How do you download or restore a backup of your web files?

Procédure

Objective

This documentation explains how to recover a backup of your web files or restore a previous version of your site from the LWS Panel.

Use this procedure if files on your site have been deleted, modified by mistake or if you want to return to a previous state of your hosting.

Services concerned

This documentation is intended for customers with :

• LWS Linux shared hosting (excluding domain package).

Management is done from the LWS Panel.

Before getting started

Prerequisites

Before performing a backup or restore, make sure you :

• you have access to your LWS customer account
• Understand that a restore replaces existing files.

What you need to know before choosing an action

It is important to distinguish between the two available actions:

Download a backup

This action recovers a copy of your web files.
It does not modify your hosting.

Restore a backup

This action reinjects the backed up files into your hosting.
Existing files will be replaced.

When should you use this documentation?

You can follow this procedure if :

• your site is no longer displayed correctly following incorrect handling
• one or more files have been deleted
• you want to recover an old version of your web space
• you want to download a backup to keep it locally
• you only want to restore a file, a folder, the home page or a domain added to your hosting.

Step 1: Check that your package allows restoration

The LWS Panel offers a backup and restore function for web services.
Depending on the package you subscribe to, the backup retention period may vary from 30 to 90 days.

Before going any further, check that :

• your package includes web backups
• the desired backup period is still available

If you don't know the backup level included in your package, consult the LWS documentation dedicated to the backup level of your hosting.

Step 2: Access the backup service in the LWS Panel

1. Log in to your LWS account

2. Open the hosting concerned

3. In the Files section, click on the button: Backups / Restores

4. Then click on the tab: Web Backups

This will take you to the list of backups available for your hosting.

Option A - Download a backup of your web files

When should I use this option?

Choose this action if you want to :

• keep a copy of your site
• recover your files without modifying the hosting
• analyse the files before deciding to restore them

Detailed steps

1. In the Web Backups tab, locate the backup date you wish to recover.

2. On the line corresponding to the selected backup, click the action button on the right (3 vertical dots).

3. Choose the option: Download link

4. A window opens. Click on Generate link

5. Then open the History tab

Here you can check the progress of the link generation. This operation may take several minutes, depending on the volume of data involved.

Refresh the page regularly to check if the status has changed.

7. Once the link is ready, a"Click to download" button appears. Click on it to recover your backup.

Other recovery methods

The generated backup can also be found in the root folder of your hosting. You can then download it :

• from an FTP client
• or from the file manager

If you use this method, check that you are downloading the correct backup file.

Limitations to be aware of

Important limitations:

• only backups of less than 20 GB can be restored using this method
• for larger backups, you need to use a Business support option or an outsourcing service
• files larger than 500 MB placed on the FTP space may be deleted automatically if you leave them for too long.

These points should be taken into account before generating or keeping a backup on your hosting.

Option B - Restore a backup of your web files

Before restoring

Before launching a restore, take a few moments to identify what you really need to put back.

You can restore :

• the entire hosting
• just the index.php file
• a specific file or folder
• an additional domain or sub-domain

Make sure you choose the right option

Restore all: To be used if the entire site has been damaged, deleted or replaced.

Restore index.php: Use this option if only the main home page of the site is affected.

Restore a file or folder: Use this if you know exactly what needs to be recovered.

Restore a multi-domain: Use this if the problem concerns an additional domain or sub-domain hosted on the same package.

Common procedure for accessing the restore options

1. From the LWS Panel, access the list of available backups.

2. Choose the date that corresponds to the status of your site that you wish to recover.

3. Click on the button to the right of the selected backup (1).

4. Select the restore option corresponding to your needs. (2)

1. Restore all hosting

When should I use this option?

Choose this option if you want to restore all the web files on your hosting.

What this restore does

All the files on the hosting are deleted, then the backup files are restored to the web space. This is therefore the most radical option.

Steps

1. Click on the Restore all action.
2. A confirmation window will open.
   
3. Check that you have selected the correct backup date.
4. Confirm the action by clicking on the"Restore" button.

3. Restore a specific file or folder

When should I use this option?

This is the most suitable option if you want to recover only part of the site, for example :

• a deleted page
• a file modified by mistake
• an image folder
• a directory containing a plugin, a theme or specific resources

Steps

1. Click on the Restore a file or directory action.
2. A confirmation window opens.
   
3. Enter the path of the file or folder to be restored.
4. Check the location carefully.
5. Confirm the action by clicking on the"Restore" button.

