Manually Restore WordPress Site From Backup (Database, Files & Folders) | WP Learning Lab

[@Mr.Zen_73]

7 years later and this video saved my ass! Couldn't for the life of me work out how to restore my wordpress website from backup files I did a few years ago (and forgot how I did the backup). Website is working perfectly again now!

[@AmeliaEveRose]

I appreciate a teqnical person as yourself made a video explaining how to accomplish how to do a backup of a website for people like me who are not tech savvy. I lost everything because my hosting company didn't have cpanel. I understand know you cannot rely on a hosting company. You cannot rely on plugins. You cannot rely on someone else to do this for you without changing hundreds of dollars. From watching your video and the tragedy I experienced I have came to the conclusion I need to implement your backup stragety myself from scratch and know how to do everything myself. I believe this is the most important thing to know when having a website how to backup and restore from scratch. I'm so glad I found your video. I will attempt this myself I will then let everyone know my results.

[@wplearninglab]

+Brittany Quinn I'm sorry to hear you lost your site because of your host, that is painful! I do believe you can use plugins for having up your site and they are often reliable. But like you said, you also have to know to do it yourself so you're not helpless when something goes sideways. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@JamesQQuick]

Great stuff!!

[@wplearninglab]

Awesome, thanks for watching James!

[@mustafak4378]

Just restored a hacked website! Thank you so much for this video! Still working great!

[@rifatmia1308]

I am happy to see this video 7 years later. Thanks ❤

[@wplearninglab]

Man time flies!

[@RossGoldberg24601]

Thank you for the video. A rogue plugin infected my father's wordpress install, so I had to wipe the whole thing. Luckily I had a manual backup from before the incident, and this helped me quickly restore everything cleanly and easily. Everyone is happy again!

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Ross, Sorry for the delay in responding. Our third child arrived 12 days ago and it's been a bit of a gong show around here 👶 Backups to the rescue again! I'm glad everyone is happy again :)

[@winkipinky]

Thanks again, this tutorial was concise, well detailed and to the point.. plus easy to follow. Thank you very much!!!

[@wplearninglab]

+winkipinky You're very welcome, thanks again for watching!

[@JamesSamples]

2021 and it's still helpful. Thank you, Bjorn.

[@wplearninglab]

You’re welcome James, thanks for watching!

[@OnlineZiggasa]

Hi, How could i do change hosting? Please Help me step by step.

[@rmcellig]

This is so easy. I hate using plugins!! Thanks!!!😀

[@zulfikeryahya5375]

I also hate using plugins

[@nuovonovathegreatoutdoors]

Thank you for the detailed demonstration. I have a question regarding cPanel. I use WordPress for hosting and not HostGator and I seem not to be able to find the cPanel in my WordPress dashboard. Can you please give me a hint accordingly?

[@MelodysKitchen]

whaaaaa this video was made 7 years ago... Glad I found you 7 years later.

[@wplearninglab]

Wow, time flies!!!!

[@andreavairo8884]

Great video, congratulations! Just one question, please: if something get wrong with my website and I need to do a restore as you explain in this video, I have to delete all the tabs in my database before restoring the last backup copy? Thank you in advance :)

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Andrea, Yes, if your backup is of the entire database and you are restoring the entire database then you will have to "drop" the entire database before you upload the backup. If you don't then you should just get an error message saying the upload didn't work. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@andreavairo8884]

Ok thank you so much!

[@crazyforcanada]

This is cool. But I have a different wrinkle to solve. I'm trying to restore a web site from years ago made in localhost using a backup plugin with no restore feature. So all I have is a zip folder with the backup of my site in localhost. I have used Softaculous to make a fresh installation of wordpress under my new chosen domain name that's different from the site name when it was in localhost. Do I drop all the tables of the fresh site in phpmyadmin and import my old database from my localhost site? Then do I keep the config file from the old site and over-write the config file on the fresh installation? Or do I keep the fresh config file and ignore the old one? Do I need to run some kind of url updater after all this? If so, what's my old url? Because it's not a regular domain name, it's something with the word "localhost" in it, and no dot-com at the end. Thanks in advance.

[@tonysheppard5457]

Thanks very much for this, It helped me a lot in restoring my website! Just what I wanted.

[@Azarie03]

2019 and it's still helpful. Thank you, Bjorn.

