There’s nothing more distressing for a site manager then having something go wrong with your WordPress site. Whether it’s unexpected file changes, malware, errors, plugin updates, or something else entirely, the fix sadly may not be simple. Due to all the potential issues a WordPress site faces, it can be a valuable lifeline to easily and quickly restore your site to a healthier point in time by using UpdraftPlus.

In this guide, we’ll be providing you with step-by-step instructions detailing how you can restore your WordPress site to a previous date using the UpdraftPlus WordPress backup plugin. As a bonus, we’ll outline why you might need to restore your WordPress site with a few examples you might find familiar.

Why you might need to restore your WordPress site

Before we outline how you can restore your site, it’s worth looking into some of the reasons why you might need to do it. Restoring your WordPress site to a previous date isn’t something that should be done lightly, but there are a few very valid and common reasons why you might need to. Here are a few you might recognise:

Your site has been hacked or compromised

WordPress itself is a secure content management system on which you can build your website. However, without proper management, it can be prone to attacks by bots and/or hackers. 

Any of the following could give these bots or hackers an easy way into your website to spread malware, change access, steal user data or change files:

• WordPress, plugins or themes have not been updated – Most plugins need to be kept up to date to remain secure and free from the latest vulnerabilities. By not updating plugins, website owners can leave their site unintentionally vulnerable.
• Weak passwords and usernames are still being used – a weak or common username or password combination is enough for bots to gain access to your site. Even keeping the username ‘admin’ on your site can leave you open to easy access.

Should you site become compromised in this way, then a backup and restore plugin like UpdraftPlus can restore your sites content. With an additional add-on, UpdraftPlus can also restore your WordPress core and non-standard files too.

Major changes were made and files are overwritten

In the management of your WordPress site, sometimes things can get out of hand and mistakes can be made. For example, you have a developer or member of your team working on making improvements to your site but they forget to save an older version of the file they’re working on, just in case they make a mistake. 

By making the wrong kind of changes, your developer has created an error on a major file, with you site now inaccessible to visitors. By using a backup and restore plugin though, you’re able to restore your WordPress site to a previous date, before the error was created and the file was changed.

Pro tip: When either making changes to your website yourself or having a developer help you, we always recommend creating a clone/staging environment for your site. This way any changes you make won’t affect your live site. You can do this easily with UpdraftClone.

As a bonus, UpdraftPlus can be set up to perform automatic backups when plugins, themes and WordPress core updates run. This means that keeping your site up to date and secure has never been easier.

How to restore your WordPress site to a previous date

If you recognise any of the above situations and need to restore your WordPress site to a previous date, then the following step-by-step instructions will help.

Note: UpdraftPlus can only restore your site to a previous date if you already had UpdraftPlus installed and performing scheduled backups. If you do not have UpdraftPlus installed, it is recommend that you contact your hosting provider, who can hopefully help you.

To save your future-self time, money and a serious headache, get UpdraftPlus installed (it’s free) on your site to give you peace of mind.

UpdraftPlus not only restores your WordPress site to a previous date, but it also:

• Performs backups of all your WordPress files, databases, plugins and themes.
• Implements scheduled backups every 4, 8 or 12 hours, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly (set by you).
• Restores backups directly from your WordPress control panel.
• Lets you store your backups remotely on Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and more.

Installing UpdraftPlus

Installing UpdraftPlus takes just a minute or two and is as simple as adding any other plugin to your site. To install, follow these steps:

1.In your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins > Add New.

2. Type UpdraftPlus into the search bar.

3. Find the UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup Plugin and press Install Now and then Activate.

How to use UpdraftPlus to restore your WordPress site

In this example, we have UpdraftPlus installed, set up and running and have already backed up our site in Google Drive (our storage of choice). If you need a little more help, read this guide to understand how to get UpdraftPlus up and running and backing up your site.

To restore your site, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in your WordPress menu. This will open your UpdraftPlus settings page.

2. Scroll down the page until you reach the Existing Backups section.

3. Find the backup from the date you want to restore and press the blue Restore button.

4. You will then be shown a popup which will ask you which elements of your database you want to restore. Select the ones that apply and press Restore.

When your restore is complete, a message will pop up telling you the “Restore has been successful”.

