This article is for you if you want to create a blank new WordPress default website without taking over any content from the existing live website.
Read here how to reset the WordPress database back to its defaults and delete all customizations and content from the database, the same as you installed a fresh WordPress website from scratch.
Using a WP Staging MU-Plugin
You need to install this plugin as a mu-plugin on your live site. If you don’t know how to add mu-plugins to your website, please check this guide first.
PHP
<?php
add_action('wpstg.clone_first_run', function () {
// Set to false for actual operation
$isDryRun = true;
// Abort if not wp-staging staging site
if (empty($GLOBALS['table_prefix']) || !preg_match('@^wpstg\d+@', $GLOBALS['table_prefix'])) {
return;
}
// Run at shutdown to avoid any issue with loaded plugins
add_action('shutdown', function () use ($isDryRun) {
$logFile = WP_CONTENT_DIR . "/wpstg-reset.log";
$config = (object)[
'dbName' => DB_NAME,
'dbUser' => DB_USER,
'dbPassword' => DB_PASSWORD,
'dbHost' => DB_HOST,
'dbPrefix' => $GLOBALS['table_prefix'],
'rootPath' => rtrim(ABSPATH, '/'),
'parentPath' => rtrim(dirname(ABSPATH), '/')
];
$wpTables = [
'commentmeta',
'comments',
'links',
'options',
'postmeta',
'posts',
'term_relationships',
'term_taxonomy',
'termmeta',
'terms',
'usermeta',
'users',
/*mu*/
'blogs',
'blogmeta',
'signups',
'site',
'sitemeta',
'registration_log'
];
$preservedTables = [
'options',
'users',
'usermeta',
'site',
'sitemeta',
'signups'
];
$wpOptions = [
'siteurl',
'home',
'blogname',
'blogdescription',
'users_can_register',
'admin_email',
'start_of_week',
'use_balanceTags',
'use_smilies',
'require_name_email',
'comments_notify',
'posts_per_rss',
'rss_use_excerpt',
'mailserver_url',
'mailserver_login',
'mailserver_pass',
'mailserver_port',
'default_category',
'default_comment_status',
'default_ping_status',
'default_pingback_flag',
'posts_per_page',
'date_format',
'time_format',
'links_updated_date_format',
'comment_moderation',
'moderation_notify',
'permalink_structure',
'rewrite_rules',
'hack_file',
'blog_charset',
'moderation_keys',
'active_plugins',
'category_base',
'ping_sites',
'comment_max_links',
'gmt_offset',
'default_email_category',
'recently_edited',
'template',
'stylesheet',
'comment_registration',
'html_type',
'use_trackback',
'default_role',
'db_version',
'uploads_use_yearmonth_folders',
'upload_path',
'blog_public',
'default_link_category',
'show_on_front',
'tag_base',
'show_avatars',
'avatar_rating',
'upload_url_path',
'thumbnail_size_w',
'thumbnail_size_h',
'thumbnail_crop',
'medium_size_w',
'medium_size_h',
'avatar_default',
'large_size_w',
'large_size_h',
'image_default_link_type',
'image_default_size',
'image_default_align',
'close_comments_for_old_posts',
'close_comments_days_old',
'thread_comments',
'thread_comments_depth',
'page_comments',
'comments_per_page',
'default_comments_page',
'comment_order',
'sticky_posts',
'widget_categories',
'widget_text',
'widget_rss',
'uninstall_plugins',
'timezone_string',
'page_for_posts',
'page_on_front',
'default_post_format',
'link_manager_enabled',
'finished_splitting_shared_terms',
'site_icon',
'medium_large_size_w',
'medium_large_size_h',
'wp_page_for_privacy_policy',
'show_comments_cookies_opt_in',
'admin_email_lifespan',
'disallowed_keys',
'comment_previously_approved',
'auto_plugin_theme_update_emails',
'auto_update_core_dev',
'auto_update_core_minor',
'auto_update_core_major',
'wp_force_deactivated_plugins',
'wp_attachment_pages_enabled',
];
$wpCoreFiles = [
"index.php",
"license.txt",
"readme.html",
"wp-activate.php",
"wp-admin",
"wp-blog-header.php",
"wp-comments-post.php",
"wp-config.php",
"wp-config-sample.php",
"wp-content",
"wp-cron.php",
"wp-includes",
"wp-links-opml.php",
"wp-load.php",
"wp-login.php",
"wp-mail.php",
"wp-settings.php",
"wp-signup.php",
"wp-trackback.php",
"xmlrpc.php",
];
// avoid db.php dropins
$dbh = new wpdb($config->dbUser, $config->dbPassword, $config->dbName, $config->dbHost);
file_put_contents($logFile, "");
$dbh->query("SET SESSION SQL_MODE = 'NO_AUTO_VALUE_ON_ZERO'");
$dbh->query("SET FOREIGN_KEY_CHECKS = 0");
$dbh->query("SET UNIQUE_CHECKS = 0");
$dbh->query("SET AUTOCOMMIT = 0");
$dbh->query("START TRANSACTION");
