Most backup advice stops at "make backups". But a backup is only as good as the restore, and restores are where things go wrong: a missing file, a half-uploaded ZIP, or a restore that overwrites the site and then fails halfway.
This guide shows how to restore a WordPress backup safely, what happens at each step, and how to get your previous site back if you need to.
Before you restore
- Know which backup you want. Pick one from before the problem started.
- Know what will be replaced. A full restore replaces content, settings and users. After it finishes, you sign in with the admin account that existed when the backup was made.
- Make a fresh backup of the current site if it still works. Movebase also keeps your current site as a recovery copy automatically, but an extra copy never hurts.
Restoring with Movebase, step by step
- Open Movebase → Restore.
- Choose where the backup comes from:
- a backup already saved on this server,
- ZIP parts uploaded from your computer,
- parts uploaded through your host's File Manager, or
- a backup in your cloud storage or Movebase Cloud.
- Verify. Movebase checks every part against its checksum. If a part is missing or damaged, it tells you which one, and the Restore button stays locked.
- Confirm the destination. You see what will be replaced, including users, and confirm by typing the site's address. This one step prevents restoring onto the wrong site.
- Restore. Files and database are restored in saved batches. If your host times out or you close the tab, it continues from the last saved point.
- Review the website. Movebase opens the restored site so you can check it.
Tip: Restoring onto a different domain? That's a migration, and it works the same way. Movebase rewrites the site's address everywhere. See the migration guide.
How to undo a restore
Before anything is replaced, Movebase keeps your current site as a recovery copy. If the restored version isn't what you wanted, open Movebase, choose Recover previous destination and confirm the site's address. The previous site comes back in one step. (Recovery replaces any changes made since the restore, so do it before you start editing.)
If you cancel a restore halfway, the site goes back as it was too. You never end up with half of one version and half of another.
When WordPress won't even open
If a bad plugin update means you can't reach the dashboard at all, Movebase recovery also works from WP-CLI on the server, so you can put the recovery copy back without a working admin area. Your host's support can run the command for you if you don't have SSH access.
Restoring only part of a site
Sometimes you only need one deleted page or one image back. A full restore is the safest way to get a consistent site, so the cleanest approach is:
- Restore the backup onto a staging site (a second WordPress install).
- Copy the content you need from staging to the live site.
This leaves your live site's newer orders, comments and users untouched.
After the restore
- Clear caches: your caching plugin, your host's cache and Cloudflare if you use it.
- Check forms, checkout and sign-in.
- Keep the recovery copy until you're sure, and keep a separate backup before deleting it in Movebase: deleting it removes the way back.
Why verification matters
Downloads get cut short, uploads fail silently and storage occasionally corrupts a file. Restoring a damaged backup can leave a site half-replaced and broken. Checking every part before changing anything is the single biggest difference between a calm restore and a stressful one. Read more in how to check that a WordPress backup works.
We build Movebase and test every step we write about on real WordPress sites, from shared hosting to big WooCommerce stores.
