WordPress is packed with lots of tools that make the blogging journey easy. But there are many instances when you look for how to reset WordPress site. Again, thankfully, WordPress has a handful of tools that reset the WordPress site for you. I recommend resetting a website only if you want to start over new.

A complete WordPress website requires time (and money) to develop. However, resetting the site is not recommended, but sometimes you mess up all the posts, pages, plugins, etc. In that case, you are probably required to reset the website.

Remember, once you reset the WordPress website, it can’t be undone; resetting a WordPress site means uninstalling all existing settings, plugins, and themes and restoring the default settings of the WordPress site.

Why Reset WordPress site?

Before initiating a discussion on resetting a WordPress site, you MUST acknowledge the necessity and consequences of resetting a WordPress website to the default mode. Alternatively, you can read our guide on how to take down a WordPress website permanently by following simple steps.

I admit that everyone has reasons to take this hard decision, but sometimes it is necessary to reset a site. It could be for good as well due to compulsion (when you actually messed up the site). I am discussing here some common reasons to reset a WordPress site.

  1. Rebuilding the site- You may start a website as a big brand name in your respective niche and now find less user engagement. There is also a possibility that you are not impressed with the results.
  2. You just Started- When you are just starting a new website but struggling for the best design of your choice. Then resetting a WordPress site is the most handful of tools.
  3. You’re experimenting- You may try and learn various website-building techniques. In the process of learning, you can reset, restructure, redevelop different themes and plugins.
  4. You’re Hacked- This is the most unfortunate situation when you need to reset the WordPress website. It could be in the form of unknown phishing codes, malware, corrupted plugins or pages, etc.

These are the frequent occasions when you look to reset the WordPress site. So let’s have a glimpse at the consequences of resetting a site.

Consequences of Resetting WordPress site

You might be thinking of what happened when I reset the WordPress site, or what are the consequences of this? What deleted or what not deleted are as follows:

  • Reset deletes all posts, pages, custom post types, comments, media entries, users.
  • Deletes all custom database tables with the same prefix table prefix as the one defined in wp-config.php.
  • WordPress media in the wp-uploads folder are not deleted but will no longer be listed under Media in the admin.
  • WordPress address, site address, site language, and search engine visibility settings are not deleted.

If you wish to delete a WordPress account, read our guide on How to delete a WordPress Account quickly.

How to Reset WordPress site?

Now you understand why you should perform a reset and what are the consequences of it. If you still make up your mind to reset a WordPress website, continue with this post.

Before moving on, I recommend taking a backup of your WordPress site; it will help when you want to restore all the settings, plugins, themes of your website.

I would recommend Backup, using plugin rather than manual, which takes time. Follow the next section to take a backup.

How to take WordPress Backup before Reset?

The best recommend plugin to take WordPress backup is UpdraftPlus which makes Backup instantly in a few clicks. This can be downloaded from the dashboard of your WordPress account.

Step 1. Login to your WordPress account, head to the Plugin section and click Add New.

Step 2. Type Backup in the search bar, click the install button in front of UpdraftPlus, and then press the activate button.

How to reset wordpress site

Step 3. Launch UpdraftPlus or open it. You can start over by heading to the plugin section and then clicking on the Setting tab.

Step 4. Click on the blue-colored Backup Now button.

how to reset WordPress

Step 5. A pop-up notification appears on the screen, tick on include database and files in backup option, and finally, click on Backup now button

how to reset a website

That’s it. Your whole site backup is created, including database, plugins, themes, uploads, etc. You can access, restore, and delete this Backup from the Updraftplus dashboard.

How to Reset WordPress site using WP Reset Plugin?

Now, All set. You can now reset your WordPress account, and if your mind change, you can restore your site through Backup. I will use the WP Reset plugin instead of doing it manually. Follow the below steps to reset the WordPress site:

Step 1. First and foremost, install and activate the WP Reset Plugin. You can do this by logging in to your WordPress account, heading to the plugin section, and adding new.

Step 2. Navigate to the search box, type WP Reset, and install & activate the plugin as shown below.

how to reset wordpress site using plugin

Step 3. Once activated, click on Open WP Reset tools tab, which leads to the plugin dashboard, and the Reset tab appears by default.

Step 4. This tool also has some Pro features; ignore it, scroll down the page, and navigate the Reset section.

Step 5. Click on Create a Snapshot button before you initiate Resetting. Now type “reset” in the blank box and then hit the red-colored Reset Site button.

How to reset wordpress site

Step 6. A sizeable pop-up message appears on the screen and asks for confirmation of your resetting option. Click on the Reset WordPress button.

reset a wordpress website

Oops! Your WordPress website resets, and you will be navigated to the homepage or default dashboard with a Success message. This is all about how to reset WordPress site. But there are more tasks to perform.

Although your WordPress account is restored to the default state yet, all the plugins and themes are just deactivated, not deleted completely. You need to delete them manually by using the same plugin.

Delete WordPress account using WP Reset

Resetting WordPress site does not delete all the items completely; however, you can delete them manually by following steps:

how to delete wordpress account

  • Open the WP Reset plugin as described above and navigate to the Tools tab.
  • Here you get the Index of tools section; you can select different links to delete all plugins, themes, content, widgets, folders, etc.

How to delete wordpress account

  • When you select any link, WP Reset lets you delete all the items inside it. For instance, if you delete all plugins, it asks you for confirmation before deleting.

delete themes and plugins in wordpress

In this way, you can completely restore your WordPress website. WP Reset plugin has some Pro features that you can not avail yourself without a subscription. However, you don’t require the Pro version to reset the WordPress site.

Alternative to Reset WordPress Site

If you have a well established WordPress website, then I wouldn’t recommend resetting a WordPress rather than this, you can follow the below alternative to reset:

You can delete all WordPress Posts and Pages instead of resetting the WordPress site. You can do this by heading to the posts or pages section, ticking the checkbox in front of a title, selecting bulk action from the drop-down, and finally clicking on the Move to trash option.

Delete WordPress posts and pages

Then select the trash option from the post section and delete all the posts permanently. In this way, your WordPress plugins, themes, and designs remain as it is.

Similarly, you can also delete all the plugins from your WordPress account. Go to- WordPress dashboard >> Plugins >> Bulk actions >> Deactivate or Delete.

How to reset wordpress site

Similarly, delete or deactivate any item from your WordPress account instead of taking this tough decision.

Final Thoughts

I hope you like this article on how to reset WordPress site easily and quickly. I discussed when and why you need to reset a website and the consequences of this. When you mess up your WordPress account, don’t directly run for resetting it because it can’t be undone.

Rather look for alternatives like deleting the current theme, plugins, and other contents. If you are fed up with all try, then look for this last resort. However, there could be some good reasons to do this, like learning WordPress design. If you find any issues, let me know through the comments.

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