Every website needs a method to easily back up any files if anything goes awry. Luckily, Shopify offers many methods for creating and managing fool-proof backups, both manually and automatically. Continue reading to learn How to back up shopify stores?, and how to install the backup for Shopify to the storefront.
Table of Contents
What is Shopify backup?
Shopify does not provide any automated backup capability that would allow you to rapidly recover any data if the files you accidentally press the button to delete. Some sorts of information, along with the theme, can be backed up. Custom pages and the content of the home page, however, cannot be manually backed up.
While backup capability is restricted by default, there are many Shopify applications that will allow you to automatically create backups. How to back up shopify stores? Unlike Shopify’s default settings, which only enable specific forms of data that can be easily backed up as well, applications will automatically capture and save your whole shop’s data without requiring any user involvement. You may configure the system to make backups regularly.
To back up your store information, you may export CSV files from your Shopify admin. You may use these CSV files in conjunction with other data (like a copy of your theme) to build a backup or replica of your store.
Technically, completing backups for products is not a genuine backup procedure, but you may export data to a .csv file and import it to the shop at any point later too. This procedure can also be used for:
- Customer databases
- Orders
- Coupon codes
- Gift cards merchandise
- Financial statements
Why should you back up your shopify store?
1. You are the one who edits or modifies the theme code
To be fair, even skilled website developers utilize a development shop to try out new code before releasing it to the main site. If you make any modifications or alterations to the theme code, you must have a simple mechanism to undo changes that don’t work out as anticipated. Without a backup, undoing changes may entail hours of repeating work or perhaps paying someone to assist you in cleaning up the damage.
2. You are installing third-party applications
It’s crucial to remember that ecommerce applications in the Shopify or BigCommerce application stores are created by a distinct firm, frequently by a single developer. While applications are tested before they are authorized for the app store, your ecommerce website cannot ensure that an app will work flawlessly with your business. Furthermore, when you install an app, you allow that app access to view, update, or alter your store data.
We’ve spoken with ecommerce owners whose pricing was totally wiped out or whose inventory counts were altered as a result of faulty app integration. In both situations, the entrepreneurs needed hours, if not days, to recuperate.
In addition to maintaining a backup for worst-case scenarios, here are other important practices to remember while introducing new ecommerce apps.
3. You have a displeased employee
No entrepreneur likes to consider the prospect that one of their own workers will do anything nasty to harm their company, yet it does happen. Employees frequently have access to the online shop and, as a result, the opportunity to destroy critical files if they are inclined to do so.
I almost fainted when I discovered one of our engineers deliberately removed all of our items (3000+) which we’ve been putting into our shop for over a year and a half, a customer said in the Shopify app store. We immediately contacted Shopify, but they were helpless! They just apologized and stated that we should have backed up our products.
4. You employ freelancers to help you with your store
When you engage a freelancer or consultant to work on your business, you are granting them authority to edit your store, just like when you hire an employee. It’s not always simple to assess freelancers and locate someone who you can rely on, especially when using services like Fiverr.
Michelle Goyette, Founder of Unique World Inspirations, told how a web developer she engaged to assist with backend code modifications ended up ruining her whole site. Fortunately, she had a backup.
5. You own many internet shops
If you’re a more seasoned ecommerce entrepreneur, you may have numerous internet enterprises. Alternatively, you may have numerous web storefronts to better serve clients in specific geographical areas if you have a global brand. Gymshark, for example, has distinct Shopify stores for the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. Germany, France, Australia… the list goes on.
In both instances, being extremely effective with your time is essential. You and your staff are already devoting a significant amount of effort to upgrading themes and goods across all of your online businesses. It is really important to back up all that work.
Important things you need to back up from your shopify store
There are plenty of things that you can effectively back up from your Shopify store, and we’ve created a list for you to find it easier. Here are some of the essentials that can make a world of difference:
- Products and Product Images
- Customers data
- Metadata
- Orders, Collections
- Blogs and Blog Posts
- Pages
- Themes and Theme Files
- Menu Navigation
- Store Policies
- Locations
- Shipping Rates & Zones
How to Backup your Shopify store?
