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Before redesigning a business website, preserve the old site as evidence: URLs, text, metadata, media, PDFs, redirects, screenshots and search data. Decide what to keep, merge or retire only after the inventory exists.
A real pre-redesign website archive combines a crawlable web capture with CMS/server exports, database and media copies, DNS records, screenshots, external-service notes and verification that the archive can actually be opened or replayed.
When hosting, domain access or a vendor relationship is about to disappear, preserve first and repair later. Save the highest-value assets in access order: domain control, full host backup, database, media, CMS export, DNS/email records and a public web capture.
Recover a neglected business website by preserving the current state first, regaining control of domain and hosting, inventorying the software and integrations, backing everything up, then repairing or rebuilding in a safe environment.
A recoverable website backup includes the database or content store, uploads, code, configuration, DNS details and critical external dependencies, with another copy outside the production account and regular restore testing.