WordPress Default Settings: How to Restore Them

WordPress is a powerful content management system that allows the creation and management of websites with ease.

However, there may be times when you need to restore WordPress to its default settings. This could be due to a number of reasons, including malware infections, broken themes or plugins, or simply a desire to start from scratch.

Backup Your Website

Before beginning the restoration process, it’s essential to create a backup of your website. This includes posts, pages, comments, plugins, themes, and customizations. You can do this by using a backup plugin, such as UpdraftPlus, or by downloading your website files and database manually.

Deactivate All Plugins

To ensure a smooth restoration process, you need to deactivate all your plugins. This means clicking on the “Plugins” tab on the left side of your dashboard and selecting “Installed Plugins”. From there, you can deactivate a plugin by clicking on the “Deactivate” button beneath it or select all the plugins and deactivate them at once by using the “Bulk Actions” dropdown menu.

Switch to a Default Theme

The next step is to switch to a default WordPress theme, such as Twenty Twenty-One or Twenty Seventeen. This can be done by clicking on the “Appearance” tab on the left side of your dashboard and selecting “Themes”. From there, hover over the default theme and click on the “Activate” button.

Delete All Content

To restore WordPress to its default settings, you need to delete all your content, including posts, pages, comments, and media files. This means clicking on the “Posts” and “Pages” tabs on the left side of your dashboard and selecting “All Posts” and “All Pages”. From there, you can delete a post or page by hovering over it and clicking on the “Trash” button, or delete all your posts and pages at once by using the “Bulk Actions” dropdown menu. To delete comments, click on the “Comments” tab and select “All Comments”. To delete media files, click on the “Media” tab and select “Library”.

Reset Your Permalinks

Permalinks are the URLs that WordPress generates for your posts and pages. To reset your permalinks to their default settings, click on the “Settings” tab on the left side of your dashboard and select “Permalinks”. From there, select the “Plain” option and click on the “Save Changes” button.

Reinstall WordPress

Once you’ve deleted all your content and reverted to default settings, you can reinstall WordPress to complete the restoration process. To do this, click on the “Dashboard” tab on the top left of your dashboard and select “Updates”. Then, click on the “Re-install Now” Button to reinstall WordPress.

Conclusion

Restoring WordPress to default settings can be a daunting task, but by following the steps outlined in this article, you can confidently reset your website to its default state. Remember to create a backup of your website before proceeding with the restoration process to ensure that you don’t lose any valuable data. Hopefully, this guide has been a helpful resource to help you restore WordPress to default settings successfully.