Version Control Basics: Why Your Website Needs Git

When we take over websites built by other developers, one of the first questions we ask is "where's the Git repository?" Too often, the answer is a blank stare or "we just have the files on the server." This represents a significant risk that many business owners don't understand until something goes wrong.

What Is Version Control?

Version control is a system that tracks changes to files over time. Every modification is recorded: what changed, when, and by whom. You can review history, compare versions, and restore previous states.

Git is the dominant version control system for software development. It's free, open-source, and used by virtually every professional development team. GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket are popular services for hosting Git repositories.

Why Version Control Matters

Complete History

With Git, every change to your website's code is recorded. If something breaks, you can see exactly what changed and when. You can compare the working version to the broken version and identify the problem precisely.

Without version control, "what changed?" becomes archaeology—trying to remember what was different, checking backup dates, hoping someone documented their changes. This wastes hours and often fails to find the cause.

Safe Experimentation

Git allows developers to create "branches"—parallel versions of the code. A developer can experiment with a new feature in a branch without affecting the live site. If the experiment fails, the branch is simply deleted. If it succeeds, it merges into the main codebase.

Without branching, changes happen directly on production code. Every modification risks breaking the live site. Developers become conservative, afraid to try anything ambitious.

Collaboration

When multiple developers work on a project, Git tracks everyone's changes and helps merge them together. Conflicts—when two people modify the same code—are identified and can be resolved systematically.

Without version control, collaboration is chaotic. One developer's changes overwrite another's. Files get out of sync. "Which version is current?" becomes an unanswerable question.

Accountability

Git records who made each change. This isn't about blame—it's about understanding. When you see unusual code, you can find who wrote it and ask about their reasoning. When a bug appears, you can identify when it was introduced.

Backup and Recovery

A Git repository hosted on GitHub or similar is automatically backed up, distributed across servers, and accessible from anywhere. If your development machine dies, the code survives. If your server is compromised, you can rebuild from the repository.

Without version control, code often exists only on the production server. One catastrophic failure could lose everything.

What "No Git" Really Means

When a website has no version control, several problems emerge:

No change history: You can't see what was modified, when, or why. Debugging becomes guesswork.

No easy rollback: If an update breaks something, you can't simply revert. You might have manual backups, but restoring them is slow and often incomplete.

Developer dependency: Only the original developer truly understands the current state. Knowledge is trapped in their head, not recorded in history.

Risky updates: Every change to production is high-stakes. There's no safety net.

Difficult handovers: When you need a new developer, they inherit a mystery. Without history, understanding the codebase takes much longer.

How Git Works in Practice

A simplified view of a professional workflow:

Clone: Developer downloads the repository to their local machine.
Branch: They create a branch for their specific task.
Develop: They make changes, testing locally.
Commit: They save changes to the branch with a message explaining what changed.
Push: They upload the branch to the central repository.
Review: Optionally, others review the changes before merging.
Merge: The branch is merged into the main codebase.
Deploy: The updated main codebase is deployed to production.

This process creates a clear audit trail, enables review before changes go live, and makes rollback simple if problems emerge.

What You Should Expect

Any professional development project should include:

A Git repository: All code should be tracked in version control from day one.

Hosted backup: The repository should be hosted on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or similar. Your internal server alone isn't sufficient.

Your ownership: You should have access to the repository. It's your code—you shouldn't depend on the developer to access it.

Meaningful commits: Changes should be committed with descriptive messages, not "fixed stuff" or "updates."

Branching discipline: Features should be developed in branches, not directly on production code.

If Your Website Lacks Version Control

If your current website has no Git repository, it's worth addressing:

Establish a repository: Have a developer initialise Git and commit the current codebase.
Host it properly: Push to GitHub or similar for backup and accessibility.
Document the process: Ensure future changes follow proper version control practices.

This isn't a major project—a few hours of developer time provides significant protection.

Questions to Ask Your Developer

When hiring a developer or agency, ask:

Will the code be in Git from the start?
Where will the repository be hosted?
Will I have access to the repository?
What's your branching and deployment workflow?

Hesitation or vague answers on these points is a red flag. Professional developers use version control—it's not optional.

Our Approach

Every project we undertake uses Git from the first line of code. Repositories are hosted on GitHub with client access. We use branch-based development and meaningful commit messages. When projects conclude, clients have complete code history and full ownership.

If you're concerned about version control for an existing project, or want to ensure a new project follows best practices, get in touch. We're happy to advise or take over projects that need proper development practices established.