Restoring your site from a backup
What happens when we need to restore your website from a backup — the process, the timeline, and what to expect.
If something goes wrong with your website — a bad update, accidental deletion, or a security incident — we may need to restore it from a backup. This guide walks you through what that means and what to expect.
Quick summary
Restoring from a backup replaces your current site with a saved copy from an earlier point in time. We handle the whole process. It typically takes between 30 minutes and a few hours depending on your site's size. Any changes made after the backup was taken will need to be re-added.
When we restore from a backup
A full site restore is not always the first response to a problem. We'll often try a more targeted fix first. But a restore is the right call when:
- A software update has broken the site and can't be quickly undone
- Content or data has been accidentally deleted at scale
- The site has been compromised by malware or a hacker
- Something has gone seriously wrong and a targeted fix isn't working
For smaller problems — like a single deleted page or a broken plugin — we may be able to fix just that piece without a full restore.
What gets restored
A full restore replaces your entire site with the backup copy. That includes:
- All pages, posts, and content
- All images and uploaded files
- All settings and configuration
- All plugin and theme files
Important: changes after the backup are lost
Any changes you or your team made after the backup was taken will not be in the restored site. For example, if you published a blog post yesterday and we restore from a backup taken two days ago, that post will be gone from the restored version. We'll let you know what the cutoff point is before we restore.
The restore process
We identify the right backup. We look at your backup history and choose the most recent clean backup — one from before whatever went wrong. For security incidents, we check carefully to make sure the backup itself is clean.
We confirm with you. Before we restore, we'll tell you which backup we're restoring from and what the cutoff date is. You'll know what changes will be lost.
We restore to a staging site first (where possible). If time allows, we restore to a staging copy and verify it's working before touching the live site.
We restore the live site. We push the backup to your live site. During this step, your site may show a brief maintenance message or be temporarily unavailable.
We verify the restored site. We check key pages, forms, and functionality to confirm the restore was successful.
We let you know it's done. We confirm the restore is complete and explain what was lost and what to re-add if anything.
How long does a restore take?
It depends on the size of your site:
| Site size | Approximate restore time |
|---|---|
| Small site (a few pages, minimal media) | 30–60 minutes |
| Medium site (blog, standard business site) | 1–3 hours |
| Large site (store, lots of media, complex setup) | 3–6 hours or more |
During a restore, your site may be temporarily unavailable or show a maintenance message. We'll let you know before we start.
After the restore
Once the restore is complete:
- Review your site to confirm it looks correct
- Check for any content you need to re-add (posts published after the backup date, form changes, etc.)
- If the restore was triggered by a security incident, we'll walk you through the additional steps to secure the site before it goes live again
Common questions
Related guides
- How backups work
- When & how to request emergency support
- Security monitoring explained
- Software updates explained
- What to expect during planned maintenance
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