How to Do Search and Replace in WordPress With a Plugin

Managing a WordPress site often involves making changes across many posts and pages. One common task is searching for specific content and replacing it with something new.

We know firsthand how time-consuming it can be to search for and replace content manually. If you aren’t careful, it can also cause mistakes.

That’s why we looked for easier ways to search and replace content on your WordPress site. These methods let you make bulk changes quickly.

Let’s look at the reasons why you might need to search and replace WordPress content and how to do it effectively.

Quick Answer: How to Search and Replace in WordPress

Install the Search & Replace Everything plugin, then go to Tools » WP Search & Replace. Enter your search term and replacement text, preview the changes, and click ‘Replace All’.

Why Use Search and Replace in WordPress?

Search and replace lets you update content across your entire site at once, instead of editing each post or page manually.

• Save hours — update text, URLs, or images across hundreds of posts in seconds.
• Avoid mistakes — bulk replacements are more consistent and accurate than manual edits.

There are many situations where you might need to search and replace content on your WordPress site.

Here are some common use cases:

• Changing URLs: When you move a WordPress site to a new domain or switch to HTTPS, you will need to update all URLs across your website.
• Updating Old Content: Quickly update outdated information like product pricing, stats, and figures across multiple posts.
• Fixing Typos: If a repeated typo appears across your content, search and replace fixes it everywhere at once.
• Replacing Shortcodes: If you switch plugins that use shortcodes, a quick search and replace updates all instances.
• Updating Brand Names or Phrases: When your business rebrands, you can update the brand name across your entire site in one go.
• Replacing an Image Used Across Multiple Locations: Replace an outdated image anywhere on your site with just a few clicks.

Using a search-and-replace plugin saves time and keeps your content consistent. Now, let’s create a backup before making any changes.

Preparing for Search and Replace

Before making any changes to your WordPress database, back up your site first. This way, you can restore everything if something goes wrong.

We recommend using Duplicator. It is the best WordPress backup plugin for creating on-demand backups. More importantly, it makes it easy to restore your site from those backups.

Note: A free version of Duplicator is also available. It has fewer features but is enough to create a database backup and store it on your computer.

For detailed instructions and alternative backup options, see our beginner’s guide on creating WordPress backups.

Once your backup is ready, you can safely perform search and replace tasks on your website.

We will cover 2 methods in this tutorial. Use the quick links below to jump to the one you want to use:

Feature	Search & Replace Everything	Better Search Replace
Price	Free & Pro (paid plans starting from $29 /yr)	Free & Pro (paid plans starting from $59 /yr)
Undo changes	Yes (Pro only)	No
Replace images	Yes	No
Preview before replacing	Yes	Yes (dry run)
Case-insensitive search	Yes	Yes
Search specific tables	Yes	Yes
Best for	Most WordPress users	Simple text changes

Method 1: Using Search & Replace Everything (Recommended)

For this method, we will show you how to use the Search & Replace Everything plugin.

Created by the team behind WPCode, the best WordPress code snippets plugin, Search & Replace Everything is the easiest way to search and replace content on your WordPress site. It also handles serialized data correctly, which matters when you’re updating URLs or domain names stored in the database.

It can be used for all kinds of content, including:

• Text
• Images
• Content within specific database tables

First, you need to install and activate the Search & Replace Everything plugin. If you need help, see our tutorial on how to install WordPress plugins.

Note: There is also a free version of Search & Replace Everything. However, it has fewer features — for example, it doesn’t let you undo changes or view history.

Upon activation, go to Tools » WP Search & Replace to start using the plugin.

Searching And Replacing Content

Under the Search & Replace tab, enter the content you want to search for and then add the content you want to replace it with.

By default, all searches are case-sensitive. This means if you search for “Wordpress,” it will not match “wordpress,” “WordPress,” or “WORDPRESS.”

If you want your search to match all instances regardless of case, toggle the “Case Insensitive” switch.

If you know which database tables to look in, you can select those below.

For example, if you want to search and replace text in your posts, select the posts table. This makes your search faster and more precise.

You can also select multiple tables or all tables. The plugin handles large databases well and won’t slow down your site.

