WordPress Restore After a Hack
A backup is only useful when recovery is controlled, repeatable, and verifiable. This practical workflow helps teams restore WordPress safely after a security event, reduce re-infection risk, and return service with confidence.
Immediate response (first hour)
- Put the affected site in maintenance or isolation mode to limit further damage.
- Preserve access logs, plugin logs, and infrastructure indicators for investigation.
- Identify the last known clean backup checkpoint before suspicious activity.
- Pause non-essential deployment jobs and credential sharing until triage is complete.
Restore workflow
- Restore files and database from a confirmed clean timestamp, ideally in staging first.
- Rotate WordPress admin credentials, cloud keys, SSH access, and API tokens.
- Patch vulnerable plugins, themes, and WordPress core before public reopening.
- Run a functional verification checklist for login, forms, checkout, cron, and cache behavior.
- Validate outbound integrations such as email, webhooks, payment events, and analytics tags.
Post-recovery hardening
- Use stricter backup frequency and retention during heightened monitoring.
- Enable alerts for backup failures, auth anomalies, and unusual restore actions.
- Document root cause and corrective actions so the same path does not repeat.
- Schedule follow-up restore drills to confirm sustained recovery readiness.
How to choose the right restore checkpoint
Checkpoint selection is one of the highest-risk decisions in incident response. Restoring too recent a snapshot can reintroduce malicious changes, while restoring too far back can cause unnecessary data loss. Use evidence from logs, file changes, and unusual login events to narrow the compromise window.
In practice, teams should shortlist two or three candidate checkpoints, test each in staging, and run malware scanning plus functional checks before production cutover. This reduces guesswork and improves confidence for business stakeholders waiting on recovery timelines.
If your team has many client sites, document this selection process in a shared incident runbook. Consistency matters more than speed alone.
Production reopening checklist
Security checks
Credentials rotated, suspicious accounts removed, vulnerable components patched, and permission audit completed.
Business checks
Revenue paths verified, forms tested, email delivery confirmed, and analytics tracking restored.
Operational checks
Backup schedule active, alerts routed, restore logs saved, and postmortem owner assigned.
Communication checks
Status update sent to internal teams and clients with timeline, scope, and corrective actions.
Recovery resources
General Backup FAQ
Review common operational and planning questions before major changes.
Fast Ticket Resolution
Use priority support flow for urgent technical issues during incident recovery.
AWS S3 Backup Guide
Set stronger cloud backup policy and restore checkpoints after security events.
Cloudflare R2 Backup Guide
Review R2 setup details if your backup target strategy is changing.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly should I restore after discovering a hack?
Restore quickly, but only after isolating the issue and identifying a clean checkpoint. Restoring without validation can reintroduce compromise indicators.
Should I restore directly to production or test in staging first?
Whenever possible, test in staging first. This helps verify integrity, remove uncertainty, and reduce business risk before production cutover.
What credentials should be rotated after recovery?
Rotate WordPress admin accounts, database credentials, cloud API keys, SSH access, and third-party integration tokens linked to the site.
How do I reduce the chance of reinfection?
Patch vulnerabilities, remove unused plugins/themes, apply least-privilege access, and keep active monitoring for suspicious behavior during post-recovery periods.
Which pages are best for planning an upgraded backup strategy?
Use backup for agencies, compare, and pricing to build a stronger post-incident baseline.
30-day monitoring plan after recovery
A successful restore is only part of incident closure. During the next 30 days, track authentication anomalies, unexpected file changes, backup completion trends, and unusual plugin behavior. Compare these indicators against your original compromise timeline so subtle relapse patterns are detected early.
Run scheduled restore checks during this period as a safety net. If a second incident occurs, your team should still have recent validated checkpoints and a repeatable response path. This reduces panic decisions and keeps stakeholder communication evidence-based.
Also include weekly stakeholder updates with concise status notes: what was monitored, what changed, and whether any new risk indicators appeared. This improves trust with non-technical decision makers and keeps incident response ownership visible across teams.
For agencies, this monitoring plan should become part of your standard incident template so every client receives the same post-recovery quality threshold and accountability model.