How to Start Again With Wordpress

As a WordPress site owner, you may run across a situation where you need to reset your WordPress website for the sake of its design, performance, or security.

Any the reason, resetting your site will delete all your settings and customizations then yous're back to a clean slate — but like resetting your telephone to its default manufacturing plant settings.

Allow'due south take a closer look at why y'all might reset WordPress and so walk through how.

Why Reset WordPress to Default

There'southward a few reasons you might reset your WordPress site to its default settings. Allow'southward have a closer wait at them below.

You've Been Practicing Building a Website

Say you've been building out a new site but you're not happy with the customizations. Maybe the branding'southward off or the load fourth dimension is ridiculously deadening and y'all'd rather simply start over than disengage all the customizations you've made. Or perhaps you've just been building out a site for practice equally you lot learn more about WordPress. In either case, you lot can reset WordPress to quickly and easily start from scratch.

You're Repurposing the Site

Let'southward say you're overhauling a customer's website or your ain for a complete website redesign. You've already created and tested a new website using a staging site and are now ready to button information technology alive. In that instance, you lot might be better off resetting WordPress.

You've Been Hacked

Or possibly you've been hacked and there'due south now junky code or spam in your plugin files, theme files, or posts and pages. Instead of combing through the back and front end of your site, you might prefer a reset.

Those are just a few reasons you might want to reset WordPress. However, pressing the reset button is not always the best solution. Let's walk through some situations when non to reset WordPress.

When Not to Reset Your WordPress Site

There's also a few reasons why yous might not want to reset your WordPress site to its default settings. Let'due south take a closer look at them beneath.

Yous Want to Redesign Part of Your Site

If y'all want to completely overhaul a website, then resetting WordPress makes sense. But if y'all desire to redesign role of your site, then a reset doesn't.

Allow'south say you simply want to supersede your theme. In that case, y'all yet want to proceed your content, plugins, and settings — not completely start over from scratch. For this situation, and near redesigns, you'll want to optimize your existing content, fix some redirects, and update your XML sitemap rather than reset WordPress.

For the complete step-past-step process, bank check out Website Redesign SEO Checklist: Relaunch Your Site Without Losing Rankings.

You Desire to Drift Your Site

Let's say you want to make major changes to your site's architecture and not simply its design. For instance, maybe you want to movement your site to a new server, CMS, or domain. In that case, you wouldn't reset WordPress. Instead, you'd migrate your site. While the exact steps of a website migration vary, a WordPress plugin tin simplify the process. For example, with the Duplicator plugin, you tin clone your site and recreate it on a new hosting server.

Read How to Migrate Your WordPress Site with WordPress Duplicator to follow the step-by-stride process.

You Desire to Delete All Content

If you don't want to keep your site active, then you should consider deleting it instead of resetting information technology. If you lot only reset it, then a hacker could gain access. Deleting it will ensure that no 1 tin can compromise your account. To practise and so, simply delete the WordPress files stored on your server using cPanel or an FTP client and then cancel your hosting subscription.

Wondering how to delete all wordpress content and start over using the same hosting business relationship? Delete the WordPress files from the root directory on your server, but don't cancel your hosting programme. You tin then upload a new WordPress installation to your aforementioned hosting server.

Now that you know when (and when not to) reset WordPress,  we'll walk through how to reset a site with or without a plugin so you tin can pick the option yous're more than comfortable with.

How to Reset Your WordPress Site

At that place are two ways y'all can reset your WordPress site: manually or with a plugin. Both methods will result in your posts, pages, settings, plugin, and theme files beingness deleted. This can't exist undone.

Backup Your WordPress Website

Resetting WordPress will completely erase all of your customizations and settings. That's why, before you lot begin the process of resetting WordPress, you must create a backup of your website manually or using a WordPress fill-in plugin. This will give you the option of restoring your site later on resetting it just in case yous change your heed or something goes wrong.

Reset WordPress With A Plugin

Using a plugin is the easiest and fastest style to reset a WordPress site. In that location are dozens to choose from, but WP Reset is a popular and reputable plugin that enables yous to reset a WordPress site in a few clicks. Here's how to apply the free version:

one. Install and actuate the WP Reset plugin. You lot can do and then directly in your WordPress dashboard past clicking Plugins > Add New.

2. Get to Tools > WP Reset.

iii. Curlicue down to the Site Reset section.

iv. Blazon "'reset" in the Confirmation field.

5. Click the Reset Site button.

half dozen. A popup message volition appear request you to confirm that yous want to reset your site. Click Reset WordPress to proceed.

vii. When the reset has been completed, you'll exist redirected to your WordPress dashboard homepage where yous'll encounter a success message.

You lot're non quite done yet. By default, WP Reset deactivates theme and plugin files instead of deleting them. However, you lot tin use this plugin to delete these files too. Just follow the steps below.

1. Get to Tools > WP Reset.

two. Click the Tools tab.

three. Click the link labelled "Delete Themes."

4. Click the Delete all themes push.

5. A popup message will appear request you lot to confirm that you desire to delete your themes. Click Delete all themes to continue.

half dozen. Now click the Delete plugins push.

7. A popup message will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete your plugins. Click Delete plugins to continue.

Your website volition now exist completely reset. You'll have to install a new theme, install plugins, create new posts and pages, and configure your settings.

Reset WordPress Without A Plugin

If you'd prefer not to apply a plugin, then y'all can manually reset your WordPress website. The process volition be more difficult and take longer — only it will help you sympathize the fundamentals of a WordPress installation.

To manually reset a WordPress site, you'll need to delete your database, create a new i, delete your plugin, theme, and other files, and rerun the WordPress installation script. Let'southward suspension down the process below.

1. Log into cPanel.

2. Coil down to the Databases section.

3. Click MySQL Databases.

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four. Identify your WordPress database and click Delete under the column labelled "Actions."

5. Side by side, ringlet to the Create a New Database department.

6. Proper noun your new database and click Create Database. The page should refresh automatically.

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seven. Next, ringlet to the Add a User to a Database section. Select your previous username (with all its previous permissions) and newly created database from the dropdown menus.

eight. Click Add.

9. Now go to File Managing director in cPanel.

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10. Click the public_html folder.

11. Select the wp-content folder and delete information technology. This will delete your plugin and theme files.

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Your website will be completely reset at present — but you lot're not quite done. To make your website functional, y'all'll need to rerun the WordPress installation script.

1. In the browser'due south address bar, blazon in your domain proper name and add together /wp-admin/install.php to the end.

2. Make full in the course with the required data, including your site championship and username.

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3. Click Install WordPress when you've filled out the entire form.

four. You lot'll be prompted to login with your username and password.

That's it! Your website volition be completely reset. You lot can at present build out a new site with a dissimilar theme, plugins, content, and settings.

Resetting Your WordPress Website

Whether y'all want to start over on a test installation, completely redesign your website, or fix a security issue, resetting WordPress will render your site to its default settings. Y'all tin can reset your site with or without a plugin. Beginners will adopt a plugin, while more than avant-garde users might prefer to reset it manually.

Using either method will result in a bare site. You can then build a new site from scratch: installing a new theme and plugins, creating new content, and configuring new settings.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in Apr 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Originally published Dec 9, 2021 vii:00:00 AM, updated May 10 2022

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Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/website/reset-wordpress

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