Bonus Tip 💡: Learn more about WordPress database management and what each table does in WordPress.

Click the ‘Preview Search & Replace’ button.

The plugin will open a popup showing items that match your search term and how they will look after the replacement.

If everything looks good, click the ‘Replace All’ button to apply your changes.

The plugin will show a warning reminding you to create a backup.

Since you already created a backup, click ‘Yes’ to apply your changes.

Track And Undo Changes

If you are using the Pro version of the plugin, you can view past changes and undo them if needed.

Switch to the ‘History’ tab on the plugin’s settings page to see a list of your search and replace operations.

Click the ‘Undo’ button to revert any changes.

Replace Images in WordPress

Search & Replace Everything can also replace images, not just text.

This is useful when you’ve used the same image across multiple posts, pages, and other locations. Replacing it through the plugin updates the image in all those locations at once.

Switch to the ‘Replace Image’ tab under the plugin settings and locate the image you want to change.

Hover over the image and click the ‘Replace’ button.

Next, upload your replacement image by clicking ‘Choose a file…’.

The plugin will show a preview of the new image next to the old one.

Tip 💡: For best results, use a replacement image with the same dimensions (width and height) as the original.

Click ‘Replace Source File’ to save your changes. The plugin will now swap the old image for the new one across your site.

Tip 💡: If you still see the old image, try clearing the WordPress cache.

Method 2: Using Better Search Replace Plugin

For this method, we will use the Better Search Replace plugin. It is a free plugin with a slightly different set of options than Search & Replace Everything.

Note: Better Search Replace does not have a built-in undo option. Once changes are written to the database, you cannot reverse them through the plugin. That’s why creating a backup before using it is so important.

The first step is to install and activate the Better Search Replace plugin. For details, see our tutorial on installing a WordPress plugin.

Once activated, go to Tools » Better Search Replace.

Add the text you want to search for, then add the replacement text.

Next, select the database tables you want to search. If you want to search and replace text in your posts, select the posts table. You can also select multiple tables.

By default, all searches are case-sensitive. This means if you search for “Wordpress,” it will not match “wordpress,” “WordPress,” or “WORDPRESS.”

If you want your search to match all those strings, make the search case-insensitive.

Check the ‘Run as dry run’ option if you want to preview the results first.

This runs the search and shows how many tables and cells will be affected, without making any changes to the database.

Click the ‘Run Search/Replace’ button to continue.

If you ran a dry run, you will see the affected database tables and cells. You will need to run the search again with the ‘Run as dry run’ checkbox unchecked to actually apply the changes.

If you skipped the dry run, the plugin applies the changes right away.

Troubleshooting

If you see a white screen or run into timeouts during a search and replace, click the ‘Settings’ tab on the plugin page.

Try decreasing the ‘Max Page Size’ to avoid timeouts and the white screen issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I find and replace in WordPress without a plugin?

Yes. Developers can use WP-CLI with the wp search-replace command, or run a MySQL query via phpMyAdmin. For beginners, a plugin is much safer and easier to use.

Does WordPress search and replace work on serialized data?

Yes. Both Search & Replace Everything and Better Search Replace handle serialized data correctly. This is important when updating URLs or domain names stored in the WordPress database.

Can I undo a search and replace in WordPress?

With the Pro version of Search & Replace Everything, yes — use the History tab to view and undo past operations. Better Search Replace has no built-in undo, which is why creating a backup before running any search and replace is so important.

What’s the difference between Search & Replace Everything and Better Search Replace?

Search & Replace Everything is more powerful — it supports image replacement, change history, and the ability to undo changes (Pro). Better Search Replace is a free, simpler plugin best suited for straightforward text or URL changes.

What is the WP-CLI search replace command?

The command is wp search-replace 'old-text' 'new-text'. It’s a developer tool for making database changes via the command line. Always use the --dry-run flag first to preview changes before running the actual replacement.

We hope this article helped you learn how to search and replace content in WordPress. You may also want to see our tutorial on how to clean up your WordPress database for improved performance or how to bulk delete WordPress posts.

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