How To Recover Deleted Websites?

There could be several different reasons why you want to recover a delted website. Web hosts delete websites if they detect malware. It’s also possible that you deleted your site and changed your mind later.

Is it possible to recover your site now? Does it require technical skills?

The short answer is that it is possible, even if you aren’t a tech expert. But unless you have website backups, you can’t guarantee a full recovery. In this article, we’ll go over a few different ways to rebuild your site, or atleast parts of it. 

TL;DR: The best way to recover a deleted site is to restore it using a reliable backup. If that doesn’t work, you can recover parts of your site from online archives like search engine caches or the Wayback Machine. You will then have to piece together the data you recovered, in a new website. 

Option 1: Use a backup plugin to recover your site 

The easiest way to recover a deleted website is by using a backup plugin. You can recover your site quickly and also have peace of mind knowing that your site can be restored even if it is hosted on a new server or with a different provider.

There are a lot of backup plugins to choose from. But, we recommend BlogVault. If you are a BlogVault customer, you can restore your site in just a few simple steps. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Login to the BlogVault dashboard and click Sites on the top left.
2. Click the grid icon on the extreme right side of the site you want to recover.

3. This will take you to the Site Details page of your site.
4. Click Restore and add your FTP or SFTP details.

5. Then, click Continue.

In a few minutes, your site will be restored to the state it was when BlogVault took its last backup. 

Option 2: Use a web host to recover your site

If you use a good web host, that’s your next best shot. Most web hosts will often offer their own ways to recover your site without much hassle. If your web host hasn’t deleted the backups because of malware, you should still be able to restore it. You just need access to your hosting account and dashboard. 

In this section, we’ll show how to recover a deleted site, using Cloudways, a popular web hosting platform. When you delete an application or website, Cloudways will store it for 14 days. This is how you can recover it if you’re within that window. 

1. Log in to your Cloudways account to access the dashboard.
2. In the top-right corner of your dashboard, click Recover Application.  
3. Choose the application you want to recover.
4. Click on Recover Application one more time to confirm.

5. Finally, choose the server where your application will be hosted.

In a few minutes, your deleted website will be recovered. 

If you use any other web host like Hostinger, they will have their own documentation on how to recover your site. 

Option 3: Manually recover your site

The next best way to recover a deleted site is by restoring a backup manually. This method works if you have a copy of your site on your device, like if you regularly archive your site. You will need an SQL file of your database tables and a zip folder of your site files. Here’s how you do it:

1. Set up a fresh website on your web host, like you’re building one from scratch.
2. Install an FTP client, like Cyberduck, to your device.
3. Connect to your site’s server using your new FTP or SFTP credentials. 

4. Upload the archived site files to the appropriate directories.

5. Next, use a tool like phpMyAdmin to import the .sql database file into the new database.

6. Ensure that the database name, user, and password match your website configuration.

This method is time-consuming and prone to error. So, we do not recommend it. But, it is your last resort for a full site recovery. The next two methods involve scrambling to recover as much as you can. 

Option 4: Use the Wayback Machine to recover your site

At this point, you have to get creative to recover at least parts of your website. This is where the Wayback Machine comes in. It is an inefficient process that involves essentially recreating your website from scratch. But it can be a lifesaver when recovering a deleted page. Think of it as your Hail Mary to retrieve at least some bits of your lost site. Here’s how to use the Wayback Machine to bring your site back:

1. Set up a new website, on your hosting platform.
2. Go to the Wayback Machine and search for your website’s URL in the search bar at the top of the page. 

Note: Not all sites are archived, and you might encounter an error message if your site was never captured.

3. If your site was archived, you’ll see a calendar view showing the specific days of archival. Click on a particular date to view a snapshot of your site from that time.

4. Open each archived page and manually copy the visible textual content.
5. Paste the content on the page editor of your new website.
6. Arrange the content format the way you would like. 
7. Save the images from the Wayback Machine to your device. 
8. Upload these images to the new page/post on your website.
9. Reapply and activate the themes and plugins you were using.

Option 5: Use search engine cache to recover your site

Another creative way to recover parts of your website is through a search engine cache. Search engines like Google often keep cached versions of web pages, which you can use to retrieve content from your deleted site. Using Google cache also involves manually recreating your website, but it can be a helpful solution in a pinch. Here’s how you can use search engine cache to bring your site back:

1. Copy and paste the following URL into your browser, replacing “https://user.com” with your website’s URL: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://user.com

If your site is cached by Google, you’ll see a snapshot of your page. 

