WordPress is a pretty stable ecosystem. But at times, updates may break the website and make it unavailable for the users. This can be both frustrating and daunting, which is why many beginners do not refrain from updating their website regularly.
But there’s a way you can undo these changes and restore your website with ease. And this doesn’t involve restoring from the backup, which is hassle and requires advanced WordPress knowledge. Learn about that method in this article in greater detail.
How to Rollback a WordPress Website? (The easiest way)
The best and the easiest way to rollback a broken WordPress website is to use the WP Rollback plugin. This plugin allows you to rollback any theme or plugin you want without dealing with the technical aspects.
So to get started, install and activate the WP Rollback plugin. Then follow these steps:
You can do the same thing for a theme. Go to Appearance >> Themes and click on the Theme Details option. In the bottom-right corner, you’ll find the ‘Rollback’ option added. Click on it and follow the instructions to rollback the WP theme to an older version.
Again, you won’t find this option if the theme is not part of the official WordPress themes directory.
What to do When You’re Locked out of Website?
In certain cases, the plugin or theme update will break your WordPress website to such an extent that you won’t even be able to log in. So you won’t have access to the pages mentioned above. You’ll see the critical or white screen of death page.
In such cases, you need to deactivate the plugin or theme manually and reactivate them one by one.
So connect to your WordPress website via FTP and access the plugins. Then deactivate all of them and reactivate one by one.
If you assume that a theme is the culprit, then download a copy of that theme onto your computer and delete it. Now try restoring your WordPress website.
So that’s how you rollback a WordPress website and undo the updates.
But there’s a way you can undo these changes and restore your website with ease. And this doesn’t involve restoring from the backup, which is hassle and requires advanced WordPress knowledge. Learn about that method in this article in greater detail.
How to Rollback a WordPress Website? (The easiest way)
The best and the easiest way to rollback a broken WordPress website is to use the WP Rollback plugin. This plugin allows you to rollback any theme or plugin you want without dealing with the technical aspects.
So to get started, install and activate the WP Rollback plugin. Then follow these steps:
- Navigate to Plugin >> Installed Plugins
- If you’ve successfully installed the WP Rollback plugin, you’ll notice the Rollback link added under each plugin on your WordPress website (but you won’t find this option for plugins that are not in the official WP plugin directory)
- To rollback a particular plugin, click on the ‘Rollback’ link under that plugin
- In the next page, you’ll see the current plugin version and the versions you can rollback to. Click on the particular version to rollback the plugin and click on ‘Rollback’
- You’ll notice a warning popup suggesting that you should take a backup for your WordPress website before proceeding. You should ideally take a backup before you click on ‘Rollback’
- WP Rollback will now replace the current version will the old version. Once completed click on the ‘Activate plugin’ link to start using the plugin
You can do the same thing for a theme. Go to Appearance >> Themes and click on the Theme Details option. In the bottom-right corner, you’ll find the ‘Rollback’ option added. Click on it and follow the instructions to rollback the WP theme to an older version.
Again, you won’t find this option if the theme is not part of the official WordPress themes directory.
What to do When You’re Locked out of Website?
In certain cases, the plugin or theme update will break your WordPress website to such an extent that you won’t even be able to log in. So you won’t have access to the pages mentioned above. You’ll see the critical or white screen of death page.
In such cases, you need to deactivate the plugin or theme manually and reactivate them one by one.
So connect to your WordPress website via FTP and access the plugins. Then deactivate all of them and reactivate one by one.
If you assume that a theme is the culprit, then download a copy of that theme onto your computer and delete it. Now try restoring your WordPress website.
So that’s how you rollback a WordPress website and undo the updates.