[@x7m]

what about files like ini.php file outside the website file under public_html section do this matter when backing up?

[@andersbrinchmann3356]

Great video - thanks You for sharing YOur knowledge! I have a related question. I have a wordpress site with woocommerce and would like to start over with a new theme but keep the database. I imaging doing this locally on my PC and then when finished uploade the new site to my domain. How do I just copy the DB to a new Wordpress intallation? And is it possible to uploade this to my domain afterwoods? Are there anything I have to keep in mind doing this? Br Anders

[@wplearninglab]

+Anders Brinchmann Hi Anders, I would move the entire site to your local computer: all files and the whole database. Then install it and make sure it's identical to the live site. This way you won't be missing any functionality that you have on the live site. At that point you can easily install a new theme and change the design. I would also recommend using the Duplicator plugin for the move. I have a tutorial for it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZzNcqt3aZ2Gd5o That plugin will make it super simple. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@andersbrinchmann3356]

WordPress Tutorials - WPLearningLab Great input thank you ☺ If I afterwoods need to update the DB because of eg new orders would that be possible and how?

[@wplearninglab]

+Anders Brinchmann That's a little more tricky. I would find out which Woocommerce tables in the database are updated whenever an order ID placed. Then export those tables manually through myPHPAdmin. Then import them manually in your local computer's MySQL database.

[@andersbrinchmann3356]

Sounds a bit tricky - think I have to test it on a demo site before doing it on my live site :-D Thank You for Your help! :-)

[@wplearninglab]

+Anders Brinchmann It is a bit tricky. Just make backups of everything when you do it. After you fooi it a few times it'll be a breeze.

[@WilliamOstertagJr_aka-Tony]

THANKS SO MUCH! Took a bit of googling and youtubing, but finally found what I was looking for after a call to the host provider for basically only some new keywords thrown at me to continue researching!

[@wplearninglab]

William Ostertag Jr. I'm glad I could help! Figuring out the manual restore was actually one of the most frustrating things for me when I was starting out too.

[@wplearninglab]

William Ostertag Jr. I'm glad I could help! Figuring out the manual restore was actually one of the most frustrating things for me when I was starting out too.

[@benadkins3270]

You are so awesome. I wonder why your channel doesn't have over 500K subscribers.

[@wplearninglab]

+Ben Adkins Thanks Ben! All channels have you start somewhere and the beginning is always the slowest/hardest in any thing you do. Although 500k subs would be sweet I don't think there are they many wordpressors in here. The biggest WP channel I know if had around 150k subs last time I checked.

[@romicatanasache1773]

My website broke and I was able to recover it. Many thanks :)

[@ReelyboredJon]

Is there anyway to navigate and browse posts from an old backup file to retrieve some old posts?

[@barrettokarate]

I was building a wordpress site on my localhost and would periodically back it up to an external hard drive. I recently updated to a more recent version of XAMPP. I created a new database for my site using the same info as before and pasted a copy of my site's entire folder from its last backup into the htdocs folder. But when I login to my dashboard nothing is there except my plugins and of course when I type in the URL I get the "Hello World" page. Should I attempt to do what's in the video or is there another way?

[@worldamogh436]

I have got a backup zip file of my website. I want to change the hosting of it. So will the zip file be enough to restore the entire website as it was and also the WP Dashboard?

[@saidafernandez9365]

Hi, my zip file will not work, getting error mssge #1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near '-------------------------------------------------------- [2016-10-23 21:16:36 -0' at line 1, pls help thank you!

[@FiberDesignsbyAnn]

Very good instructions. When attempting to restore my zip file a message comes up that tells me the maxi size to upload and that my zip file is too large. What to do? Thanks for any help.

[@kentjensen4504]

Both these tutorials are brilliant.

[@vpk800]

I have a WP-content folder and WP DtaBase but the problem is I had taken the backup on last week and two days ago i had changed my WordPress domain name .Do you think i can restore with those files

[@blueghost8057]

Is this better than using a backup plugin?

[@OliverWilliamDK]

Hi Bjorn, Thank you for all your great videos. I am working locally and my Apache has stopped working. And is was wondering if and how I can adopt the appoach you are shopwing here. Can I make a backup of my WordPress site and transfer it when I have reinstall Xammp? How to do this best, so I don’t have to start over? I cannot access phpmyadmin, so I am unsure how to get the database files? Best,

[@TheMaisonshirley]

2020 and its still helpful. thank you Bjorn

[@wplearninglab]

You’re welcome Shirley, thanks for watching!

