Reset WordPress permalinks in the database
If posts and pages on your site return 404 errors instead of displaying content, resetting permalinks to their default setting can help. If you can't access your WordPress dashboard, you can reset WordPress permalinks within the database.
Warning: Always make a backup of your site before troubleshooting or making any changes.
- Sign in to phpMyAdmin.
- In phpMyAdmin, on the left menu, select the name of the database your site uses.
- Select the wp_options table (select the text, not the checkbox).
Note: wp_ is the default database table prefix. If your table prefix isn't wp_, focus on finding _options. There should only be one _options table.
- Under the option_name column, find the permalink_structure entry. You may need to navigate beyond the first page of entries.
- On the permalink_structure row, select Edit.
- In the field for option_value, select the text and delete it. Then select Go to apply the change.
404 errors on your posts and pages should be resolved now and URLs on your site should display the default permalink structure.
More info
- If you can access your WordPress dashboard, you can reset WordPress permalinks there.
- If you don’t want to reset permalinks yourself, our WordPress Premium Support team can do that for you.
