Restore, repair or rebuild: which does your site need?
Restoring brings back an earlier version, repairing addresses a particular fault, and rebuilding creates a new website. They solve different problems. A restore may suit an accidental loss, but an old copy cannot automatically fix the cause of an outage or deliver a business requirement the site never supported.
Useful context
- Record what stopped working, when it last worked and what changed around that time.
- Keep the current state and available backup details intact; avoid repeated restores or deleting files while the cause is unclear.
How it works
Describe the result you need
Recovering a deleted menu, repairing an enquiry form and replacing an unsuitable platform are separate tasks. Write one sentence describing the desired outcome. This gives a maintainer something concrete to assess and prevents a small fault being mistaken for a reason to replace everything.
Check whether a useful earlier state exists
Identify an available copy from before the problem and ask what newer information a restore could replace. An older website may contain obsolete prices or miss recent enquiries. Agree how that information would be preserved or reconciled before approving a production restoration.
Investigate the cause, not just the appearance
A host outage, expired subscription or changed external tool may still affect a restored site. Where the cause is unknown, ask for an assessment. If there are signs of compromise, use the host’s security response route rather than treating recovery as an ordinary content rollback.
Choose a scoped next step
A known, supported fault may fit a focused repair. A sound, compatible brochure site may suit Refresh when you want managed hosting too. A different structure or platform move may need Rebuild. Confirm suitability and exclusions; neither main plan is a promise to recover missing data.
What to check
- The proposed route addresses the actual problem or business need.
- Any information at risk from restoring has been identified.
- The scope, approvals and remaining uncertainty are clear before work starts.
Sources and further reading
Platform features can change. Check the provider’s current guidance before changing a live service.