Restore & Migrate
Put a site back. Or move it somewhere new.
Every backup comes with restore.php. Copy it and the ZIP into a clean WordPress install, open restore.php in your browser, and it puts the whole site back, on the same domain or a new one.
The restore page
Two files. One page. One click.
Put the ZIP and restore.php in the root of a clean WordPress install, next to wp-config.php, then visit your-site.com/restore.php. It finds the ZIP, reads the database details from wp-config.php and detects the old address from the backup. Check the new URL and click Start Restore.
- No database details to type in
- Old URL detected, new URL filled in for you
- Live log and progress bar while it runs
No wp-config.php in the folder? restore.php asks for the database details instead.
BackupEncoder Restore
Backup archive: example.com-2026-09-30-030002.zip
URL rewrite
Old site URL (detected from the backup)
https://old-site.com
New site URL
https://new-site.com
Start Restore
[10:02:11] Found 18,204 entries in the backup archive.
[10:02:14] database.sql extracted. Extracting site files…
What restore does
Five phases, all logged.
1
Extract
The database, then the site files, are unpacked from the ZIP in short chunks.
2
Import
The database is imported into temporary tables, so nothing live is touched mid-import.
3
Swap in
The clean install’s tables are archived, then the restored ones are renamed into place with your table prefix.
4
Rewrite URLs
If the address has changed, it’s replaced table by table without breaking serialized data.
5
Clean start
Plugins are switched off and old cached pages cleared, so wp-admin loads on the first try.
Moving to a new domain
1
Download both files
From Backup History, click Both to get the ZIP and restore.php.
2
Install a clean WordPress
Set up a fresh WordPress on the new host or domain. It only needs to exist; everything in it will be replaced.
3
Copy both files into it
Put the ZIP and restore.php in the site’s root folder, the one with wp-config.php in it.
4
Open restore.php
Visit https://new-site.com/restore.php, check the new URL and click Start Restore.
5
Finish and log in
Finish & Go to Site deletes restore.php and the ZIP (unless you tick to keep them) and takes you to wp-admin. Log in with your old site’s account.
Before you restore
Restoring replaces the files and database at the destination. If that site has anything you want to keep, back it up first.
After you restore
Plugins are switched off so the site comes up cleanly on its new address. The log lists which ones were active, so you can switch them back on. Stale cached pages that point at the old address are cleared too.
Moves without the headache.
Every backup is already a migration package.