Examples of paths to enter

• text.html
  restores the text.html file located at the root of the backup

• /mondossier/text.html
  restores the text.html file located in the myfolder folder

• /myfolder/
  restores the contents of the myfolder folder

• /myfolder/subfolder/
  restores the contents of the subfolder myfolder in myfolder

What this option actually does

This restoration :

• replaces the files present in the backup if they no longer exist on the hosting system
• replaces existing files with those in the backup if they have the same name
• does not delete additional files that are present on your hosting but not in the backup.

4. Restoring a multi-domain or sub-domain

What is a multi-domain?

A multi-domain is an additional domain added to your hosting.
A sub-domain corresponds, for example, to an address such as blog.yourdomain.ext.

When should I use this option?

Choose this option if the problem only concerns :

• an additional domain hosted on your package
• a specific sub-domain

Steps

1. Click on the Restore a multi-domain action.
2. A confirmation window opens.
   
3. Select the domain or sub-domain concerned.
4. Confirm the action by clicking on the"Restore" button.

What this restore does

As with folder restoration :

• the files in the backup are replaced
• files with the same name are replaced
• additional files already on the hosting are not deleted automatically

Monitoring the progress of a restore

How do I know if the restore is complete?

After launching a restore :

1. open the History tab

2. check the status of the operation
   

3. update the page if necessary; the restoration is complete when the status "Complete" appears.
   

Checking after restoration

Once the restore is complete, check the following points:

1. The status displayed in the History tab should indicate that the operation is complete.
2. If you have restored a specific file or folder, check that it is back on your hosting.
3. Open your site in a web browser and check that it is working correctly.
4. If the site seems unchanged, empty your browser's cache or refresh the page several times.
5. If your site uses a database, remember to restore it to a date consistent with the web backup. Without this, the site may remain partially inconsistent.

What should I do if the backup I'm looking for doesn't appear?

If the backup you are looking for is not displayed, there are several possible reasons.

The date you are looking for certainly exceeds the retention period included in your package: some offers give access to 30 days of backups, others to 90 days. If the date you are looking for is too old, it may no longer be available.

If you need a backup that is older than your package allows (more than 30 days without the businness support option, up to a limit of 90 days) or a specific intervention, you can subscribe to :

• a Business support option

• or "Backup Search" outsourcing.

These solutions are handled additionally by LWS services.

Frequent problems and solutions

The download link does not appear immediately

Generating the link can take several minutes (several hours in some cases), especially if the backup is large.

What should you do?

• open the History tab
• refresh the page after a few moments
• check that the action is in progress or completed

The backup you are looking for is not listed

The date requested may be outside the retention period available for your offer.

What should you do?

• check the backup period included in your package
• check the exact date you need
• if necessary, check whether an additional option is offered

The site does not seem to have changed after restoration

This is often a problem of display or consistency between the files and the database.

What should you do?

• empty the browser cache
• reload the page
• check that the restore is complete in the History tab
• also restore the database if your site uses one

I've restored the wrong type

If you launched a partial restore when a full restore was required, or vice versa, the result may be incomplete.

What should you do?

• identify exactly what is still missing
• then choose the right restoration method
• if you need to find exactly one folder or domain, remember to first delete any items that are no longer required before a new partial restore.

An error is displayed during restoration

In the event of an error during restoration, contact LWS technical support for analysis and assistance if the action is still possible.

Before contacting support

Please have the following information ready

• the name of the hosting concerned
• the chosen backup date
• the type of restore launched
• the error message displayed
• the approximate time of the operation

This will make it easier to process your request.

My backup is very large

Certain operations are limited when the backup exceeds 20 GB, and files larger than 500 MB deposited on the FTP space may be deleted automatically.

What should I do?

• download the backup quickly when it is available
• avoid leaving it stored on your hosting for too long
• if necessary, use the business support option

Conclusion

You now know how to access the web backup service in the LWS Panel, download an existing backup and restore your files in several ways: full restore, restore of the home page, a file, a folder, a multi-domain or a sub-domain.

If your site also uses a database, remember to restore this to a consistent date so that it can function normally again.