Open each cached page and manually copy the visible textual content. Save this content into a text editor or directly into your page editor for safekeeping.

2. Create a fresh website on your web host that will serve as the new foundation.
3. Paste the content you copied onto new pages or posts on this new site.
4. Rename each new post/page to match the titles from your cached site.
5. Save any images from the cached snapshots to your device.
6. Upload these images to your new site, placing them in the appropriate posts/pages.
7. Download and activate the themes and plugins you were using before the deletion incident to restore your site’s original look and functionality.

Long-term preventative measures

Now that you have gone through the steps to recover your website, youwi;;avoid losing it in the future. The following steps will ensure your site stays safe and quickly recoverable if anything goes wrong.

Create a backup strategy

Lots of things to consider when designing a strategy. First, set up a backup schedule for your site. This can vary depending on what type of site you have. The more frequently your site changes, the more often a backup needs to be taken. This can be as often as multiple times a day. 

Automated backups save you the hassle of manually backing up your site multiple times a day. Just set it up and let the backup tool do its job. This also ensures that you always have the latest version stored safely.  

Another thing to consider when setting up backups is the integrity of your backups. We recommend that you test website backups to ensure they can be reliably restored. This is important because some types of backups come with a higher risk of failing. For example, when you take a cPanel backup, even the smallest action can interrupt the process. These backups will not be able to restore your site when you need it. 

You can also use backup plugins like BlogVault that store backups on their own servers. This ensures that they’re protected from any hacks on your servers. They also reduce the impact on your servers. Overall, plugins are the recommended solution. 

3-2-1 backup strategy

Adopt the 3-2-1 backup strategy to keep your data safe. This can be broken down as follows:

• Have 3 copies of your data—the original and two backups.
• Store backups on two different types of media. For example, cloud, external hard drives, etc.
• Keep at least one of these backups offsite to protect against local disasters.

The best way to do so is to use a combination of web host backups and a backup plugin like BlogVault. This means you have a total of 3 copies—live site, web host, and BlogVault. They are stored on two different servers—yours and BlogVault’s. Lastly, at least one copy is stored elsewhere—the BlogVault servers. 

Implement security measures

A common reason why your site gets deleted is because a web host found malware on it. Here is some security advice that we recommend you follow to prevent this from happening:

• Scan for malware regularly: This means checking your website frequently for any malicious software. A malware scanner can help detect and remove threats early before they cause serious harm. This is important to keep your site safe for you and your visitors.
• Install a firewall: A firewall acts as a barrier between your website and potential threats. It monitors and filters incoming and outgoing traffic based on security rules. It does this to block unauthorized access and prevent attacks, like hacking attempts.
• Implement 2FA (two-factor authentication): Adding 2FA to your login page is an extra layer of security to your login process. After entering their username and password, users must provide a second factor, like a code sent to their phones. This makes it much harder for unauthorized users to gain access, even if they know your password.
• Limit failed logins: This means restricting the number of failed login attempts allowed. Limiting logins reduces the risk of brute force attacks, where attackers try many combinations to guess your password.

BlogVault’s Prime plan offers all of these features, making it easy to secure your site. For starters, it conducts automatic malware scans to detect threats regularly. With a 12-hour scan frequency, your site is constantly monitored. If malware is found, you can remove it with just one click. 

BlogVault also provides an advanced firewall to block harmful traffic and login protection to secure access to your site. Its bot protection helps shield your site from automated attacks. Additionally, its geo-blocking feature allows you to restrict access from specific regions, enhancing your site’s security even further.

Final thoughts

Recovering a deleted website without a good backup is painstaking, if not impossible. This is why we recommend that you invest in good backup solutions like BlogVault. With reliable backup options, you can recover your site quickly and with minimal hassle, saving you from the associated stress and potential data loss. Regular backups and strong security measures are your best defense against unexpected website issues.

FAQs

Can you restore a deleted website?

Yes, you can restore a deleted website if you have a backup. Backup solutions like BlogVault make it easy to recover your site. If no backup is available, you can try using the Wayback Machine or search engine cache to retrieve parts of your site, although this process can be complicated and incomplete.

Can you retrieve deleted website history?

Yes, you can retrieve deleted website history using the Wayback Machine or search engine cache. These tools archive snapshots of websites over time, allowing you to access and retrieve previous versions of your site.

How do I retrieve an old website?

To retrieve an old website, first check if you have a backup stored by your backup solution or web host. If no backup is available, use the Wayback Machine or search engine cache to recover content. Recreate your site on a new site by copying the archived content, uploading images, and reapplying themes and plugins.