Downgrade-WordPress-to-Previous-Versions

How to Easily Downgrade WordPress to Previous Version

Is your website currently having problems after upgrading the WordPress version? Do not worry. This is quite common in some users. The causes can be various kinds.

Starting from plugins or themes that are not compatible with the latest version of WordPress. Or it could be that the problem is in the WordPress core itself. 

Well, the first step you can take to solve the problem is to downgrade the WordPress version. How to? Come on, see the complete tutorial in this article.

Reasons Why You Need to Downgrade WordPress to a Previous Version

It is important to upgrade your WordPress version regularly. This is one of the best ways to keep your website in optimal performance. Besides, the upgraded WordPress also makes your website more secure from various malicious attacks. For example, data theft or hackers.

Unfortunately, upgrading WordPress often causes new problems. Such as websites that don’t work, pages can’t be opened, page views change and so on. 

That way, a temporary solution you can do is downgrade WordPress to an earlier version. Moreover, this issue usually occurs due to the use of plugins or themes that are not compatible with the latest version of WordPress. Or it could be due to an error in your WordPress core. So that to overcome it is not easy. 

However, we need to remind you that using an outdated version of WordPress will make your website even more vulnerable. Either vulnerable to security attacks or decreased website performance. 

Therefore, downgrading WordPress should only be done for a while until you have resolved the main issue.

Preparing to Downgrade the WordPress Version 

Before starting to downgrade WordPress, make sure to back up all your website data. This is important to take precautions when issues or errors arise in the middle of the downgrade process, which results in your data being lost.

There are many ways to back up data in WordPress. You can use the features provided by your hosting service, using Dropbox or with the help of plugins.

Okay, if you have done a full website data backup, you can proceed to the downgrade process. Please note that in this article, we will explain two easy downgrade methods, namely the manual way and using plugins.

How to downgrade WordPress manually.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the first method, which is to downgrade the WordPress version manually below.

Step 1 – Deactivate All Plugins

Before downgrading, make sure your plugins are no longer active. Here’s how to disable it.

  • Log into your WordPress dashboard.
  • Select Plugins in the dashboard menu. Then click Installed Plugins.
Deactivate All Plugins
  • Check the Plugins column to mark all plugins to be removed.
wordpress plugin section
  • Click Bulk Actions and select Deactivate.
bulk deactivate wordpress plugin
  • If you don’t have access to the WordPress dashboard, you can also disable plugins via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), for example, FileZilla. If you are not familiar with the FTP client, you should first learn how to use it so that the downgrade process can run easily.

Step 2 – Downgrading WordPress Version with FTP client.

Next, you can start the steps to downgrade the WordPress version with an FTP client. 

  • To download older versions of WordPress files, you can access them at the WordPress Release Archive. We recommend that you use the second most recent version of WordPress. For example, the current latest version is 5.3.2; then you can choose version 5.3.1.
wordpress changelog
  • Once installed, you can open the FTP client application. Then delete the files in the format wp-admin and wp-includes.
wordpress ftp client app
  • Upload the WordPress version file that you downloaded earlier, except for the wp-content file. Once uploaded, you can select Overwrite to replace the old version with the latest version. Then click, OK.
wordpress downgrade
  • After that, a message will appear, offering you whether you want to update the database. If so, you can select the Update WordPress Database.
  • Done. You have successfully downgraded the previous WordPress version. To be sure, you can check the version number on the Updates page on the dashboard menu.
Bulck deactivate wordpress plugin

How to Downgrade WordPress Version with Plugins

If you have never used an FTP client, you can downgrade WordPress in a second way, using a plugin.

Of course, this second way is very much more practical. This is because all processes will be automated directly through the WP Downgrade plugin. Here are the steps.

Step 1 – Install WP Downgrade Plugin.

Before downgrading, the first thing you need to do is install the WP Downgrade plugin.

  • Login to your WordPress dashboard page.
  • Select Plugins on the dashboard menu, then click Add New. 
  • Type the name of the WP Downgrade plugin in the search field. Press Enter.
  • Click Install Now on the WP Downgrade Plugin.
  • Once installed, click Activate.
wp downgrade plugin

Step 2 – Downgrade WordPress Version

  • Select Settings in the dashboard menu, click WP Downgrade.
  • After entering the WP Downgrade Options page, enter the WordPress version number you want to install. For example, if your current WordPress version is 5.3.2, you can enter the version number below, 5.0. Then click Save Changes.
wordpress downgrade plugin options
  • Once saved, you can scroll down and find a message to visit the WordPress Updates page. Then click Update Core.
wordpress update core
  • After successfully entering the WordPress Updates page, click Re-install Now to downgrade the WordPress version.
reinstall wordpress
  • It worked! You have successfully downgraded WordPress to the previous version. If you have successfully resolved the issue on the website and want to return to the latest version, please repeat the steps from the beginning.

Oh yes, after you have successfully changed the WordPress version, don’t forget to immediately restore the data that you have backed up previously, huh.

Summary

You need to downgrade the WordPress version when your WordPress website has an error whether it’s because of an incompatible plugin or theme or a problem with the core version of the latest WordPress. 

However, we emphasize again that downgrading the WordPress version is only a temporary solution. Because using an outdated version of WordPress, in the long run, will be much more dangerous. Especially in terms of website security. 

So, if you have done everything you can but the website problem has not been resolved, ask the developer or your hosting service provider for help. 

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