How to restore WordPress to factory settings
Table of Contents
Introduction
Although WordPress does not have an automatic reset function. If you need to want to reset wordpress website to the factory conditions and start setting up your website from scratch. Well, you can use a free plugin to do so. Let me show you a quick way to reset your wordpress website in few minutes.
Why reset WordPress website?
First of all, restoring a WordPress website means returning WordPress to its initial settings by clearing the database of all previously installed plugins.
This reset function is normally used when for any reason (hacker attacks, malfunctions, code errors, etc.), you decide to use a backup of your website. Consequently, you have to start from scratch.
Today WordPress is the most widely used CMS in the world. Unfortunately, this situation also makes it a frequent target for hackers, so it is essential to follow some guidelines to increase security to avoid problems on our websites. Find out how to improve WordPress security.
Again, you can use the reset when you need to clean up a test or staging site that you used for a previous job and on which you have decided to start a new project.
Reset WordPress using the free WP Reset plugin
If you want to reset WordPress, here’s the easiest and fastest way to do it. The result you will get is a clean WordPress installation with just a few clicks.
To have the reset function on your website, you need to install and activate the free WP Reset plugin.
If you have difficulty installing WordPress plugins, read the appropriate guide >>>
Once the plugin is activated, from the tools menu, click on WP Reset.
To restore WordPress to factory settings, write ” reset ” in the appropriate box, and finally click on ” Reset WordPress. “
Once this is done, your website will return to its initial settings with a completely new database.
If you also want to delete the installed themes and plugins, you must use the Tools tab, clicking on “ Delete all themes ” and “ Delete plugins.”
Remember that using this plugin will remove all content and customizations from your website, so only use it if your goal is to get a clean WordPress install.
WordPress database backup plugins
BackWPup Free
Again this is the free version of a paid plugin. Unlike UpdraftPlus, this plugin offers many functions, even in the free version. Compared to the previous solution, BackWPup does not provide any file recovery function but only deals with data saving operations.
This plugin supports numerous backup destinations and allows you to select more than one for each saves operation.
You can schedule different backup plans to decide what to save, when to save, and where to archive for each of them.
BackWPup also allows you to exclude individual folders and specific database tables from backup operations. The plugin also takes care of saving sensitive files such as wp-config.php, robots.txt, .htaccess, .htpasswd, and favicon.ico present in the root directory of your site.
An excellent plugin straightforward to use and very functional, which, however, in the free version, allows you to save files only on the webserver that hosts the site. If you want to save on other FTP servers, on Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3, or other services, you need to purchase the paid version.
As mentioned, BackUpWordPress is very easy to use and does not require any particular configuration other than choosing what and when to save.
WordPress Backup to Dropbox
A plugin that allows you to backup your WP files and database for free using Dropbox as a backup storage destination. You can choose which files to exclude from backup and schedule when to save.
WP-DB-Backup
Compared to the others, this plugin has minimal functionality. It only takes care of one thing: saving the database of a WordPress site, but it does this task more than well.
With this plugin, you can, for example, schedule backups of the database and have the plugin send them to you by email. Alternatively, you can also make manual backups and download them directly to your PC.
Paid solutions and plugins for backing up a WordPress site
BackupBuddy
One of the most popular and complete paid solutions for making backups, and more, of a WordPress site.BackupBuddy, also, in addition to all the classic backup and restore functions that can also be found in many other plugins, also allows you to save time in migrating a WordPress site from one server to another.
Whether it’s a change of hosting or you’re a developer-only moving a site from development to production, BackupBuddy can help and save you much time. The plugin takes care of managing a possible change of domain of the site and the consequent problems related to the serialized data in the database.
By purchasing the plugin, you can also take advantage of 1 Gb of free space from BackupBuddy Stash, a service designed to keep backups made with BackupBuddy.
BackupBuddy also allows you to restore individual files to the server, not necessarily an entire backup. It also offers the malware scan function, an extra check to verify that your site has not been compromised.
Backup with Jetpack
This is a paid service offered by Automattic, the company that deals with WordPress.com, Akismet, WooCommerce.
The Jetpack plugin can also be used in a completely free version on all WordPress sites. It allows you to activate a series of extremely useful features on your website. The paid version of this service also allows you to secure your site data by making daily backups fully automatically.
It is an efficient, safe, and extremely easy to use solution. With a simple click, you can also restore your site from one of the available backups.
Furthermore, Jetpack’s service is not limited to backups but offers additional services for securing your site. Paid plans start at € 3.50 per month.
Blogvault
Even if it is not as popular a service as Jetpack, Blogvault offers exciting features, among which the possibility of using this service also for the migration of WordPress sites from one hosting to another (also managing the possible change of domain).
Blogvault also supports fully automated restoration of a WordPress site, i.e., without having to download or upload files manually.
The service keeps the last 30 saves made. Unlike most of the plugins dedicated to WordPress backup, Blogvault uses incremental backups. Therefore, for each backup operation, it protects only the elements that have been modified compared to the previous backup. This allows you to speed up processes, reduce bandwidth and space consumption.
Five tips for a correct backup strategy for your WordPress site
Whichever solution you decide to try, the important thing is to have the tools and put a backup strategy into action for your site.
Some useful tips
- Always make a backup before update.
- Especially when it comes to the WordPress core, theme and plugins that have a significant impact on the site (such as WPML or WooCommerce)
- Adjust the frequency of backups based on the pace of your site’s activity.
- If you publish ten posts a day, you will need to have a much closer backup frequency than a site that publishes one article a month.
- The ideal would be to keep backups in 2/3 different destinations.
- If you have the possibility, keep the backups in at least three locations, such as a cloud service, on your PC, and an external disk. Caution is never too much.
- Avoid saving useless data, especially if you have space problems.
- To speed up backup operations and waste fewer resources, it is preferable to backup only valuable content (no spam comments, useless statistics …)
- Don’t miss out on some good manual backups now and then.
- Even if you have all the necessary automatism and schedules planned, now and then, an excellent dear old manual backup certainly doesn’t hurt.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I delete all the contents of my wordpress site?
1. Install WP Reset plugin.
2. Navigate to tools tab and find reset option.
3. Type ‘reset’ in the required box and click ‘Reset’ button
All contents of your site are now deleted.
Is it necessary to backup before resetting my site?
Yes, it is highly recommended that you have a backup of your data. If anything goes wrong during the reset process or if you ever need the data in future then you can easily retrieve it.
When should you reset your site?
Some reasons to reset your wordpress website:
1. If some plugins or themes are not working properly and you cannot login to the wordpress admin section then you may need to reset your site in such case.
2. If you voluntarily want to remove all the contents of your site and start over fresh.
3. If your site is hacked or is affected by malicious codes then you need to reset your site.
In any case, make sure to have a backup of your data first.
Conclusion
I hope you now have the idea on how to reset wordpress website and also the importance of backing up the website just in case. You wouldn’t want to lose your all precious data now, would you?
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