How to Restore Your WordPress Site from a Backup (Step by Step)

There are two things to restore in WordPress: the files and the database. Restoring only one of them is the reason people say the restore "did not work". Files hold the themes, plugins and uploads. The database holds your posts, pages, users, settings and product data. Depending on what went wrong, you need one, the other, or both.

This page covers three restore routes, what each of them can and cannot bring back, and how to confirm the restore actually took effect rather than assuming it did.

Which situation are you in?

The column that decides your day is the third one. A files-only backup will not recover a deleted page, a plugin's settings or a customer's order, because none of that lives in the files.

Route one: restore from your hosting account backup

On our Australian plans, Acronis backups are taken hourly, which means the restore point you want is usually within the last hour.

1. Note exactly what is broken, and when it broke. Restoring the wrong point replaces working files with

older ones, and a site restored to a point before a week of work is a worse outcome than the bug you started with.

1. Take a manual backup of the current state first if you can still reach the site or the files. This is

your undo button for the restore itself.

1. Open the backup tool in cPanel and choose the most recent restore point that predates the problem.
2. Restore the specific item where possible. A single file or folder restore is far less disruptive than a

full account restore, and for a broken plugin update it is usually all you need.

1. For a whole site, restore the database first, then the files if you are doing them separately. Content

lives in the database, and restoring it usually brings the site back to a usable state.

Our Knowledge Centre covers the mechanics of both the single file restore and the whole account restore in restoring a file or site from a backup, including the note that Acronis backups are included on Australian plans and not on international ones.

Route two: the manual restore (files and database)

Use this when you have a full copy in hand rather than a restore point on the account.

1. Download the current database first. Even if it is broken, having it means you can go back.
2. Export the backup database from the copy you are restoring, or locate the .sql file you were given.
3. Create or identify the database the site should use, and import the .sql file into it through

phpMyAdmin or the database tools in cPanel.

1. Upload the files to the site's directory, overwriting wp-content and the WordPress core files. Keep

wp-config.php from the working installation if the database name, user or password differ from the backup.

1. Check the site URL settings. If the backup came from a different domain or a staging address, the site

will redirect to the old address until the home and siteurl values in the database are corrected.

1. Log in and check.

Route three: restoring from a backup plugin

A backup plugin holds its own archive, usually both files and database, and restores in one operation. It is convenient, with two caveats. The plugin has to be working in order to restore, so a compromise or a fatal error can leave you unable to use it, and the archive is often stored inside the hosting account, which means it disappears with the account if the account is the problem. Keep at least one copy of your site outside your hosting account.

Verify the restore worked

A restore is not finished when the tool says it is. Check these before you tell anyone the site is back.

• The homepage loads, and a page deep in the site loads as well
• You can log in to the admin area
• A recent post or product is present, which confirms the database restored rather than just the files
• Images in the media library display, which confirms the uploads folder restored
• Forms, checkout and any integrations work, which is where a stale database shows up
• The site loads over HTTPS without warnings

If the site loads but the content is stale, the files restored and the database did not. If the content is right but the design is broken, the opposite. That distinction tells you which half to redo.

Making the next restore unnecessary

• Test a restore before you need one. A backup you have never restored is a belief, not a backup. Pick a

quiet afternoon, restore a single file, and see how the tool behaves.

• Keep one copy off the hosting account. A backup that lives only inside the account cannot help you if the

account is the problem.

• Check that the backups are actually running. Hourly restore points are included on our Australian plans,

so the work is done for you, but it is still worth looking once.

• Take a manual backup before every major update. Plugin updates are the most common cause of the problem

you are about to fix.

Frequently asked questions

Will restoring a backup lose the work done since it was taken? Yes. Content created after the restore point is not in it. That is why hourly restore points are more useful than daily ones: the most you can lose is an hour.

Can I restore just one page or post? Not from a full account restore. Restore the database into a temporary location, export the single item, and import it back into the live database.

What if the backup is older than the problem? Then it may not carry the fix. Restore, then immediately update WordPress, its themes and its plugins, which is usually what caused the problem in the first place.

Do I need phpMyAdmin? For a manual database restore, yes, or another database tool. cPanel includes it, and our guides link to the right place.

How do I know a restore point exists for the time I need? On our Australian plans, Acronis runs hourly, so there is almost always a point within the hour. Restore points are not infinite, so the sooner you act, the more choice you have.

Do international plans include the same backups? No. Acronis backups are included on Australian plans. On an international plan, ask us what is available for your service.

Get backups included by default

Every Australian hosting plan includes Acronis hourly backups at no extra cost, so there is a restore point from within the hour when something goes wrong. If your current host takes backups nightly, or charges extra for a restore, that difference shows up on exactly the day you need it.

Primary action: See plans with hourly backups included