[@alix6477]

Thank you very much! I didn't want to use plugins and save it on online services (i'm working offline), there were only videos WITH plugins and there you are! :)

[@albertoverissimo2790]

So, if you update your website and something goes wrong you always have to go back and delete both he core files and the database? or just the main files and you leave the database as it was?

[@killerncgaming]

Another great video!

[@wplearninglab]

+KillerncGaming :-)

[@killerncgaming]

Do you have any videos teaching how to add large mysql databases to phpmyadmin? I have a large database and hostgator is not letting me import it

[@wplearninglab]

+KillerncGaming I don't have one like that. You will probably have to contract Hostgator support. Either they will be able to import it for you or they will be able to raise the limit on your account.

[@greenlife-gardens]

Thanks , you might have saved my life in the future.

[@wplearninglab]

That's what I'm all about! Thanks for watching!

[@LotusLyn24]

Hi Bjorn, I was watching other videos prior to watching your easy to follow video. I had to delete my WordPress site because the directory is missing. I downloaded my WordPress files singly ie. wp-content; wp-theme etc instead of zipping them. I have backed them up though. I found that Updraft Plus has backed up these files and so did DropBox! I discovered this when trying to restore and saw the many files in addition to Updraft's and Dropbox zips. Now I am confused as to what should be uploaded via ftp . Your advice please...thank you

[@wplearninglab]

+LotusLyn24 Lucky that you have a backup of your site! Deleting the WordPress site files doesn't delete the database so your should be able to simply upload all the backed up files. Assuming it was a full back up with all of the root directory contents (wp-config.php,index.php,etc), the wp-admin folder, the wp-content folder and the wp-includes folder the you can upload all those files to the correct directory and it should work. I hope that helps or let me know more specifics of your situation.

[@maxblogslife8542]

I have found you video very interesting and has helped me a lot. When I download my Backup from the file manager as I'm on MAC it comes as a folder. Should I compress the folder into a zip file? When I'm done downloading the folder should I delete it from the File manager or should I leave it there?

[@wplearninglab]

+MaxBlogsLife If you can upload the folder through file manager go for it. If not, upload the zip file and then delete the zip once you 've extracted the file on the server. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@maxblogslife8542]

Thanks, I have the file on the server and off the server, Thanks for the info, quick question. Should I turn the folder into a zip file ?

[@wplearninglab]

+MaxBlogsLife I only zip it for faster uploading to the server and so I can use file manager to upload. So it's really just a matter of preference.

[@maxblogslife8542]

Okay thanks

[@carmelg2490]

Thank you Bjorn for your helpful videos as always. You mentioned that it is a security risk to retain a zip file on server. What about those back-up (zip) files automatically created and stored on the server by some backup plugins? What do we do about them? And also those templates in zip files that has to be uploaded on the website? Thank you

[@wplearninglab]

+Sunshine G Hi Sunshine, if you want to be extra cautious I would use a backup plugin that sends the backups to your email or uploaded them to a service like DropBox or Amazon S3. Templates in zip files usually don't stay in zip files for long because you install the template. Hackers simply search for vulnerabilities. The more themes, plugins, and files you have on your server the more likely it is that something is out of date and insecure. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@carmelg2490]

Thank you so much for your quick reply. Please continue what you do as it helps many. I wish you joy and success!

[@dr.johnandyvonnewagner5067]

I bookmarked this video incase I ever need it to restore the files I backed up. Thanks again for the help.

[@wplearninglab]

Hi John, That's smart. I'll be recording a video soon on how I schedule my backups and restore a site if anything happens. It's using a free plugin. The manual way as I show in this video is always great to know, but it's also great to know other ways to accomplish something :)

[@texagonproductions1353]

Excellent! Brief, concise and accurate. Made my day!

[@wplearninglab]

[VIDEO] Manually restore WordPress site from backup (database, files & folders) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYPEq4CLo6d5pLM #WordPress #tutorial

[@MrWcredranger]

+WP Learning Lab Can you restore a site with just phpmyadmin backup?

[@wplearninglab]

+Alex Krueger Hi Alex. That will only partially work. By just restoring the database you won't be restoring the wp-content folder which contains your plugins, themes and uploads (images, pdfs and anything you upload via the Media Library).