// Cleanup tables
$tableArrays = $dbh->get_results("SHOW TABLES LIKE '" . $config->dbPrefix . "%'", ARRAY_N);
if (!empty($tableArrays) && is_array($tableArrays)) {
foreach ($tableArrays as $tables) {
$tableName = substr($tables[0], strlen($config->dbPrefix));
if (!in_array($tableName, $wpTables)) {
$dropQuery = "DROP TABLE `" . $tables[0] . "`";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $dropQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($dropQuery);
}
continue;
}
if (!in_array($tableName, $preservedTables)) {
$truncateQuery = "TRUNCATE TABLE `" . $tables[0] . "`";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $truncateQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($truncateQuery);
}
}
}
}
// Cleanup options
$tableOptions = $config->dbPrefix . "options";
$optionActivePlugins = [];
$activeTheme = $dbh->get_var("SELECT `option_value` FROM `" . $tableOptions . "` WHERE `option_name`='template' LIMIT 1");
$adminEmail = $dbh->get_var("SELECT `option_value` FROM `" . $tableOptions . "` WHERE `option_name`='admin_email' LIMIT 1");
$optionArrays = $dbh->get_results("SELECT `option_id`,`option_name`,`option_value` FROM `" . $tableOptions . "` WHERE `option_name` NOT LIKE 'wpstg%'", ARRAY_A);
if (!empty($optionArrays) && is_array($optionArrays)) {
foreach ($optionArrays as $options) {
$optionId = $options['option_id'];
$optionName = $options['option_name'];
$optionValue = $options['option_value'];
if (in_array($optionName, $wpOptions) || strpos($optionName, "wpstg") === 0 || strpos($optionName, "_wpstg_") !== false) {
if ($optionName === 'active_plugins' && !empty($optionValue)) {
$optionActivePlugins = maybe_unserialize($optionValue);
}
continue;
}
$deleteQuery = "DELETE FROM `" . $tableOptions . "` WHERE `option_id`='" . $optionId . "'";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $deleteQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($deleteQuery);
}
}
}
// Cleanup plugins, preserved wp-staging
if (!empty($optionActivePlugins) && is_array($optionActivePlugins)) {
$optionActivePlugins = array_filter(array_map(function ($a) {
if (strpos($a, "wp-staging") === 0) {
return $a;
}
}, $optionActivePlugins));
$updateQuery = "UPDATE `" . $tableOptions . "` SET `option_value`='" . serialize($optionActivePlugins) . "' WHERE `option_name`='active_plugins'";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $updateQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($updateQuery);
}
}
// Cleanup user
$tableUser = $config->dbPrefix . "users";
$tableUsermeta = $config->dbPrefix . "usermeta";
$userArrays = $dbh->get_results("SELECT `ID` FROM `" . $tableUser . "` WHERE `user_email` NOT LIKE '" . $adminEmail . "' and `user_login` NOT LIKE 'wpstg_%'", ARRAY_A);
if (!empty($userArrays) && is_array($userArrays)) {
foreach ($userArrays as $users) {
$userId = $users['ID'];
$deleteQuery = "DELETE FROM `" . $tableUsermeta . "` WHERE `user_id`='" . $userId . "'";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $deleteQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($deleteQuery);
}
$deleteQuery = "DELETE FROM `" . $tableUser . "` WHERE `ID`='" . $userId . "'";
file_put_contents($logFile, "query: " . $deleteQuery . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$dbh->query($deleteQuery);
}
}
}
// Update db
$dbh->query("COMMIT");
// Use parent files
if (!class_exists(WP_Filesystem_Direct::class, false)) {
require_once($config->parentPath . '/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-base.php');
require_once($config->parentPath . '/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-filesystem-direct.php');
}
$wpFileSystemDirect = new WP_Filesystem_Direct(false);
// Cleanup wp-content/plugins
$pluginPath = WP_CONTENT_DIR . "/plugins";
if (file_exists($pluginPath) && is_dir($pluginPath) && !is_link($pluginPath)) {
$pluginArrays = glob($pluginPath . "/*");
foreach ($pluginArrays as $plugin) {
if (is_link($plugin)) {
continue;
}
$baseName = basename($plugin);
if ($baseName === "index.php" || strpos($baseName, "wp-staging") === 0) {
continue;
}
if (is_file($plugin)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "unlink: " . $plugin . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
unlink($plugin);
