One of the best practices we’ve learned over the past 10 years of managing our own website and brand is the importance of regularly backing up your website. Backups can help you recover your website in the event of a cyber attack, accidental deletion of data, or other unexpected events.
However, restoring WordPress from backup files is not easy for beginners. Whether you use a plugin or restore a backup manually, mistakes can happen. Fortunately, we have a lot of experience helping users with WordPress and backups.
Therefore, in this article, we will show you step by step how to safely restore WordPress from a backup.
Understanding Backup and Restoring WordPress
There are many ways to create backups for your WordPress site. In our opinion, the best way is to use a WordPress backup plugin .
That said, you can also create a manual backup of your WordPress database and download the WordPress files using an FTP client.
Restoring WordPress from a backup depends entirely on how you created the backup. For example, a backup created with Duplicator Pro can be restored using the same plugin. Likewise, a manual backup requires a manual restore.
Many WordPress users don’t back up their entire website. They only back up their WordPress themes, upload directories, and WordPress databases. This reduces the size of the backup file, but increases the number of steps required to restore your site.
No matter how you create your backup, the basic steps are the same.
Now, let’s look at how to restore your WordPress site from a backup. Here’s a quick overview of what we’ll cover in this article:
- What to do before restoring WordPress from a backup
- Restore WordPress with Duplicator Pro
- Restoring WordPress from an UpdraftPlus backup file
- Restoring WordPress Database from Backup Using phpMyAdmin
- Restoring a WordPress Database Backup Using cPanel
- Manually Restoring WordPress Files Using FTP
- Solving WordPress backup and restore problems
- Things to do after restoring your WordPress site
- Frequently Asked Questions About Restoring WordPress Backups
Note: This guide explains how to restore a WordPress site from a backup. If you are trying to move your site to a new domain, then see our guide on how to move WordPress to a new domain without affecting SEO .
What to do before restoring WordPress from a backup
Before we discuss the different ways to restore WordPress from a backup, let’s first discuss the steps you need to take.
Of course, you should already have a backup of your WordPress site ready. You can follow our guide on backing up your WordPress site for more information.
If your backups are stored in a remote storage location such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive, then you can download the backup files from those locations to your computer.
In addition to this, you may also want to delete your old WordPress files and do a fresh install. This way, if your site is infected with malware, has corrupted files, or is missing something, it will be automatically deleted and cleaned up.
Keep in mind that you should only do this if you are sure your backup is up to date and that you have saved all your customizations and uploads.
You can delete files using cPanel or FTP. If you have the choice, we recommend using cPanel because it is faster.
Simply log in to your hosting control panel’s cPanel panel. Then under the “Files” section, click on the “File Manager” icon.
The file manager interface will now open in a new browser tab.
You need to select all the WordPress files and delete them. After selecting all the files, just click on the ‘Delete’ option.
You can also use an FTP client to delete files, but this is a much slower process.
If you haven’t used FTP before, then see our guide on how to upload files to WordPress using FTP .
For this method, simply connect to your website using an FTP client. Next, select all the files in your WordPress root directory and delete them by right-clicking on the screen and selecting the “Delete” option.
After deleting the files, you will need to reinstall WordPress and log in to your website. The installation process depends on your hosting provider. For more details, see our guide to properly installing WordPress .
Keep in mind that the installation process depends on the method you use, but it should be pretty straightforward for any non-manual method. We’ll briefly cover the steps for installing WordPress when restoring a backup manually later.
Now, you are ready to restore your WordPress backup.
Restore WordPress with Duplicator Pro
Duplicator Pro is one of the best WordPress backup plugins. It makes migrating and backing up your website very easy.
First, you need to make sure you have a complete backup of your WordPress site created by Duplicator.
Next, you need to download the backup archive file to your computer. This will be a complete copy of your WordPress files, including themes, plugins, settings, etc.
Once your backup file is ready, the next step is to install and activate the Duplicator Pro plugin. For more details, see our WordPress plugin installation guide .