[@sachinh4466]

Is it possible to use and upload WordPress backup files if I change the domain name of my WordPress website.

[@wplearninglab]

It is possible. There may be an easier way though, what are you trying accomplish?

[@rahultech77]

Doing it manually is harder if you are changing your domain name. You need to replace the domain name in the database and few more steps. Using a plugin would be easier in that case. Personally I've used all-in-one-wp-migration plugin in the recent past and it has worked well for me.

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Rahul, I like the All-in-One Migration plugin too. I have manual migration tutorials that deal with changing domain names in the database, this one isn't that type of tutorial. Thanks for watching!

[@WorkWithJuan]

Would the old username and password be the same?

[@onagreencloud8577]

Hi Bjorn, Really enjoy your video content. How would you tackle those same processes if the backup files are larger than myphpadmin will accept ??

[@wplearninglab]

Good question Ona! The only way is to upload the SQL file via SSH (or possibly FTP). I have not made a tutorial on this yet, but it's on my list. Essentially, you contact your host's support and ask them to turn on SSH for your account. Then using terminal on Mac or the command line on Windows you upload the SQL file to the root of your hosting account directly from your hard drive. There are lots of help articles for this online. Then your host's support can import the uploaded SQL file from the root into your phpMyAdmin. In short, it's a pain, but I hope that helps!

[@aniketjoshi7518]

Very helpful video. You are an expert and gem.

[@wplearninglab]

Thanks Aniket and thanks for watching!

[@keosem1070]

Is zipping the folders and downloading them basically the same thing as a Cpanel partial backup, plus a Cpanel backup of the database?

[@yvonnejohnson3710]

I am unable to access the WP Admin and need to upload my Updraft Plus backup files to my Cpanel in order to restore my website. I have 5 zip files (uploads, themes, plugins, others, db.gz). I believe that 4 of the files are uploaded into the File Manager folder and the db.gz is uploaded to phpmyadmin. Although your video was informative, I need you to elaborate on the exact procedure. My website is still up but all of the formatting is missing along with all of the plugins. Thanks in advance for your help.

[@emmanuelkachi8599]

thank you very much sir......i have a website that am designing as a student but along the line my xampp control panel was short down unexpectedly so i lost the site ,,, so please sir, is there any possibility of getting the site back?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Emmanuel, xammp just loads website files from your harddrive and xammp crashing shouldn't delete your local files in most cases. You should be able to find your site files on your harddrive and hopefully reconnect them to your xammp dashboard. Maybe by creating an xammp site of the same name?

[@craigsmith1800]

Hi Bjorn, quick question. If you're copying a WordPress installation site into a subdirectory, if you create a new SQL database, can you import your saved .sql backup file into the new database and be good to go? or is there something more you have to do? (Aside from copying all the WordPress files over first).

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Craig, I usually export the SQL file. Then open the SQL file in a text editor (I use Sublime Text 2). I find and replace the original domain name in the SQL with new one. Or in this case, replace with the subdirectory (eg. domain name.com/subdirectory). This will update all the absolute URLs in the db. There can be a lot of them. Once the URLs are updated I upload the SQL into the new DB. Does that make sense? You can also try using a plugin to do the migration. It can be quite a bit easier. Here's a tutorial for the duplicator plugin: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZzNcqt3aZ2Gd5o I hope that helps. Let me know how it goes!

[@hibald8351]

Hello Thanks for your tutorials...in my work want from me to add some thing like snapADDY imprint crawler in our WordPress site ....so is there any ideas how to do that please I would be appreciate...

[@WebDeveloper08]

Wow you make it so easy, thank you! 1 Question, If I create a addon domain on my hosting and then upload the backup files including the sqldatabase also, will that be enough or do I need to install wordpress first before I manually upload files? Thank you for you reply

[@syedzaidi8735]

Can't find the link where you have created the backup..

[@jdcoetzer7413]

Hi, thanks for the tutorial. I'm just wondering is htdocs the "document root"?I'm trying to move my site to a new host, but I want to have the same domain. I did download everything like in the tutorial, and to test it, I created a new site and transferred the files, but all that happened is, when I type in my new domain, it redirects me to the old one with the old host?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi JD, Normally the public_html folder is the website root. htdocs is usually the root folder for local sites on your computer. Did you change the nameservers in your domain registrar to point them to your new hosting account?

