Before Resetting your WordPress Database

WordPress stores all your website content in a database. This includes your posts, pages, media file data, plugin and theme settings, and more.

If you have been working on a test a site on a local server or staging site, then sometimes you may wish to reset and just go back to the fresh install.

Resetting your WordPress database is the fastest way to do this. It deletes all your WordPress data without deleting any files stored on your web hosting server.

Important: If you reset your WordPress database, all the data will be gone forever. It cannot be undone.

You can make a complete WordPress backup before you proceed any further. You can also backup your WordPress database alone if you don’t want to backup your entire website.

Reset Your WordPress Database to Default Settings

First, you need to install and activate the WordPress Database Reset plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit the Tools » Database Reset page. From here, you can select the database tables you want to reset, or click on the ‘Select All Tables’ link to reset all tables.

When you select all tables, you’ll have the option to reactivate your current WordPress theme and active plugins. The plugin will also preserve your current WordPress user account.

Finally, you’ll need to confirm the reset by entering the security code in the text box and click on the Reset Tables button.

You’ll see a warning popup appear on the screen, click on the OK button to continue.

The plugin will now delete all data in your WordPress database tables. You’ll see a success message on the plugin’s settings page.

After a few seconds, you’ll be logged out of the WordPress admin area. You can login again using same old account to continue working on your website.

We hope this article helped you learn how to reset your WordPress database to default settings. You may also want to check out our beginner’s guide to WordPress database management, and our infographic on how WordPress works behind the scenes.

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