Important : There is also a more basic Duplicator plugin that provides useful backup and migration functionality for free. However, in order to use that plugin to restore these backups and follow this tutorial, you will need to purchase the Duplicator Pro premium plan .
Upon activation, you can go to Duplicator Pro » Import Backup from your WordPress dashboard . Next, you can simply upload your archive file by dragging and dropping or clicking on the ‘Choose File’ button.
The plugin will now upload the archive file and show you the details.
You can review the details and click the Continue button.
Next, you’ll need to set a restore point so you can quickly restore your site to a previous date.
Once you are done, you can click on the Set Up button.
Afterwards, you will be given a recovery URL that you can store and use anytime in the future.
From here, you can scroll down and click on the “Launch Installer” button.
Next, you need to deploy the package. The plugin will outline the installation details and allow you to choose between “ Complete Single Site Installation” and “Restore Single Site”.
You can select the Restore a Single Site option and then scroll down to click on the Verify button.
Once verification is complete, you will need to click the checkbox to accept the terms and notices.
After that, just click on the Next button.
A new window will now pop up showing the installation confirmation.
You can click the OK button to continue.
The installer will now extract your backup archive file. Once it is finished you should see the results of the installation.
You just need to click on the "Admin Login" button to complete the installation of the backup.
Go ahead and log in to your WordPress dashboard.
That’s it! You have now successfully restored your WordPress site from a Duplicator backup.
Restoring WordPress from an UpdraftPlus backup file
UpdraftPlus is another popular premium WordPress backup plugin. If you use UpdraftPlus to create backups, then this section is for you.
UpdraftPlus provides a very convenient way to restore WordPress from a backup. You need to log in to your WordPress website and then go to Settings » UpdraftPlus Backup page.
From here, you can go to the Backup/Restore tab in the plugin settings.
Next, you need to scroll down to the Existing Backups section.
If you already have a backup file of UpdraftPlus, you should see it in this section. Simply click the Restore button corresponding to the backup you want to install. Alternatively, you can also choose to upload a backup file from your computer or cloud storage.
After that, you need to select the components you want to restore. The options include Plugins, Themes, Uploads, Essential Plugins, etc.
Once you have made your selection, just click on the Next button.
The plugin will then process the backup file.
When you are ready, you can click the Restore button.
The plugin will then start restoring the components you selected previously.
Once the recovery is complete, you will see a message saying “Recovery Successful!” The plugin also displays an activity log so you can keep track of the files you have recovered.
Just click the Return to UpdraftPlus Configuration button to continue.
When you return to the Plugins page in your WordPress dashboard, you will see that the backup has been restored.
UpdraftPlus also allows you to delete old folders present from previous WordPress installations. If you haven’t deleted those folders yet, just click on the ‘Delete Old Folders’ button.
That's it. You have successfully restored your backup using UpdraftPlus.
Restoring WordPress Database from Backup Using phpMyAdmin
When restoring a manually created backup, you may be faced with two options. You can either create a new database and import the backup into it, or you can empty the existing database and import the backup.
If you are cleaning a hacked WordPress site, it is very important to change the MySQL username and password before creating a new database or importing it into an existing database.
To create a new database, log in to the cPanel dashboard of your WordPress hosting account and click on the MySQL Databases icon.
Next, you will be asked to provide a name for the database.
Once you are finished, click on the Create Database button.
After creating a new database, you need a MySQL user associated with the new database.
Simply scroll down to the MySQL Users section and add a new user.
Next, you need to add this user to the MySQL database.
Scroll down to the Add User to Database section, select the user and database from the drop-down menus, and click the Add button.
Now your new database is ready. You can use it to restore your WordPress database backup.
Go to your cPanel dashboard again and click on phpMyAdmin under Databases.
Next, you will see the phpMyAdmin screen.
Go ahead and click on the “Import” tab at the top of the screen.
Then, simply click on the ‘Choose File’ button to select your WordPress database backup file. After that, click on the ‘Start’ button at the bottom of the page to continue.
phpMyAdmin will now upload your backup and import it into your database. Once it is finished you will see a success message.