[@jdcoetzer7413]

WordPress Tutorials - WPLearningLab Yes I did, but I only noticed the htdocs, there isn't anything that says public_html The htdocs has all the files like wp-admin, wp-content etc, so I assumed it's the same thing... I did a backup using htdocs instead of public_html, is this a problem?

[@wplearninglab]

Sorry for the delay JD. I haven't encountered a host that uses htdocs instead of public_html, but maybe your host does and it all works just fine. The best would be to ask your host's support. I'm not familiar with htdocs-type hosting.

[@EuAfroBeatMusic]

but dose this procedure work but on filezilla?

[@TheQueenNtwk]

Where did you get the sql file from?

[@wplearninglab]

I got it from this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZevd4JtoM6GaLs It's the 'how to manually backup a site' video. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@Uknowjustin]

Hey I am having trouble uploading the database to a new hosting account. I have one other site hosted on the new account and I am trying to transfer my old sites content and database over. I am getting an error when uploading the SQL file from my old database. Do I need to create a new database or rename the database name and password to the new hosting database info?

[@wplearninglab]

+SplitRockCreativeTV It'll be cleanest to create a new MySQL database with a new DB name, new DB username and new User Password. Remember to update those in the wp-config.php after you've uploaded your files to the new host. Then open that new DB inside phpMyAdmin and upload (or INSERT in phpMyAdmin language) the SQL file. Let me know how it goes!

[@Uknowjustin]

+WP Learning Lab I did that but I am getting a database connection error. Any ideas? Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it!

[@wplearninglab]

+SplitRockCreativeTV No problemo for the help and yup, I have an idea. The database connection error when visiting your domain almost always comes down to one of two things. 1. A mismatch in the DB name, DB username and/or user password in your wp-config.php file. Double check that you have the correct info in there. 2. The user has not been added to the database in the MySQL section of your cPanel account.

[@sal840]

Great video and nicely explained but sir, I have one question, what should I do If I want to create a new site, do I need to install the wordpress again or should I use the same credentials to login again. thanks

[@user-on6pe5nm8m]

Don´t you forget to mention that also the DB Tabel option (siteurl, home) and the file wp-config.php (DB name, DB user, etc.) must be adjusted?

[@nayelliojeda8339]

absolutely yes

[@MattyLove_Music]

I just added a new theme. and want to restore all of my content into the website without breaking my new theme. currently it only has placeholder content. If I upload my backup files, would this break the theme?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Matthew, It's hard to say what will happen. Your best bet is to test it on a subdomain or other domain to know for sure. If that's not an option I would backup the current site so it can be restored if something goes wrong. Then restore the backup files including the old theme. Once the site is online, then activate the new theme. Does that make sense?

[@muhammadsharjeel1491]

Question 1: How to create a backup of some/single specific plugins? I mean if I have 10 plugins installed. 4 plugins I used on my every site with their same settings so I do not want to set plugins again and again on my every new site I just want to upload a existing backup. So how can I do this?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Muhammad, Great question. To make this plan work you'll need to do some research on your plugins. Nearly every plugin you install creates its own database table in the WP MySQL database for its' settings and other data. Some plugins create many different tables. So you'll need to figure out which tables each of your plugins creates. You may be able to find this information in the plugin's documentation which may be provided by the developer. If not, then you should install a fresh copy of WordPress somewhere; either locally, on a new domain or on a subdomain and install just one of your 4 core plugins. Then see which tables it adds to the database. You can then export those individual tables by going to phpMyAdmin and going to the Export tab. Choose the option that is not the "quick" option. You'll be shown a selection box where you can select just that plugin's tables. Do that for each plugin individually or do this for all plugins at the same time and you should be good to go. Two things to watch out for. 1. When you export the tables they will have the database prefix as part of the table name. The prefix is "wp_" by default, but if you change the prefix for each site you'll have to change the prefix in the plugin tables before you upload them to a new site. 2. Some plugins are "serialized" meaning the domain they were installed on is integrated into their tables. So if you upload them to a different domain they won't work right. You can fix this by changing the domain name in the tables each time before you upload the tables to a new site. You can make changes to an SQL file using a plain text editor. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@MayurPanghaal]

My public_html folder measures 2.5 GB !! Is that fine ?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Mayur, it's pretty big, but it should be fine. Most of that size should be in the wp-content folder. And in there most of the size should be in the uploads folder. If that's not the case you may have an issue.