}
continue;
}
if (is_dir($plugin)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "rmdir: " . $plugin . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$wpFileSystemDirect->rmdir($plugin, true);
}
}
}
}
// Cleanup wp-content/themes
$themePath = WP_CONTENT_DIR . "/themes";
if (file_exists($themePath) && is_dir($themePath) && !is_link($themePath)) {
$themeArrays = glob($themePath . "/*");
foreach ($themeArrays as $theme) {
if (is_link($theme)) {
continue;
}
$baseName = basename($theme);
if ($baseName === "index.php" || !empty($activeTheme) && $baseName === $activeTheme) {
continue;
}
if (is_file($theme)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "unlink: " . $theme . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
unlink($theme);
}
continue;
}
if (is_dir($theme)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "rmdir: " . $theme . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$wpFileSystemDirect->rmdir($theme, true);
}
}
}
}
// Cleanup wp-content/uploads
$uploadPath = WP_CONTENT_DIR . "/uploads";
if (file_exists($uploadPath) && is_dir($uploadPath) && !is_link($uploadPath)) {
$uploadArrays = glob($uploadPath . "/*");
foreach ($uploadArrays as $upload) {
if (is_link($upload)) {
continue;
}
$baseName = basename($upload);
if ($baseName === "index.php" || strpos($baseName, "wp-staging") === 0) {
continue;
}
if (is_file($upload)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "unlink: " . $upload . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
unlink($upload);
}
continue;
}
if (is_dir($upload)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "rmdir: " . $upload . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$wpFileSystemDirect->rmdir($upload, true);
}
}
}
}
// Cleanup wp-content/
$wpContentPath = WP_CONTENT_DIR;
if (file_exists($wpContentPath) && is_dir($wpContentPath) && !is_link($wpContentPath)) {
$wpContentArrays = glob($wpContentPath . "/*");
foreach ($wpContentArrays as $wpContent) {
if (is_link($wpContent)) {
continue;
}
$baseName = basename($wpContent);
if ($baseName === "index.php" || strpos($baseName, "wp-staging") === 0 || strpos($baseName, "wpstg-") === 0) {
continue;
}
if (in_array($baseName, ["plugins", "themes", "uploads", "mu-plugins", "languages"])) {
continue;
}
if (is_file($wpContent)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "unlink: " . $wpContent . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
unlink($wpContent);
}
continue;
}
if (is_dir($wpContent)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "rmdir: " . $wpContent . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$wpFileSystemDirect->rmdir($wpContent, true);
}
}
}
}
// Cleanup ABSPATH/
$absRootPath = $config->rootPath;
if (file_exists($absRootPath) && is_dir($absRootPath) && !is_link($absRootPath)) {
$rootPathArrays = glob($absRootPath . "/*");
foreach ($rootPathArrays as $rootPath) {
if (is_link($rootPath)) {
continue;
}
$baseName = basename($rootPath);
if ($baseName === "index.php" || strpos($baseName, "wp-staging") === 0 || strpos($baseName, "wpstg-") === 0) {
continue;
}
if (in_array($baseName, $wpCoreFiles)) {
continue;
}
if (is_file($rootPath)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "unlink: " . $rootPath . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
unlink($rootPath);
}
continue;
}
if (is_dir($rootPath)) {
file_put_contents($logFile, "rmdir: " . $rootPath . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
if (!$isDryRun) {
$wpFileSystemDirect->rmdir($rootPath, true);
}
}
}
}
});
});Expand
After installing the mu-plugin, you have to:
- Change this line in the plugin’s code
$isDryRun = true;to$isDryRun = false; - Create a new staging site and log into it, and you will see it has been reset.
- Change the
$isDryRun = false;to$isDryRun = true;when you are done or remove the mu-plugin if you don’t need it anymore.
Using a Third Party Plugin
To do that, create a new staging site using the WP Staging plugin. Then, install and activate the WordPress Reset plugin on the new staging site.
Note: This plugin is outdated and has not been updated for a very long time, so we recommend using the mu-plugin above.
This plugin allows the WordPress database to be reset to its default values.