When you think backup, especially for a large website, you think hours of work. Databases can take awhile to download, but then there are the files. I have personally dealt with many websites that have over 3 gigs worth of files alone. Databases with 70 megs or more to start. On a cable internet line it can take 6 to 8 hours or ftp transfer.

The problem is that sometimes you come across a lazy webmaster. These are the types that look at those 8 hours and say “Forget it. What’s the worst that can happen?”. Well, you live and learn I guess. Back when I just started out I dealt with that situation myself on a site I owned. Because I was lazy I lost key files to my website and they had to be redeveloped.

It is better to always be safe. I have had days where I had back to back backups of 3+ gig websites. The backups would be placed on multiple discs, hard drives, or other medium to prepare for the worst case scenerio. Other than the possibility of losing a file, you risk being sued by a client of you do not use common sense.

My advice. ALWAYS BACKUP. Even if it is one single file you are working on. Some developers work on a file in notepad through an ftp client. Occasionally the ftp client might freeze and error out. What happens is the ftp client borrowed the file from the host, and that file was lost or corrupted during the program crash. When working with only a few files you should always create a BAK folder on your local machine for that project. Transfer the file then edit it through ftp. This way if something happens all you have to do is upload the backup and everything is ok once again.