[@MayurPanghaal]

@@wplearninglab thx again 🙏

[@wplearninglab]

No problem :)

[@juliosanchez10]

Quick question. I don't think it does, but does it matter if the files and database I upload are different from the original. Example: I'm building a website for a client. I download their old website to save it, delete it and then upload the new files and database that I built for them. This is ok to do, correct?

[@wplearninglab]

+Julio Sanchez Yep, that's fine to do, but there are 3 things to watch out for. 1. Make sure the databade credentials in the wp-config file are correct and link to correct database. 2. The database prefix set in the wp-config file matches the database prefix on the hosting account 3. After you upload the new database, open the database's options table in phpMyAdmin. In there, make sure the first two entries in that table both contain the correct URL. I hope they helps! I'm publishing a video later this week showing how to manually move a website from one domain to another. It covers pretty much exactly what you need.

[@franshescomviran5741]

You are a genius Mr Foy! :-)

[@jayashreenair3875]

This video is a saviour. Thanks so much!

[@wplearninglab]

You’re welcome Jayashree, thanks for watching!

[@eppdso]

Will this work if i have backed up my files using duplicator?

[@wplearninglab]

As long as duplicator gives the complete SQL file that you can upload into myphpadmin then this will work.

[@CustomWeddingGarter]

Instead of deleting the Files and Database. Can I just overwrite the files? Or rename the files and database and create new. Then delete the renamed files after the restore?

[@inkstergraphics7090]

Awesome video! Thanks for this... but I've run into a problem. My zipped backup website weighs in at 975MBs, but my max upload file size is 500MBs. How/where do I increase that restriction?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Nate, You can unzip the backup file on your hard drive and upload the contents via FTP. There are no upload restrictions there, it just takes longer. You could also try contacting your host's support. They may be able to increase the allowed upload size. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@inkstergraphics7090]

I meant to get back to you sooner to say "Thank you!" I asked support for that increase and everything worked out well from there!

[@wplearninglab]

+Nate Robb Excellent! I'm glad you figured it out :)

[@magicjohnson4464]

Will this work if I have overwritten content on my WP website and cant retrieve the original content? I downloaded a backup from CodeGuard and saved it to my desktop.

[@wplearninglab]

You can only restore the overwritten content if the backup contains the content. If it doesn't, and your site has some traffic, you might get lucky and find old versions of your site on this site: archive.org/web/ Just enter your url and click browse history. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@magicjohnson4464]

I used Codeguard and downloaded a backup zip file from about a month ago. I assume that would have the content that was overwritten. When I uploaded the back up the WP site is still blank. I am trying to figure out how to download my database but codeguard states when I try to run an automatic restore that I do not have a wordpress database and suggests that I restore it from a zip file, but that does not seem to do the trick. Unless its a step I am missing.

[@wplearninglab]

The zip file should contain the site files and an .SQL file. You should be able to upload the SQL file directly into your database via phpMyAdmin like I show in the tutorial. Your host's support staff may be willing to help with that as well.

[@erickmmbando1909]

Thanks, bruh it worked for me. I was facing 500 internal server error and used all steps include replacing the wp-admin and wp-include but never worked so I deleted and I restore my web completely on my hosting site. Thank you!

[@1lifeonearth]

amazing video!! you are a lifesaver. Thank you !

[@wplearninglab]

+1lifeonearth No problem. I'm glad I could help!

[@depramze]

Wooooow...... Just what I needed at this moment, Great video {*very complete}.... thanks :)

[@wplearninglab]

+depramze Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@tfreshdj]

hi, great video, quick question though...what to do if you accidentally drop content in both tables (my db had 2)from php my admin ? I have a full back up of my files &db..i followed your procedure but i receive this error 'The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.' please help

[@wplearninglab]

+T-Fresh dj +T-Fresh dj Dropping tables is no Bueno! Good thing you have a backup because when you drop a table it's gone forever. If you're very confident that the backup you have is a full back up then I would make a second backup of the current database. The one with two dropped tables. Then drop all the tables so all you have left is the database name. Then import the full backup. If you still get the error message then there's an issue with the backup file or its not a full backup. In the event you receive an error, drop all the tables again and import the backup you made that has two missing tables. Then we have to regroup. Keep in mind your site will be done the entire time you're doing this, so do it at a time when your traffic is lowest. I hope that helps!

