beyond that. For stores and busy sites, take backups more often, because a day’s lost orders is expensive.
On our Maintain & Protect plans, offsite backups run daily on Essentials, four times a day on Advantage and every hour on Elite. Every plan keeps them for 30 days.
What are RPO and RTO?
These two terms come up a lot. They’re simpler than they sound.
- RPO (recovery point objective) is how much work you can afford to lose. If you back up daily, you could lose up to a day.
- RTO (recovery time objective) is how long you can afford to be offline while you restore.
A brochure website might be fine losing a day of changes and being offline for a few hours. An online store taking orders every hour needs much shorter times, and backups that run more often.
A backup isn’t a backup until you’ve restored it
The most common backup failure isn’t a missing backup. It’s a backup that turns out to be incomplete, corrupted or missing the database when you finally need it. Test a restore to a separate test site at least once a year. Our guide to backing up WordPress and testing the restore shows how.
If you’ve been hacked, restoring is only one part of recovery. See our hacked website recovery guide and our hacked website repair service.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a backup and a snapshot?
A snapshot is a quick point-in-time copy kept on the same hosting platform as your website. An offsite backup is stored in a separate location. Snapshots are faster to restore, and offsite backups survive if the server or account is lost.
Are hosting snapshots enough?
Not on their own. They’re ideal for rolling back an update, but they can be lost with the server or account. Pair them with offsite backups.
How often should I back up my website?
Daily suits most business websites. Online stores and busy sites benefit from more frequent backups, so less data is lost if you need to restore.
How long should I keep backups?
Keep daily backups for at least 30 days, plus some older weekly or monthly copies. Malware can go unnoticed for weeks, so you need copies from before it arrived.
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy offsite.
Sources
- The 3-2-1 backup strategy, Backblaze, accessed 13 Nov 2026
- Regular backups: technical example, Australian Signals Directorate, accessed 13 Nov 2026