Backup & rollback plan

[schlessera]

From Slack:

schlessera: Okay, what about backup solutions? Is there a smart way of helping site owners figure this out without linking to a specific vendor? flixos90: We could start with just saying that database and files need to be backed up. The easiest way to do so is using a backup plugin. We could either list the most popular ones or link to a backup tag search in the plugin repository. schlessera: Link to this, maybe? https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/backup/ flixos90: We should probably highlight though to back up everything, files and database. Some plugins have options and by default only backup the database. Like not even explain what it is about, but more like: If the plugin allows you to specify what to backup, make sure you select the most comprehensive option, both files and database need to be backed up. schlessera: "Backup the kitchen sink" nerrad: Backup is only one part of the picture though. It’s fine if people backup but then: a. Does their host allow downgrading php versions once they’ve upgraded? b. Is the site owner aware of how to restore (rollback) if necessary? c. Are they aware of when they should rollback (might not be necessary if the white screen/issues are due to something other than php version)

[Mte90]

Probably suggest specific backup plugins is not good for us because can be an official endorsement. In any case there is the official documentation by WordPress about this topic https://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups So maybe we can work on this one to improve it and avoiding another page for fragmentation

[grappler]

Why are backups needed when switching PHP version other then being able to easily move the site to another server?

When switching PHP version I have changed it and checked if something is broken. If something was broken I switched it back to the previous version and it was OK.

[JDGrimes]

@grappler I have been thinking something similar, but I guess depending on what breaks and how, it could end up messing up the database and potentially also the site's files. So a backup is probably a good precaution.

[nerrad]

Technically speaking merely switching php versions doesn't require backups, however:

• elsewhere site owners are also being encouraged to update their plugins and themes.
• whenever possible we should reinforce the idea that doing backups is a good idea.
• its been my experience that when people see weird stuff happen, they sometimes try to "fix" things themselves which includes directly editing core or plugin files (sometimes using random snippets they've found googling). A backup will at least give them a restore point before all their "fixes" were applied.

[Mte90]

And forget that the backup let us to sleep the night comfortable so the users need to know that updates require backup if you want to sleep :-D