FAQ >> Understanding Backup Filesize Fluctuations
Your backup filesize will vary depending on the data you are backing up, therefore if the data you have selected for backup increases in size then your backup filesizes will also increase.
If your backup filesize continually increases, or if your backup filesize is far larger than you would expect, then we recommend reviewing your files and databases selections to verify you are not backing up any unnecessary data.
For example, we would recommend excluding any unnecessary log files such as PHP 'error_log' files which may increase in size and therefore will unnecessarily increase your backup filesize.
We would also recommend excluding any temporary data your website may store, for example many websites have 'cache' directories which are used to store temporary data to improve the performance of the website - such directories do not normally need to be backed up, and they often contain a large quantity of data which may dramatically fluctuate in size.
Finally, we would recommend you exclude any directories which contain backups created by other backup software, unless you would like to maintain remote copies of those backups. If you are running any local backup software on your website then it may store a large quantity of backup data on your website which may dramatically increase your backup filesize.
If you are using WordPress and have any caching or backup plugins installed, these will likely store a large quantity of data which can be excluded from your backups.
Please note, you must ensure you do not exclude any important data which will be needed when restoring your website. If you are unsure what any data is used for, please do not exclude it from your backups until you have established it's purpose.
For guidance reviewing your files selection and excluding unnecessary data, please refer to our Domains: Files documentation.
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