[@tfreshdj]

+WP Learning Lab thanks so much for the quick reply, I'm actually working on it right now because its night time here..This is so bad! i use the 'backup wordpress' plugin for my backups and decided to use iit once my site developed glitches and started 'misbehaving'. just a follow up question, if i made a back up of the current db that has empty tables wouldn't it essentially be empty?

[@tfreshdj]

Also just to mention,after realizing my mistake (of not choosing the right table to drop) I selected the right table and did an import of the back up file to which it still gives the same error.

[@wplearninglab]

I misread, I thought that there were some tables with content in them which would be part of the backup. If all the tables are empty, then you're right, the backup would essentially be empty :(

[@wplearninglab]

Importing the backup files will not overwrite content in the database. So if the backup has any of the same tables that exist in the database your trying to import to it will throw an error. That's why, if it's a full backup, you need to drop all the tables and then import the full backup.

[@edwinlrodriguez336]

Will these steps also work with siteground?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Edwin, Yes, Siteground uses cPanel, so all the steps will work the same way. I hope that helps and thanks for watching! Let me know if you have any further questions :)

[@edwinlrodriguez336]

@@wplearninglab ok, thank you very much

[@jacobthomas4267]

How do you restore individual files such as pages or blog posts?

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Jacob, Two ways: one difficult, one easy. Hopefully the easy one works for you. The easy one is outlined in this tutorial: kzbin.info?o=U&video_id=pVpJ3Ncl2DA The difficult (manual) way is below: Individual pages and blog posts are entries in two different database tables, they aren't actual files. If you open a page or post in the WordPress editor you will see it's ID in the URL. Then you can access phpMyAdmin and open the _posts table. In that table find the entries related to that ID and export just those entires. Then open the _postmeta table and find the entries with the same ID in that table and export them. Now those two exported SQL files will contain the info for the individual post. You can import that into another WP database using phpMyAdmin. BUT, if there is a post with the same ID in the other site, you will need to change the ID of the post in the SQL file. You can open the SQL in any text editor and give it another ID that isn't on the site. There will be multiple instances of the ID so update all of them before uploading. That's about it. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@prathmeshgawai56]

Very helpful video as always. Do u recommend codeguard and sitelock(hostgator addons) ???

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Prathmesh, I used sitelock when I was on hostgator and some auto-account backup service. I see it like buying insurance. If you have something of value you want to make sure you have solutions if a problem arises. In other words, if you are making income from sites you want to make sure you have backups and security, etc. I hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@thebikefitphysio]

Hey, I think this video would apply to me but just want to check with you first. I had previously added content to my website, after I uploaded a purchased theme, then after activating the plugins recommended by the theme, I lost the content that I added. Can i get this back?? Cheers , John

[@wplearninglab]

+The BikeFit Physio That's not a great situation. Have you tried deactivating the plugins to see if the content comes back? I would be very surprised of the content was actually deleted. If the content reappears after deactivating all the plugins try activating the plugins again one by one to see which one makes the content disappear. If the content is truly gone, then restoring it from a backup is what you want. Bug your situation is tricky because you would just want to restore a couple tables, not the whole database. First try deactivating plugins and see if that works.

[@thebikefitphysio]

Thanks for your help. I ended up putting it back in manually but it was better that way because the content improved!! cheers for your reply. J

[@wplearninglab]

+The BikeFit Physio Sweet, good work. I'm glad it all worked out. Thanks for watching!

[@dipakbhulku982]

Awesome.... video.... Your videos are really helpful....tkz

[@wplearninglab]

+dipak bhulku Thanks Dipak, and thanks for watching!

[@angeldisguisedso]

I went through the steps to restore, however, the theme seems to be picking up from another source. It's showing a basic wordpress theme as opposed to my custom theme. Any suggestions on a fix for that? My content is below that theme view but my theme is not visible.

[@wplearninglab]

Hi Shavonne, These questions may seem 'duh', but I have to ask them. 1. Are you sure the backup files contain your custom theme in the wp-content/themes folder? 2. Have you checked in Appearance > Themes to see if your theme is present but in active?

[@tedahd5004]

what if not deleting the website? Will everything be overwritten?

