The step that turns an assumption into protection.
WHY
An untested backup is a guess. People discover their archives are incomplete, corrupt or missing the database at the moment they need them.
HOW TO TEST
- Create a subdomain, such as restoretest.yourdomain.com.
- Restore your backup there: files and database.
- Update the configuration with the test database credentials and URL.
- Run a search and replace for the URL if needed.
- Load the site and check it works.
- Check content is present and current.
- Delete the test installation properly afterwards.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Does the site load at all Is the content there Are images present Does the admin login work Is anything obviously missing
HOW OFTEN
Quarterly for anything important. Annually at minimum.
After any change to your backup arrangement, always.
WHAT PEOPLE DISCOVER
That the database was never included That media files were excluded by a setting That the backups stopped three months ago
Better to find out now.
