Retrieving old content.
WHAT PEOPLE NEED
A deleted page or post An old version of a document A customer record removed in error An image no longer on the site Content changed and the original wanted back
WHERE TO LOOK
Your own archived backups, if retention covers that period Our server-side restore points, which have finite retention and may not go back months An archive service, which caches public web pages and may hold your old content
THE RETENTION PROBLEM
This is where short retention fails. A problem discovered months later needs a backup from months ago.
If your policy keeps only two weeks, the answer is that it is gone.
RETRIEVING WITHOUT A FULL RESTORE
Restore the backup to a staging subdomain, find what you need, and copy it into the live site.
Never restore a months-old backup over a live site to retrieve one item.
FOR DATABASE CONTENT
Import the old database into a separate database, find the record, and copy the content across.
THE LESSON
Keep monthly copies for a year. The storage cost is trivial and this is the scenario it covers.
