Archiving · July 2, 2026 · 5 min read
One rule before you start: only back up sites you own or are explicitly authorized to archive — your own server, a client site you manage, or content you have written permission to copy. Downloading a site you don't control can violate copyright, terms of service, or computer-misuse law. EZ Website Backup asks you to confirm this before every new domain, and ties each job to your account.
Every redesign quietly loses something — an old landing page, a PDF nobody remembered, the exact wording of a testimonial. Capturing a full snapshot before you touch anything means you can always go back and check what used to be there.
Why archive before you migrate
- Nothing gets lost. You have every page and file as it existed on the day.
- You can compare. Old copy, old structure, old images — side by side with the new build.
- Redirects get easier. The crawl gives you a complete list of the old URLs so you can map them to new ones and avoid dead links.
- It's a safety net. If the migration goes sideways, the old site still exists on your drive.
Step by step
- Open the app, paste your site's root URL, and confirm ownership.
- In Advanced options, push Crawl depth and Max pages up so you capture the whole site, and include subdomains in scope.
- Run the crawl and let it complete fully — this is the one time you want everything, not a sample.
- Click Download all. Label the ZIP with the date; that's your frozen "before" snapshot.
Tip: the file tree doubles as a site map. Filter to Pages and you've got a clean inventory of every URL to migrate and redirect.
Keep the snapshot after launch
Don't delete the archive once the new site is live. Hold it for a few months — that's exactly when someone asks "what did the old pricing page say?" and you can answer in seconds instead of digging through a defunct host.
Back up your site in the next minute
Point EZ Website Backup at a URL you own, watch the file tree fill in, and download exactly what you need.
Open the app →