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Accidentally deleting a category in WordPress can be frustrating, especially if it results in the loss of important posts and content organization. Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t have a direct “undelete” feature for categories once they’ve been deleted. However, there are a few ways to restore a deleted category and recover its posts. In this guide, we’ll show you the steps you can take to undelete a WordPress category, either by manually recreating it or using some other techniques to restore the category.
Table of Facts and Figures
| Method | Ease of Recovery | Effectiveness | Best For |
| Recreate the Category | Easy | High | Small sites or recent deletions |
| Restore from Backup | Moderate | Very High | Websites with regular backups |
| Database Recovery | Advanced | High | Users comfortable with database management |
Method 1: Recreate the Deleted Category
How to Manually Recreate a Deleted Category
If you’ve accidentally deleted a category in WordPress, the easiest way to restore it is to manually recreate the category and reassign the posts that were previously associated with it.
Steps to Recreate a Category in WordPress
- Go to WordPress Dashboard
- From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Posts > Categories.
- Create a New Category
- On the Categories page, enter the name of the deleted category in the Name field.
- Optionally, you can add a Slug (URL-friendly version of the category name), description, and choose a parent category if applicable.
- Save the New Category
- Click the Add New Category button to create the category.
- Reassign Posts to the New Category
- Now, go to Posts > All Posts.
- Filter the posts by the category that was deleted (they may be listed under the Uncategorized category if they were orphaned).
- Select the posts that belong to the deleted category and click Bulk Actions > Edit, then click Apply.
- In the bulk edit options, select the newly recreated category and click Update to reassign the posts.
Method 2: Restore from Backup
How to Restore a WordPress Category from Backup
If you regularly back up your WordPress site (which is highly recommended), you can restore a deleted category from a recent backup. Many hosting providers offer automatic backups, or you may use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy to keep your site’s data safe.
Steps to Restore a Category from Backup
- Check Your Backup
- If your site is backed up, access your backup plugin or hosting provider’s backup dashboard.
- Look for a backup taken before the category was deleted.
- Restore the Backup
- Follow the instructions provided by your backup tool or hosting provider to restore the backup. You can often restore specific parts of the site, like the database, without affecting the entire site.
- Verify the Category
- After restoring, check if the deleted category has been successfully restored, along with its posts.
Method 3: Recover the Category Using Database
How to Recover a Category via the Database
For advanced users, you can recover a deleted category by restoring it from the WordPress database. This method involves using phpMyAdmin to access your site’s database and find the deleted category.
Steps to Recover a Category Using phpMyAdmin
- Access phpMyAdmin
- Log in to your hosting account and navigate to phpMyAdmin under the Databases section.
- Find the WordPress Database
- In phpMyAdmin, select the database that corresponds to your WordPress site.
- Look for the Categories Table
- In the database, look for the table called wp_terms. This table stores the categories and tags associated with your site.
- If the category was deleted, it may still exist in the database with a deleted status.
- Restore the Category
- If you can find the deleted category, you can manually restore its details by editing the entry in the wp_terms table.
- Be careful when modifying the database, as any incorrect changes can break your site.
- Reassign Posts
- If the category exists in the database but is not appearing on your site, you may need to reassign posts manually through the wp_term_relationships table to restore the links between the posts and the category.
Conclusion
While WordPress does not offer a built-in option to undelete a category, there are several methods you can use to restore a deleted category and its associated posts. The easiest way is to recreate the category manually and reassign posts. If you have backups of your site, restoring from a backup is the safest and most effective option. For advanced users, accessing the database directly via phpMyAdmin provides a way to recover deleted categories, but it requires careful handling. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can quickly restore your deleted categories and continue managing your site effectively.
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FAQs
Can I recover a deleted category in WordPress?
While there’s no direct “undelete” option, you can recreate the category manually and reassign the posts. Alternatively, you can restore a backup if you have one.
How do I prevent categories from being accidentally deleted?
Regularly back up your site and restrict admin privileges to trusted users. Using a role management plugin can also help prevent accidental deletions.
What happens to posts when I delete a category?
When a category is deleted, the posts assigned to that category are typically moved to the Uncategorized category. You can reassign them to a new category manually.
Can I restore a category from a plugin backup?
Yes, if you use a backup plugin like UpdraftPlus, you can restore the category and its associated posts from a backup.
How do I access my WordPress database to recover a category?
To access your database, use phpMyAdmin in your hosting control panel. Find the wp_terms and wp_term_relationships tables to recover the deleted category and reassign posts.
