Should I buy the backup plan on iPage web hosting?

Quation:  I’m registering for a website/domain on iPage. I’m choosing packages, and it offers a $ 12.95 a year site backup fee to protect your information. Is this necessary? They advertise their prices for as low as $ 84 a year, but when you look at the plans, they start you out around $ 150… I’m on a budget.
Thanks!

Answer:  The backup option is optional and you can un-tic the selection on the order page.  But before you do, know this.  If you don’t have them backup your entire site on a regular basis, then you have to do it.  I’ve had web hosting accounts for just about 15 years and I do NOT remember to do them.  You have to backup the files, the databases, and email.  Then you have to download them to your computer and keep them in a safe place.  If you website crashes or gets hacked, you’ll have the backups to restore it.

Also, web hosts do some backups, but only to a certain limit.  If your sites go beyond their minimum “free backup” limit, your site will NOT be backed up.  So yes, you MUST have a backup plan.  My suggestion is to let iPage do it for you. 

If you’re on a budget, then do it yourself and save the $12.95 a year.  You can always add it later on, but don’t wait to lock the barn doors after the cows have already escaped!

You can do your own backups in the iPage control panel.  Don’t forget to download them.