Restore an UpdraftPlus Backup from Google Drive to a Fresh New Installation of WordPress
We’ll cover how to restore an UpdraftPlus backup to a brand-new WordPress installation while keeping everything intact, including the domain name. In this case, the backup is on Google Drive.
Use this procedure if:
- You have a corrupted site, and you need to wipe out everything and start over with a fresh WordPress install.
- You’re switching to a new hosting provider or server and keeping your domain the same.
- Your website was hacked, and you must remove compromised WordPress core files and a compromised database.
If you need to remove corrupted or compromised files or a bad database, make sure that you restore from a backup taken before the problem occurred.
Here’s Your Video: Restore an Updraft Backup with UpdraftPlus
Getting Started
To get started, make sure that you have a new WordPress installation set up and that your domain points to this fresh install. How to Test: Type your web address into your browser; it should take you to this new, empty WordPress site.
You will lose the new administrator account for this new website during the restoration, so it doesn’t matter what you choose when you set it up. Ensure you have your old administrator credentials from the site that we’re restoring; you’ll need to log in once your website has been restored.
You will also lose whatever site title and description you set up on this fresh install during the restoration, so it doesn’t matter what you choose for these when setting up the new WordPress install.
UpdraftPlus Restore – Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Download & Install UpdraftPlus on the newly installed site.

2. Connect to Google Drive

After selecting Google Drive, scroll down and save your changes. Next, follow the prompts to connect to your Google account.

There will be several steps:
- Choose your Google account (you may have to enter your Google password)
- Allow UpdraftPlus to access your Google account
- Click the “Complete setup” button on the following screen to return to the UpdraftPlus Backup / Restore screen on your website.
3. Rescan remote storage to import the list of available backups

4. Choose a backup and click on Restore

5. Choose the components to restore
Choose all of the components to do a full restoration of your website. If you have questions about this, a great place to start is UpdraftPlus’ article on things to know before restoring. Once you have selected these, click the Restore button on the next screen.

6. Let the backup run
Let the backup run. At some point, you’ll have to log in again. This means that the database from the original site has been restored. Use your original credentials to log in to your administrator account.

7. Verify that everything is restored
The last step is to review your website and ensure everything is restored correctly. Check your pages, posts, plugins, themes, products, etc.
Look at your website like a visitor would using an incognito/private browsing window. Test your contact forms and make a test purchase if that applies.
If you’re doing a restore because your site was hacked, Install WordFence or Sucuri and let them verify that things are OK now. Sucuri has a great article on scanning your site and removing malware.
Need More Help?
If you need more help, you can always contact me. I also offer a WordPress maintenance service where I handle the firewall, offsite backups, and more.




