Undo in WordPress: How, When, & Why

Have you ever accidentally deleted a crucial paragraph, messed up the formatting of an entire page, or lost hours of work in WordPress? It may derail your content creation process. But don’t worry; WordPress, in a way, offers you the opportunity to undo the changes.

So there are almost no irreversible mistakes. But how do the WordPress experts ensure safe work revision for a smooth editing process? Well, we will find out through this blog. Let’s begin.

How to Undo in WordPress?

One of the best features of WordPress is the “Revisions” option you get in the Gutenberg Block Editor. It automatically saves multiple versions of your posts and pages. So you can easily revert to a previous version if you make a mistake or want to restore a previous draft.

Here’s how this process goes.

Step 1: Open the post or page through the WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: On the right hand side of the editor interface, you will find the “Revisions” option under the “Post” section.

Step 3: Click on the number against it and you will be taken to the revision interface. From here, you can do the undo in WordPress.

Here’s how the interface looks.

Step 4: In this interface, you can choose from different revisions (if done by the editor, author, or contributor) via a slider.

As you can see, there are two sections on this page, red and green. The red section shows anything that’s been deleted and green shows everything that’s been added to the page or post.

Step 5: Click on the checkbox “Compare any two revisions”. That will help you compare two different revisions of your page or post by selecting them through the slider.

Step 6: After you have decided on the revision to undo in WordPress, click “Restore this Revision”.

But if you don’t want to undo every aspect of the post all at one, go for the evergreen copy-paste approach.

Step 7 (optional): Copy the content you want to change (from an older version) and paste it in the new version.

Step 8: After you are satisfied with the revisions, click “Return to editor” at the top and go back to the editing interface.

Step 9: Save the post and the process of undo in WordPress will be done.

But that’s just the pages and posts. If you have mistakenly made an edit with the core files and don’t know how to proceed, it will be better to hire professional WordPress developers. They will help you make the necessary changes to core files and ensure the best results for your website.

When to Undo in WordPress?

You should consider undoing changes in WordPress whenever you make a mistake that negatively impacts your content or website’s functionality. Here are some common scenarios where undoing can be helpful:

• Accidental Deletion: If you accidentally delete a paragraph, image, or other content, you can quickly undo the action.   
• Incorrect Formatting: If you apply the wrong formatting, such as bold, italics, or a different font, you can easily undo the change.
• Mistaken Editing: If you make a mistake while editing text, you can undo the change and try again.   
• Experimenting with Design: If you’re experimenting with different design elements, such as colors, fonts, or layouts, you can easily undo changes that you don’t like.
• Restoring Previous Versions: If you’re not satisfied with the current version of your post or page, you can use the Revision History to restore an earlier version.

The undo or revision feature in WordPress saves significant time and frustration when editing a content. All of the above-mentioned scenarios warrant undoing in WordPress, but it’s important to limit the attempts.

Why Limit the Undo Attempts in WordPress?

While WordPress doesn’t explicitly limit the number of undo attempts, you may still want to limit the attempts for the following reasons.

• Storage Space: Each revision takes up disk space. Over time, numerous revisions can significantly increase your website’s database size.   
• Performance Impact: A large database can slow down your website’s loading speed, especially during backups and other database-intensive operations.
• Potential for Abuse: In rare cases, malicious actors could exploit a large number of revisions to gain unauthorized access or damage your website.
• Overwhelming History: Too many revisions can make it difficult to track changes and identify the most relevant versions.

To ensure you can undo in WordPress at regular intervals, make sure you and other contributors save the posts and pages at regular intervals while editing.

To avoid any errors that may occur throughout the editing and maintenance process, hire our expert WordPress development company. We’ll ensure your website is well-maintained and safeguarded against any issues.

FAQs on Undoing in WordPress

To Conclude

From accidental deletions to formatting mishaps, the Revision History feature provides a safety net, so you can effectively undo in WordPress. That ensures, you can confidently experiment with your content without fear of irreversible damage.

Remember to optimize your Revision History settings to balance performance and functionality. But keep in mind, too many undos and revisions can lead to more occupied storage space, impact on performance, and potential security implications. So be careful.

If you need help with the revisions and other maintenance tasks on your website, hire our WordPress professionals today!