Reviewing, Comparing, and Rolling Back to Previous Versions of Content in Public Web WordPress

Note: These instructions apply to accessing both unpublished and published revisions, though only Publishers will be able to access the published revisions list.

From within the “Edit page” interface:

1. Ensure that all current content is saved by clicking the Save Draft button in the Publisher sidebar.
2. Click on the Browse link next to the number of revisions available in the Publisher sidebar.
   

The default initial view of Revisions is the most current version of the page on the right-hand side, with the next-most previous version on the left. Use the Next and Previous buttons or the slider across the top to navigate through the list of available versions. Both versions will be presented in what WordPress calls “Text” (really, HTML) rather than “Visual”mode. Differences between them will be marked with colours and symbols, as in this example:

The pale red highlighting indicates the old version of the changed paragraph and the faint green highlighting indicates the new version, while any darker red or green highlighting indicates the specific change within the paragraph in question. In this example, a link to a PDF was added to existing text, so that the entire paragraph – the majority of which was unchanged – is highlighted with page green, with the darker green highlighting reserved for the added link tags.

Note: If there are more than two versions available, you can also click the Compare any two revisions checkbox to then use the slider to compare any two versions, including the first and last version (as is most useful for Publishers reviewing submitted revision copies of published content).

Note: Confusingly, sometimes the revision comparison view doesn’t display all available content. This is because it’s intended to primarily show changes. If there are “units” of content (the main content area, the panels, etc.) that are unchanged between the two most recent versions, it may not initially display that unit. Don’t worry, all of the content was saved and could be restored.

To roll back to a previously published version of content, in WordPress:

1. In the appropriate content list, navigate to the content (Page, Event, Program, etc.) which you are hoping to roll back and click the Edit link that appears when you mouse over it.
2. Go to the revisions list by clicking the Browse link next to the number of available revisions.
   
3. Use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate to the version of the content you want to restore.
   • Note: In order to restore it, the version you want to display needs to be displayed on the right side.
4. Proceed with caution beyond this point! Although it is (usually) possible to undo any mistakes, WordPress doesn’t provide significant warnings about the extremity of the following action, so before proceeding please double-check:
   • That the version you are going to restore contains everything you would expect and no more. Review all of it, not just part. To check that you won’t lose or add something significant you weren’t expecting, use the Compare any two revisions feature to compare the current version with your desired version, if you haven’t already done so.
   • That the version you are restoring doesn’t contain outdated information (old dates, etc.). If it does, you’ll either need to move quickly to change that after restoring, or you may wish to just copy the relevant portion of the older version and make your edits manually.
   • That the desired version of the content is displayed on the right.
5. When you are certain you are ready to proceed, click the Restore this Revision button at the top-right.
   
   • Note: This will immediately publish the older version to the website. There is no opportunity to edit it prior to publishing.
   • Note: You will not be able to restore your content if you are also using the Compare any two revisions feature. If this is checked, you will need to uncheck it to proceed.