[@wplearninglab]

When doing it manually, the best way to restore the full database is to drop the entire database and then upload it via the SQL file. This is how you would recover your site from a hack or example. If you upload an SQL file into a database that has content already then you may run into problems. You can also just export (backup) individual tables to an SQL file and then restore just those tables in the future. I hope that helps!

[@JorgeCubidesJ]

Great step by step ! thanks man!

[@MilletSnacks]

If I am not found SQL file Where do I get

[@namanmodi4303]

Great and informative video and this is very important and really worth for me and I am going to implement this method on our website, you have explained it very clearly. thanking you.

[@chanlogica7297]

hi, how can my wordpress have been uninstall in file manager backup one of the site files and restore ?

[@sandeepy6231]

I have overwritten my website in WordPress and I have using Hostgator hosting. and I have no backup for my website. So is it possible to restore my website

[@wplearninglab]

+Sandeep Y Hi Sandeep, I have bad news. If you don't have backups and your website files are gone, you won't be able to restore it. You should however still have the MySQL database in your hostgator account. So you could reinstall WordPress, then connect to your original database. You'd have to manually upload all the images, themes and plugins though.

[@getyourheadoutofthecloud4717]

I cant find your backup video - no links

[@wplearninglab]

I'm surprised it's not in the description. I'll add it. Here's the link for now: How To Manually Backup WordPress MySQL Database, Files and Folders | WP Learning Labkzbin.info/www/bejne/mZevd4JtoM6GaLs

[@Charlie_Tsai]

i can't find my flowerpot file !! how can i back up my database ??

[@sagarpaskanti4155]

i want to restore my wordpress website. i have SQL database file and theme file. is there any way to restore my website ?

[@ShirleyRobertsMG]

I have files in my Data Base files from plugins etc that I have deleted from my wordpress site. My question is do I delete these files and if so HOW would I execute that ? Thank you in advance.

[@smartputers]

love you man!! you got my website back!!!

[@SeanSilas_IronWrath_GTR]

You saved me! Thank you!

[@wplearninglab]

You're welcome Sean, thanks for watching!

[@jitendramotilal3998]

i have full backup of home directory and migrated for new host, then how could i upload my backup files to get my old site live with all post data

[@espressochinese]

It is very useful, that's what I need. Love your video, very clear and simple.

[@wplearninglab]

+John Wang Hi John, glad I could help. Thanks for watching!

[@yjjm6599]

Hi, great video. I want to restore a wordpress/woocommerce from Godaddy to Local Server (Mamp) but It's not working. Other video explain a step of search and replace the link in database with interconnect/it. I hope you can give an advice to solve this problem.

[@wplearninglab]

Hi YJ, this video is focused on restoring a backup of a website to the same domain/server if something goes wrong. If you need to move a website from one server to another (or local host) you do need to search and replace all references to the domain name. You need to replace the old domain name or path in the database with the new one. The best move would be to find a migration plugin in the WordPress repository and use it to move your site from one server to another. It should replace all appropriate links for you. I hope that helps! And thanks for watching!

[@ultracobrax]

2023 and it's stll helpful. Thank You! I'd like to know how to delete, remove and then restore a especific domain to do this.

[@AxMataz]

I'm trying to move a site from one host to another, and everything works as in the video, except when I go to the site after successfully importing the database, I still get the install wordpress part, why is that?

[@daroikpe7925]

I followed this step by step by when i load my site it hits the "Coming Soon" page. Any tips please?

[@benbillsgh1675]

So does it mean if my hosting plan gets exhausted and wanna renew I need to backup my files 📁📂 then reinstall WordPress and then move to file manager and delete those default setup by my cpanel and import my backup one ?

[@maxblogslife8542]

I am having trouble uploading files since they are over 500 MB is there a way around this issue?

[@omnesmediaab9342]

Thank you for this video! Saved my day!!

[@wplearninglab]

That's how we do it! Thanks for watching!

[@oguncharles6774]

how can i restore my site as it is still on my localhost ?

[@wplearninglab]

+OGUN CHARLES Thanks for the question. To move from local host to a live serve you'll first have to upload all the website files to the server. That can be done easily enough using FTP. Then you'll just need to export the MySQL file from your localhost and restore it how ti shows in the video. I have a video showing how to backup a WordPress site manually which isn't your exact situation, but similar steps will work. Here's the link if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZevd4JtoM6GaLs