How to Restart a WordPress Site – Reset WordPress (The Fast Way)

We recently saved a client from a website disaster after a single plugin update went wrong. Instead of spending hours on tedious fixes, we used our go-to method to reset their WordPress site and had it running perfectly in minutes.

Whether you’re struggling with a broken site, testing new themes, or just want a clean slate, the idea of a reset can feel overwhelming. But it’s often the fastest way to solve complex problems and get a fresh start.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to restart your WordPress site the right way. These are the same safe and simple methods we use to help our users get back on track quickly.

Why Restart a WordPress Site?

Restarting or resetting a WordPress site is like restoring your phone to its default ‘factory settings’. It wipes out all changes, letting you start fresh with a clean slate.

This process removes all your customizations, plugins, and themes, giving you a blank canvas to rebuild your site. It’s often the fastest solution to complex problems. However, a full reset is a big step, so it’s usually overkill for minor issues like a single plugin conflict.

Based on our decade-plus experience managing WordPress sites, here are the most common situations where restarting or resetting a WordPress site can be helpful:

1. Development and Testing Environment: When working on a localhost setup, we regularly reset our test sites after moving the site to a live server. This keeps our development environment clean and prevents conflicts between projects.
2. Fresh Start After Failed Changes: Sometimes, a website redesign doesn’t go as planned. Instead of manually undoing dozens of changes, a reset can save hours of troubleshooting time. We’ve used this approach countless times when helping our users recover from complicated customization issues.
3. Client Website Overhauls: For major client redesigns, starting with a clean slate often leads to better results. We typically use this method on staging sites, allowing us to build new designs without affecting the live site.
4. Learning and Skill Development: Whether you’re exploring starter themes or developing custom plugins, having a fresh WordPress installation provides the perfect training ground. Our team regularly uses this approach when testing new features.

What Does a WordPress Reset Actually Do?

Before we dive in, let’s quickly clarify what resetting your site does. When you use a reset plugin, it’s like a factory reset for your content, but not for your core files.

What a Reset WILL Delete:

• All of your posts, pages, and comments.
• All users (except your current admin account).
• All WordPress database tables with the default prefix.
• All your site’s settings and customizations stored in the database.

What a Reset will NOT Delete:

• Your media files (images, videos, etc. in your Uploads folder).
• Your installed themes and plugins (though they will all be deactivated).
• The core WordPress software files.

In short, a reset gives you a clean slate for your website’s content and settings without forcing you to reinstall WordPress or re-upload your files. Now that you know exactly what to expect, let’s walk through the steps to reset your site safely.

How to Restart and Reset a WordPress Site

Restarting your WordPress site might sound difficult, but it’s really not.

We’ll show you two easy methods to reset your site using a plugin. You can use the links below to jump straight to the method you prefer.

1. Method 1: Restart Your WordPress Site with DB Reset Pro (Simple and Easy)
2. Method 2: Restart Your WordPress Site with Advanced WordPress Reset (More Custom Reset Options)

Method 1: Restart Your WordPress Site with DB Reset Pro (Simple and Easy)

The easiest way to restart your WordPress site is by using DB Reset Pro. This free plugin allows you to quickly reset your WordPress database to its default state.

To get started, you’ll need to install and activate the DB Reset Pro plugin. If you need help, see our step-by-step tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, navigate to the Tools » DB Reset Pro page in your WordPress dashboard. From here, you need to type ‘reset’ into the Reset Confirmation field.

After entering the text, simply click on the ‘Reset WordPress’ button.

This process will remove all your posts, pages, custom post types, comments, and users except for the admin account you are currently logged into. Your media uploads and WordPress core files will not be affected.

Regarding your themes and plugins, they will not be deleted from your site. However, they will be deactivated.

After restarting your website, you can manually activate each plugin.

Simply go to the Plugins » Installed Plugins page from your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Activate’ link under the plugin name.

Similarly, to reactivate your theme, head to the Appearance » Themes page, and click the ‘Activate’ button next to the theme name.

Method 2: Restart Your WordPress Site with Advanced WordPress Reset (More Custom Reset Options)

Another way to restart your WordPress site is with Advanced WordPress Reset.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Advanced WordPress Reset plugin. For more details, see our instructions on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, you need to go to Tools » Advanced WP Reset in your WordPress dashboard. Here, you can restart your WordPress website by simply typing ‘reset’ into the Reset database field.

Once you’ve entered the text, simply click the ‘Reset database’ button.

When you reset your website, your plugins and theme files are not deleted. However, all the plugins are deactivated except for Advanced WordPress Reset.

To manually reactivate your plugins, go to the Plugins » Installed Plugins page from your WordPress dashboard. Then, click the ‘Activate’ link under the plugin name.

Configuring Custom Reset Options in Advanced WordPress Reset

Aside from restarting your entire website, Advanced WordPress Reset also lets you reset specific items on your website, like comments, or clean the uploads folder.

To reset individual files, you can go to Tools » Advanced WP Reset from your WordPress admin panel and then open the ‘Custom reset’ tab.

Next, you can click the ‘Run reset now’ button to restart different items on your website.

For example, if you used multiple plugins or themes for testing and now want a clean start, you can delete them all. Similarly, you can clean the uploads folder and wp-content folder.

The plugin also gives you different options to reset comments on your site. Simply scroll down to the ‘Reset Comments’ section in the plugin settings.

Here, you can delete all the comments, pending comments, spam comments, trashed comments, pingbacks, and trackbacks with a single click.

If you are unsure about which settings to choose, we recommend leaving these settings as is and using the default reset options instead.

This helps save time from deleting individual comments, and you get a fresh start on your WordPress site.

Video Tutorial

Subscribe to WPBeginner

Frequently Asked Questions About Restarting a WordPress Site

Having helped thousands of users, we’ve answered just about every question there is about resetting WordPress. Here are the answers to some of the most common ones.

1. What is the difference between resetting and reinstalling WordPress?

Resetting your site with a plugin wipes your database, which includes your posts, pages, and user data. However, it leaves your WordPress core files, plugins, and themes on the server.

Reinstalling is a more drastic step where you delete all files and upload a completely fresh version of WordPress. A reset is usually faster and sufficient for most cases.

2. Will resetting my site delete my themes and plugins?

No, the methods we’ve shown do not delete your theme and plugin files. They will be deactivated, but you can easily reactivate them from your dashboard after the reset is complete.

3. Does restarting a WordPress site affect SEO?

Yes, a full reset deletes all your content, which means search engines will no longer be able to find those pages. This is why a reset is best used on a staging site, a test environment, or when you plan to completely relaunch with new content.

4. Is it safe to reset my WordPress site?

It is very safe, but only if you create a complete backup first. A backup is your safety net, allowing you to restore your website instantly if you decide you want to undo the reset.

Additional Resources

Now that you know how to reset your site, you might find these other guides helpful for setting things up again:

• The Ultimate Guide to Boost WordPress Speed & Performance – Once you have a fresh start, use these tips to make sure your site is as fast as possible.
• How to Customize the WordPress Admin Dashboard – Learn how to personalize the backend of your site for a better user experience.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.