To back up your store using the Goshu app, you’ve to install it onto your Shopify backend to make it simpler for you.
Option 1: Backup and Restore Your Shopify Store Manually
Step 1: Save the data to a CSV file
Shopify recommends that merchants make manual backups of their stores using CSV files. It’s worth noting that you can’t export your complete shop – only portions of it. CSV files may be used to export the following data from your Shopify store:
- Products
- Customers \ Orders
- Gift certificates
- Coupon codes
- Theme
Go into your Shopify Admin, select Products or Customers (and so on), and then click Export for each of the things displayed. When you have a CSV file containing your data, you should be mindful of the drawbacks of this technique.
NOTE: Shopify advises merchants to avoid the following:
- When you sort the CSV file in spreadsheet software, product variations or picture URLs may get disassociated.
- Importing a sorted CSV file may replace your current goods with bad data that cannot be retrieved.
- Once data for a CSV file has been imported, it cannot be reversed.
Step 2: Copy and paste the item properties
Shopify exports selected data, which contains just what Shopify deems relevant. Unfortunately, this does not incorporate specific product categories, pictures, or how your shop has stored and indexed things. This data must be cut and pasted into word processing or spreadsheet software.
If this phase is not finished, and you want to restore a product besides the product catalog from your CSV files, you’ll need to rebuild properties from the CSV data. For instance, if a product was removed, it would have to be archived and indexed in some way. If you delete a picture for an item, it is permanently deleted. For the reasons stated above, any use of CSV files is highly limited.
Step 3: Copy and paste any leftover shop data that Shopify was unable to export
Manually copy and paste the rest of your shop into a worksheet or word document to back up the information in the business that Shopify cannot export. A blog post, for example, will need you to copy and paste the text, category, and photos contained.
Step 4: Arrange backed-up data
Now that you’ve backed up all of your Shopify shop data organize it such that it’s easily accessible and recovered when needed.
Step 5: Protect your backup
Hackers, viruses, and unhappy workers can all endanger the safety of your Shopify backup. Here are three steps you can take to protect the security of your store’s data.
Encrypt your data – Your data should be protected by code that can only be opened by a limited number of keys distributed to authorized users. The key must be maintained in a secure location to prevent unauthorized users from decoding the data.
Follow the 3-2-1 rule – maintain three backup copies, two on separate media and one off-site.
Regular testing will reveal any flaws in your backup system before tragedy hits.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 on a regular basis to record new Shopify shop modifications
As this is a mechanical procedure, steps 1-5 must be performed anytime a modification is made to ensure that the backup is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Creating a backup plan or delegating this duty to a team member means ensuring that your manual backup always is up to date.
Step 7: Import CSV files whenever a little error or disaster happens in your shop
Depending on the sort of data restoration you are attempting, this procedure will take on a distinct appearance. Assume we’re working with a CSV folder that includes product information.
If you wish to recover all of your products, import the product CSV file using your Shopify dashboard, and the modifications will be displayed in your shop.
If you wish to restore a single product or a subset of goods, if you make a little error, you must sift via the CSV (which contains ALL of your products) and import precise modifications to the impacted subset of data. This is a time-consuming operation, which is why we do not suggest CSV files as a backup solution.
Step 8: Copy and paste any leftover stored information from your backup
To restore your store, you must manually enter items such as blog articles and product pictures. If any data is missing from your CSV file or other documents, you must rebuild the attributes from raw data.
Option 2: Create a Backup Plan for Your Shopify Store
Before we begin, please keep in mind that this is a basic guide. When developing a backup solution, several factors must be considered, such as GDPR compliance, data storage rules, and the implementation of significant information security controls to guarantee the safety of the repository and client data.
Here’s how to get started if you have sufficient resources on your crew and want to develop a remote backup for your Shopify store:
Step 1: Create a restore tool using Shopify’s public APIs
Some steps must be performed in order to utilize Shopify’s APIs, which may be found here – Getting Started with Shopify’s APIs.
