Do you wish to go back to a prior version of WordPress? Perhaps you upgraded only to discover that your plugins or themes are no longer compatible with the most recent version of WordPress. Perhaps your website requires an older plugin for which there is no suitable modern replacement.
Whatever the case may be, there is a solution to downgrade WordPress and fix the bugs on your site.
- Backup your WordPress Site
- Method 1: Make use of a plugin
- Method 2: Manually downgrade
Backup your WordPress Site
It’s critical to back up your WordPress website before attempting any of these solutions. These methods are normally safe, but anything can go wrong when working with core files, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you ruin your site or delete your data by accident, be sure you have a backup so you can simply roll back and restore the problem.
WordPress may be backed up using a backup service provided by some web providers, a WordPress plugin, or manually copying the files to your PC using FTP. Ensure that your WordPress database is also backed up.
Method 1. Use a Plugin
It’s far easier to roll back WordPress with a downgrade plugin than it is to manually download and change the files with FTP. WP Downgradeis the most often used WordPress reversing plugin.
WP Downgrade tampers with WordPress’ automated updating, tricking it into installing an older version of the software rather than the most recent. All you have to do is write in the precise WordPress version you want, or provide a direct download link on the plugin page, and WordPress will take care of the rest.
Use WP Downgrade or a comparable plugin if you want the most straightforward option that takes the least amount of time.
Method 2. Downgrade Manually
If a plugin doesn’t work for you or you’d rather do it yourself, manually downgrading isn’t difficult if you know how to use FTP. To access your site, you’ll need an FTP client.
After you’ve made a backup, the next step is to download the WordPress release you want. Only move back one release at a time – earlier versions can leave your site vulnerable to security problems.
After that, log out of WordPress and deactivate all of your plugins. Any disagreements will be avoided as a result of this. Make sure your plugins haven’t been changed recently and are compatible with the version you’re reverting to.
Using FTP, go to your website and delete the wp-admin and wp-includes folders. If you don’t want to lose your site’s appearance, don’t touch any other directories, notably wp-content.
Simply drag and drop the previous WordPress version into your FTP manager. If you upload a new wp-content folder, the data on your site may be overwritten. Everything from the WordPress download file except wp-content should be copied.
When you’re finished, log into your WordPress site and upload the database.
Rolling Back WordPress
It’s not a good idea to go with an outdated version indefinitely because it can lead to major security risks. It’s best to look for an alternative if the theme or plugin that isn’t performing properly doesn’t have an active developer.
Downgrading, on the other hand, can be a useful short-term solution while you look for other ways to fix the flaws. If one of your plugins is incompatible with Gutenberg but is still in development, you could want to downgrade and wait a few weeks for an update.
Refer this video to illustrate above steps:
That’s about it.
