Plan a rollback before you change your homepage

Key takeaways

A rollback plan means you can rollback website changes in minutes if a new homepage breaks. Take a full backup, keep the old page available, agree what would trigger a reversal and name who does it. Most launches never need it, but knowing that you can undo a change makes a launch much calmer.

• Take and test a full backup before launch.
• Keep the old homepage available.
• Agree in advance what triggers a rollback.
• Name who can do it, and when.

What is a website rollback?

A rollback restores a previous working version of your site after a change has gone wrong. It may mean restoring a backup, re-publishing an old page or switching a theme back. It is simple insurance. A bad homepage on your busiest day can cost more than the whole project.

• How to create a high-converting homepage for an SME
• Build your new homepage on a staging site
• Change one thing at a time: a homepage change log

What should you back up?

Back up your files, your database and any settings that are not held in either. On WordPress that includes the theme, plugins and media. On Shopify, duplicate the theme. On hosted builders, keep a duplicate of the site or page, where available. A backup you have never restored is only a hope.

• Create a WordPress homepage that converts
• Create a Shopify homepage that sells

What should trigger a rollback?

Agree on triggers before launch: enquiries or sales stop, the form fails, checkout breaks, the site is down or there is a major error on phones. Small cosmetic problems do not count. Fix those on the live page. Deciding in advance prevents panic, and it stops arguments on launch day.

• Homepage launch day: the order to do things in
• Test your homepage enquiry route from end to end

Who should be able to roll back?

Name one person and a backup, confirm that they have the logins and make sure they will be available for 48 hours after launch. Launching on a Friday afternoon with the developer about to go on leave is how small problems become long ones.

• When to launch a new homepage: pick the quiet week

What about data changes during launch?

Restoring a full backup can overwrite orders, form entries or customers added since it was taken. On shops and booking sites, restore only the theme or page, or export recent data first. Ask your developer how they would avoid losing those records, because this catches many people out.

• Website launch checklist: before, during and after

When is a rollback the wrong response?

It is wrong for slow declines or disappointing early results, because new pages need time, and search can fluctuate after a change. Use it for clear breakages. For performance disappointments, diagnose the problem and improve the page. A rollback also will not undo problems caused by removed redirects, so fix those directly.

• Homepage conversions dropped after a change? Check these
• How long until homepage changes show results?

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see during launches: a backup exists, but nobody has tested it, and the login sits with a freelancer who is unavailable. Running one practice restore on staging before launch day usually exposes the gap, while there is still time to close it.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Homepage rollback checklist

• Take a full backup.
• Test the restore on staging.
• Keep the old page or theme.
• Write down your triggers.
• Name the person and a backup.
• Protect recent orders and forms.

• One homepage address: www, non-www and redirects
• Make your homepage easy to edit yourself

Next step

Ask whoever runs your website how long it would take to restore yesterday's version. If nobody knows, that is your first task.