Shopify offers a variety of APIs, each with its own set of applications. Once you have a better knowledge of the different APIs, you can figure out how to use them to collect all of the accessible information from your shop- and at what frequency to try to catch the changes you’re making.
This will necessitate the development of infrastructure to enable executing these API calls, processing the answers that Shopify provides back, and determining how to appropriately store the data you get.
Step 2: Protect your backup
Steps similar to those stated in Step 5 of the preceding section.
This is a critical stage. If the person who created this program cannot ensure the data’s security, this might not be fair. If this step is skipped, the safety of your shop and client data is jeopardized, which can have disastrous consequences for your business.
Step 3: Test and maintain the backup system you’ve created on a regular basis
We can tell you from our expertise backing up Shopify businesses that one of the most difficult issues is keeping up with Shopify’s changing APIs. Shopify has released various API improvements, most notably in versioning.
This implies that if you develop a backup solution now, it may break shortly if your app does not support the latest API versions. If a game-changing update is implemented, this will have a significant influence on your resources.
It is important that you stay current with Shopify’s APIs and test your solution on a frequent basis. This will uncover any flaws in your backup system before a crisis occurs.
Step 4: In the event of a disaster, go through your data to determine what has to be recovered
This is the section that most people miss, so pay careful attention!
When restoring data from a backup, you must first filter via the information that was supported. This appears to vary depending on whether you backed up just a few products or your entire business.
Furthermore, the method will differ based on whether you are recovering a lost item or an older version of an object (or store). Because of their reliance on one another and the order of activities, many things may be impacted.
Option 3: Choose Goshu, Set it and Forget It
Manual backups or developing your own offsite backup isn’t a bad idea, but if you don’t know how or don’t want to, let Goshu backups for Shopify handle it for you!
Our service automates your Shopify store’s daily backups. Goshu safeguards your company’s data by watching and recording changes as they happen, allowing you to backtrack and recover any minor errors or disasters. We can achieve this by utilizing all of Shopify’s public APIs to offer the most efficient and complete backup for your shop.
Our committed staff is always working with these APIs and staying on top of any changes that occur. We examine backups from the standpoint of Shopify. This enables us to restore data precisely and in the format that Shopify requires.
FAQs
1. How do I export my Shopify website?
- Log in to the admin area of your Shopify store.
- Select the store information that you wish to backup
- Select ‘Export’ from the drop-down menu.
- Check the boxes to export the current page / all goods, and afterward, click ‘Export Products’ if you’d like a simple CSV file.
2. How do I copy an entire Shopify store?
There are certain restrictions when it comes to transmitting storage information:
- Since you’re now monitoring a new.myshopify.com domain, you won’t be able to import your visitor traffic data.
- Orders cannot be transferred into a Shopify store via the admin, but they may be imported via the Shopify API. Shopify does not support this. You may receive assistance with importing purchases into the new location by hiring a Shopify professional.
- Discount coupons are not transferable.
- Gift cards that have been issued cannot be transferred
- Your previously saved custom reports cannot be moved.
- Data about visitor traffic cannot be shared.
3. Does Shopify have a backup?
To back up your store data, you may export CSV files using your Shopify admin. You may use these CSV files in conjunction with other data (like duplicates of your themes) to build a backup or replica of your store.
4. How do I download all files from Shopify?
You may back up your shop data manually by exporting a CSV of your Product Information (Products > Export) and downloading your Theme File to your desktop computer (Online Store > Themes > Actions > Download File).
Alternatively, you can also:
- Click Apps in your Shopify admin.
- Navigate to Digital Downloads.
- Select Orders.
- Click the Export Orders button.
5. Does Shopify auto backup?
Enjoy satisfaction knowing that Shopify’s top-rated backup software is automatically backing up your most essential shop data. Goshu also backs up millions of products for shops of all sizes every day.
Conclusion
Once you cease payments for your Shopify store, there is no way to retrieve them automatically. Shopify offers temporarily suspend your account at a lower monthly recurring fee.
Consider it your Shopify store’s insurance policy; you may never need it, but it can come in handy when you least expect it.