That’s it!, Restoring your WordPress site with UpdraftPlus is easy and hassle-free. Plus, you can configure how often you would like your backups to take place. This is handy if you have a very active site that’s updated regularly, allowing you to create daily updates to help give you peace of mind.

Summary: Restoring your WordPress site to a previous date 

In this guide, you’ve learned why having the ability to restore your WordPress site is important and how to get it done quickly and easily using UpdraftPlus.

The investment you make in backing up your website so you can restore it to a previous date should you ever need to, will not only save you time but money also. 

Having the ability to restore your WordPress site will help you avoid costly developer fees and website downtime. UpdraftPlus makes this process simple and easy to do.

The plugin featured in this guide:

Get UpdraftPlus for free – Schedule regular backups of your WordPress site and restore it from those backups in your WordPress control panel.

 

The post How to restore your WordPress site to a previous date appeared first on UpdraftPlus. UpdraftPlus – Backup, restore and migration plugin for WordPress.

The current enforced working from home guidelines in place are in place in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19. They have now become a way of life for many, with a growing number of people in the UK and around the world now using the internet to provide not just entertainment, but work and education also. This extra demand on bandwidth and associated infrastructure has caused problems for many and include the recent Virgin internet outage, which left 43,00 users in the UK without an internet connection. Along with these outages, many internet users have also complained about the reduction in internet speeds that have seemed to have been put into effect to combat overuse. 

Why do you have a slow internet connection?

While the increase in the use of the internet by those homeschooling or binge watching Netflix accounts for the increase in demand, there may be some tips and tricks you can employ to help improve and hopefully speed up your internet connection. 

The first thing to consider is the physical location of your internet server. If it is located too far away from your primary device, your home network connection could suffer due to potentially passing through many different devices before reaching your primary device. Also try to ensure that your router is as far away as possible from other devices, such as mobile phones, baby monitors, stereos, smart TVs and speakers, as these devices could interfere with the signal. 

If it is not practical to move the router or bring your device closer, one way to help fix this would be to use a WiFi signal booster. A WiFi signal booster will extend your home network coverage by boosting or amplifying your router’s wireless internet signal. A WiFi signal booster can help to efficiently extend your wireless network, which will be of particular use if you have set-up a temporary office, such as in an attic or garden shed.

Other options you can also try

It is also worth remembering that you should try rebooting your router occasionally as it can help clear specific malware (malicious software that has been designed to cause damage to your device or server) or use a wired ethernet connection directly with the router. 

Also ensure that you regularly check your computer is updated with the latest antivirus software. While most antivirus protection programmes will carry out this task automatically, it is essential that you keep your computer’s protection up to date, which will help stop new threats slipping past your defences and potentially slowing your computer down.

In the UK, OFCOM have released a 7 point ‘Stay connected during the coronavirus’ guide that further details everything you can do to help limit the strain on your internet. As well as moving your router clear of other devices, OFCOM also recommend that you use a landline when making calls if possible, turn off devices such as tablets and smartphones that you are not using (as they will often use WiFi in the background), try a wired ethernet cable to get better speeds, plug your router directly into your main phone socket and get advice from your broadband provider.   

Making your site faster

With millions of extra people using and putting a strain on the internet every day, a scenario could arise where it is possible that your website’s users will experience periods where your site will be slow and unresponsive.

While we are unable to make the internet run faster, WP-Optimize has put in a lot of time and effort trying to do the next best thing. If you want your website to run faster and remain usable, installing WP-Optimize on your WordPress site is a great place to start. WP-Optimize is a revolutionary, all in one plugin that cleans your website’s database, compresses images (which slow loading speed) and caches your site. By improving your website’s performance, WP-Optimize can also help boost SEO, reduce visitor bounce rate and reduce server resources.

For further details on how to improve your website’s speed using WP-Optimize, be sure to check out this blog. In this blog you will discover the best way to set-up and optimize the plugin. 

If you have any questions or comments regarding WP-Optimize, please leave a message in the comment section below.

The post How millions working from home has slowed the internet and how WP-Optimize is working hard to help appeared first on UpdraftPlus. UpdraftPlus – Backup, restore and migration plugin for WordPress.