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Fixing a Broken WordPress Installation

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Last Updated: December 3, 2009 12:02 PM

Here's the Lowdown: If you do something that changes the URL of your WordPress® site, you need to update the database with the new URL for your site to work properly.

Have you:

  • Changed the domain on the hosting account on which WordPress was installed?
  • Moved the WordPress installation directory?

In both of these cases you need to fix your installation by updating the WordPress database to point the new location of your WordPress installation.

TIP: If you are thinking about moving your WordPress installation, but haven't done it yet, you should do it the correct way. See the Moving WordPress Within Your Site section in the Moving WordPress article on wordpress.org.

To Fix Your WordPress Installation

NOTE: Before following this procedure, we recommend backing up your database. For more information, see Backing Up and Restoring MySQL or MSSQL Databases.

  1. Log in to your Account Manager.
  2. In the My Products section, select Hosting.
  3. Next to the hosting account you want to modify, click Manage Account.
  4. In the Databases section of the Hosting Control Center, click MySQL.
  5. Next to the WordPress database, click Manage via phpMyAdmin.
  6. Enter the username and password for your database.
  7. On the phpMyAdmin page, click the SQL icon in the upper left.
  8. Enter the following:
    UPDATE wp_options
    SET option_value = 'http://www.newlocation.com'
    WHERE option_value = 'http://www.oldlocation.com'
    where http://www.newlocation.com is your site's new address and http://www.oldlocation.com is your site's old address.
  9. Click Go.

After clicking Go, the database updates. Your site should resolve normally.

If you installed WordPress with Hosting Connections, the links in Hosting Connection still point to your old installation. As long as you update the links in the database, however, you can continue to upgrade your WordPress installation through Hosting Connections.