That’s it! You have successfully imported your WordPress database.
The next step is to install WordPress using the new database. If you already have WordPress installed, simply add the new database settings to your files.
Restoring a WordPress Database Backup Using cPanel
If you create a WordPress database backup manually using cPanel in shared hosting , then you can also restore that database using cPanel itself.
First, log in to your cPanel account. Under the "Files" section, click "Backup."
On the Backups page, scroll down to Restore a MySQL Database Backup.
Next, click the "Choose File" button and select the backup file from your hard drive. Once you are done, click the "Upload" button.
It's that simple!
Manually Restoring WordPress Files Using FTP
To manually restore WordPress using FTP, you will need to download a fresh copy of WordPress from WordPress.org and extract it to your hard drive.
After that, you can launch your FTP client and upload all WordPress files to your server.
After uploading your WordPress files, you can wp-config.phpupload the files from your backup (provided you are sure it is clean and not compromised).
Alternatively, you can wp-config-sample.phprename the file in the newly uploaded WordPress file wp-config.php. After that, you need to edit the file and enter the database information.
Don’t forget to save the file and upload it back to your website.
Next, you need to upload the additional files from your backup. We recommend that you only upload images from your directory /wp-content/uploads/.
Once these are uploaded, visit your website to check that everything is working properly.
Next, you need to log in to your WordPress admin area and start installing the plugin on your website.
Now, you can proceed with installing your theme. If you customized your WordPress theme or used a child theme, you can restore from a backup. However, make sure the files are clean.
Finally, go to Settings » Permalinks and adjust the permalink settings to match your website, then update the permalinks.
Solving WordPress backup and restore problems
If you carefully follow the instructions we outlined above, hopefully you won’t run into any problems restoring your WordPress backup.
However, there are some common issues you might encounter when restoring your WordPress site. Here are some guidelines for fixing them:
- How to Fix Error Establishing Database Connection in WordPress
- How to Fix 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress
- How to Fix WordPress Posts Returning 404 Error (Step-by-Step Instructions)
Otherwise, you may want to check out our ultimate guide on the most common WordPress errors and how to fix them .
Things to do after restoring your WordPress site
After successfully restoring your site, we strongly recommend that you improve your site security.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you regularly create backups using one of the WordPress backup plugins.
To keep your site safe after a hack, we also recommend that you change your WordPress password immediately. If you run a multi-user site, it is recommended that all users update their passwords as soon as possible.
You can also install a website firewall to protect your website from future cyber attacks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Restoring WordPress Backups
Here are some common questions users ask about restoring WordPress backups:
1. How do I restore my WordPress site from a backup?
It depends on how you created your WordPress backup. If you used a backup plugin like Duplicator Pro and have access to your WordPress admin panel, then restoring it can be done with just a few clicks.
However, if you created the backup manually or you don't have access to the backend of your website, you will need to restore it manually using your hosting provider's control panel or File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
If you’re restoring your website after a hack or cyber attack, you may also need to delete all of your site’s corrupted files and reinstall WordPress before you can restore a clean backup.
2. Where are my WordPress backups stored?
If you use a backup plugin, it will create a default location on your hosting server to store the files. Usually, this location is in the wp-content folder. However, depending on your backup tool, sometimes you can choose a different cloud storage service (such as Google Cloud, Dropbox, or One Drive) to save your backups.
3. Does WordPress save backups?
Unfortunately, WordPress does not offer any automatic backup features. You can manually create WordPress backups using your hosting provider’s cPanel or FTP client. Or, if you prefer an easier method, you can use a backup plugin. Some hosting providers also offer the option to automatically create backups.
4. Can I restore my old WordPress website?
Yes, you can restore specific parts of your WordPress site, such as a single page or database. If you regularly create full site backups using a plugin, then you can even restore an older version of your entire site. All you have to do is select the specific time and date you want to restore WordPress to.
We hope this article helped you learn how to restore WordPress from backup . You may also want to check out our ultimate step by step guide on how to backup WordPress site to Dropbox and how to connect Google Drive to WordPress media library .
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