Preparation tips for restoring your WordPress site

By TeamUpdraft Posted Category Guides and resources Topics Backups, Tips and tricks, WordPress development,

Restoring parts of your WordPress site always comes with its share of risks. We at UpdraftPlus work tirelessly to minimize these, but it’s important to remember that using our tool is essentially a do-it-yourself endeavor. You’re in the driver’s seat, which means you’re also in charge of how it’s used. If you’re not comfortable taking on that responsibility, our Premium Support could be the best option.

If your site and its backups are small—think tens of MBs, not hundreds—and you have direct access to it (i.e., it’s not hidden behind a proxy like CloudFlare or GoDaddy’s “DNS Preview”), then you’re probably good to go. Most hosting services will handle these smaller sites just fine. But if you’re moving to a new URL, keep reading; there’s a bit more to consider.

Manual restoration: The go-to for tech savvy users

Section titled Manual restoration: The go-to for tech savvy users

For those who know their way around a server, manually restoring your site via the shell or FTP is often the quickest, safest route. It bypasses the usual browser timeouts and speeds up the process significantly. We provide full instructions for those who prefer this method, though using UpdraftPlus offers unmatched convenience.

Restoration safety and completeness

Section titled Restoration safety and completeness

UpdraftPlus restores plugins, themes, uploads, and full sites using atomic operations – meaning everything is restored together, or nothing is. This dramatically reduces the chance of things being left in a half-finished state.

While not every part of a restoration behaves exactly the same way behind the scenes, the process has been carefully designed to keep risks low and outcomes reliable.

For the best results, directly access your site if possible. If it’s managed through a proxy service, consider disabling it temporarily during the restoration to avoid any restrictive timeouts that might complicate the process.

Handling database restorations carefully

Section titled Handling database restorations carefully

When it comes to restoring databases, especially on less robust hosting setups, the size of your site plays a big role in the level of risk involved. If the restoration stops midway, you might end up with a mix of old and new data. Our advice? Tackle large parts of your site in segments. Restore plugins first, themes next, and so on, saving the database for last to minimize disruptions.

If you’re setting up from ground zero, remember to tweak your wp-config.php to suit your new setup. This step is crucial to ensuring everything runs smoothly post-restoration.

Taking these steps will help ensure that your restoration process is as smooth and safe as possible, keeping surprises to a minimum and your site running smoothly.

Need more control over your site restorations?

With UpdraftPlus Premium, you can back up and restore more than just WordPress, including custom directories, external databases, and crucial files like wp-config.php. It’s the complete toolkit for advanced recovery.

About the author

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TeamUpdraft

Our team consists of WordPress developers, marketers, and industry experts committed to providing you with the resources and skills you need to succeed online. Whether you’re just starting out or seeking advanced strategies, we’re here to enhance your WordPress journey and support you at every stage.

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