Every site we host at Shout Websites has a complete backup and recovery plan running quietly in the background. Most of the time nothing happens. But when something does go wrong — and given enough years it always will — the difference between an inconvenience and a catastrophe is what is in place before the problem hits.
This piece walks through what a real recovery actually looks like on a properly configured WordPress site, step by step, so Devon business owners can judge whether their current setup would hold up.
What "the site has crashed" actually means
"Crashed" is a catch-all word non-technical people use for half a dozen different problems. The diagnosis matters because each has a different fix:
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Contact HereThe white screen of death. PHP error caused by a bad plugin or theme update. The site is technically still there but cannot render. Fix: identify the offending plugin, disable or restore it.
Database connection error. WordPress cannot reach the database. Fix: check the database server, restore the database from backup if it is corrupted.
Site hacked or defaced. Files modified, malicious code injected, sometimes a fake login page replacing yours. Fix: clean infected files, restore from a known-clean backup, change all passwords, audit users.
Hosting account suspended. Usually for unpaid invoices, sometimes for resource overuse, occasionally for terms-of-service violations. Fix: address the cause with the host, restore service.
Total file loss. Rare but possible — drive failure, account deletion, ransomware. Fix: full restore from off-site backup.
A properly configured UpdraftPlus setup handles all of these.
How recovery works in practice
Here is the sequence we follow when a hosted client reports a problem:
Step 1: triage. What does the site show? When did it last work? What changed recently — an update, a new plugin, a content edit? This usually narrows the cause to one of the categories above in under five minutes.
Step 2: identify the right restore point. UpdraftPlus retains 14 daily backups, 8 weekly backups and 6 monthly backups by default. We pick the most recent backup taken before the failure — usually the previous night's.
Step 3: granular or full restore. If a single plugin or page is the issue, we restore just that component without touching the rest of the site. A live site stays live during a granular restore. If the issue is broader — corrupt database, malware infestation, full file loss — we run a full restore from the off-site cloud copy.
Step 4: re-apply legitimate changes. Anything posted or submitted between the backup time and the failure needs to be re-entered. For most sites this is minimal because backups run daily. For higher-traffic sites we run more frequently.
Step 5: post-mortem. What caused it? How do we stop it happening again? If it was a plugin update, we add it to the staging-test list. If it was a credential breach, we rotate keys and audit users.
The whole sequence typically takes under an hour for a routine restore. Compare that to days or weeks reconstructing a site from scratch with no backup.
A realistic scenario
Imagine a Newton Abbot B&B in peak season. A WordPress core update goes wrong overnight, taking the booking page offline. They notice at 8am, ring us, and we have access. We check the previous night's UpdraftPlus backup — taken at 2am, before the bad update — and run a granular restore of the booking plugin and its database tables. Site back online by 8.45am, with all bookings up to that morning intact. The B&B loses no enquiries; the only cost is an hour of our retainer time, which is included.
That is what a backup plan is meant to do.
What you should ask your current setup
Three questions to put to your current host or developer this week:
- Where exactly are my backups stored, and is that location separate from the live server?
- When was the last time you tested a restore?
- Is data recovery included in what I already pay, or is it billed separately?
If any answer is unclear, get in touch. Send the URL to 07887 988780 for a free hosting and backup audit. Our managed hosting and recovery is included in the £300/month retainer.