A shop's database changes constantly, which changes what a backup needs to be.
WHY IT IS DIFFERENT
A brochure site backed up weekly loses nothing much. A shop backed up weekly loses every order, customer and stock change since the backup.
WHAT TO BACK UP AND HOW OFTEN
Database: daily at minimum, more often for a busy shop. Orders and customers live here.
Files: weekly is usually enough, since product images change less often.
WHERE TO KEEP IT
Off the server. A backup on the same account is lost in the same event that loses the shop.
Send copies to Google Drive or Dropbox automatically.
SCHEDULING
Backup plugins rely on cron. Since HTTP wp-cron is blocked on our servers, the real cron job must be configured or the schedule never runs. Confirm backups are actually running rather than assuming.
BEFORE RESTORING
A restore rolls the database back, which deletes orders placed since. Export recent orders first so you can reconcile.
TEST IT
Restore to a staging subdomain once. An untested backup is an assumption.
