Have you ever updated a WordPress plugin only to realize that the new update breaks your site? It’s extremely frustrating and is often one of the main reasons why beginners don’t update plugins. In this article, we will show you how to rollback WordPress plugins like a version control system for beginners.
When and When You Need to Rollback WordPress Plugins
You should always use the latest version of WordPress, plugins, and themes. However, sometimes updates can break your website. This is why we always recommend you to create complete WordPress backup before performing any updates.
Restoring a site from backup can be a time consuming task. But if you know which plugin caused the problem, you can easily revert the changes and report the problem to the developer, so it can be fixed.
Now you can always manually install the older version of the plugin, but having an easier way to rollback is more efficient.
Let’s take a look how you can easily rollback WordPress plugins using a version control designed for absolute beginners.
Rolling Back WordPress Plugins
First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Rollback plugin. Upon activation, go to the plugins page where you will notice a new Rollback link below each plugin.
When you need to revert to a previous version of the plugin, simply visit the plugins page and click on the Rollback link below that plugin.
WP Rollback plugin will take you to a page where you can see which version you have installed and the versions you can rollback too.
Simply select the previous version and then click on the rollback button. The plugin will now display a warning message. This message simply informs you that you should create a complete WordPress backup before proceeding.
If you have taken all the precautions, you can now proceed by clicking on the Rollback button.
WP Rollback will download and replace your current version with the version you selected.
Rolling Back WordPress Themes to Previous Version
If you are using a free theme downloaded from WordPress.org theme directory, then WP Rollback can rollback your theme too.
Simply go to Appearance » Themes page and click on the theme that you want to rollback. Theme details popup would appear with the Rollback button at the bottom right corner.
If you see no rollback is available for the theme message, then first make sure that the theme is from WordPress.org directory. The plugin does not work on themes downloaded from any other sources.
If you are certain that the theme you are trying to rollback is from WordPress.org directory, then here is what you need to do. Simply go to Dashboard » Updates page, this will force WordPress to check for updates.
Now come back to the themes page and click on the theme you wanted to rollback. You should now be able to see the Rollback button now.
That’s all we hope this article helped you learn how to easily rollback WordPress plugins using a version control for beginners. You may also want to see our expert-picked list of 20 must have plugins for 2015.
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The rollback plugin assumes 2 things:
1. The old version of the plugin you want to rollback exists in the repository. This isn’t a certainty as plugin developers must actually submit the tagged version and many don’t bother.
2. The version of the plugin you installed didn’t make database changes or update settings so significantly that rolling back results in problems i.e. it doesn’t do a true rollback, but rather just installs an old version of the plugin.
You’re probably safe most of the time, but people should be aware of the above if they’ve decided to rely on this plugin 100%.
Thanks Marios for adding this.
This is a great tip. I wasn’t aware of the WP Rollback plugin but I am constantly frustrated by plugin or theme updates that break my client’s sites. Ultimately, I want to fix those breaks so that I can keep a given WordPress site fully up to date but I don’t always have time to fix them and rolling back is a good option. Another challenge of maintaining our client’s sites is even KNOWING when a plugin breaks something. This service visually monitors your site or sites and alerts you if some type of update substantially changes your site
This is really awesome post for one, wants to know how to get old version. Useful information, Thanks for sharing.
Is there a rollback plugin for premium wordpress SEO? This plugin is causing issues with my blog and I want to rollback to previous version till the updates fix my issues.
The rollback only works for plugins downloaded from WordPress.org plugins.
Hey,
Just wanted to tell you that there support staff has fixed the issue with Yoast Premium and now the plugin functions like it should. Took a few days with support emails but they resolved it. Next time when a major release comes out, i’ll just wait a few weeks before upgrading.
Best tip ever!!
I use one plugin that was updated and lost a feature reallly important to me, this is gonna help me a lot.
Great Article, Just to add on to this, There may be situation where we had to do some code modifications to make plugin work. Make sure to keep track of those changed files and rollback these files once your plugin is rolled back successfully.
It is not a good idea to make direct changes to a plugin’s files.