How to Restore WordPress by BackWPup

admin

9 hours ago

How to Restore WordPress by BackWPup restore tutorial showing backup restore verification and live-site checks

BackWPup can restore WordPress safely when you understand what it will overwrite. This method is best for manual restore from backup archives when you know which files and SQL dump belong together.

Audience: site owners and admins using BackWPup jobs for scheduled backup archives. Use this with the matching backup method whenever possible. If you did not create the backup yourself, verify the backup date, scope, and site path before restoring production.

Before restore

Download the archive and confirm it opens.
Identify the SQL dump and files included in the job.
Know whether the archive includes a full site or only selected folders.

Restore steps

Extract the backup archive locally or into a safe server folder.
Upload restored files to the correct document root.
Import the database dump into the correct database.
Update wp-config.php if credentials changed.
Fix file permissions and ownership if needed.
Clear caches and test the site.

Post-restore verification

Check login, media, pages, plugins, forms, cache, and logs. Confirm the BackWPup job that created the archive had no warnings.

Also check server and application logs, cache layers, CDN behavior, SSL, redirects, and whether scheduled tasks still run. A restore is not complete just because the home page loads.

Restore risks

Restoring an archive that never included uploads or database.
Leaving SQL files public.
Mixing files and database from different backup dates.

Rollback planning

Before restoring, keep the current state long enough to recover anything the restore might erase. For stores and membership sites, that means orders, subscriptions, users, payments, form submissions, bookings, and logs. For agencies and hosts, it also means customer communication and a timestamped maintenance note.

Fix I.T. Phill recommendation

Use BackWPup when it matches how the backup was created. If the restore tool is not available, fall back to files plus database restore, but test on staging first. After restore, update the backup plan so the next recovery is easier.