WordPress Database Search and Replace Tutorial

Introduction

When managing your WordPress website, making small changes here and there is usually no big deal. However, sometimes you need to update many elements on your site at once, in which case a WordPress search and replace might be necessary.

For example, maybe you just migrated from HTTP to HTTPS and you need to update all the hard-coded HTTP URLs in your WordPress database. Or, you might be changing domains and need to update all the database references. In many situations, knowing how to perform a bulk WordPress search and replace can save you a lot of time.

In this article, we’ll explain what a WordPress search and replace is, and when you might need to perform one. Then, we’ll detail several different methods for search and replace.

Table of Contents

• WordPress Search and Replace Overview
• How to Perform a WordPress Search and Replace

WordPress Search and Replace Overview

There are a few instances where you might need to perform a search and replace on your WordPress website. One of the most common is when you want to replace a piece of text (such as a disclaimer or bio) that you’ve added to multiple pages or posts, but you don’t know every location it’s currently in.

Being able to conduct a bulk search and replace can save a lot of time compared to manually searching each post and page to find the text you want to switch. Plus, you can use this technique on more than just text.

For instance, you can also perform a bulk WordPress search and replace on URLs and images in your WordPress database. This feature comes in handy if you want to:

• Update your search engine optimization (SEO) keywords
• Correct grammar or spelling mistakes
• Remove certain words or special characters
• Update your HTTP URLs to HTTPS after a migration
• Move your site from www to non-www URLs (or vice versa)
• Update old shortcodes, content, or text strings

One thing we want to mention is that there’s no “undo” option. Once you replace text or other content, you can’t get the old version back. You’d have to conduct another bulk search and replace to reverse the process. That’s why we highly recommend performing a backup before any WordPress search and replace routine.

How to Perform a WordPress Search and Replace

There are many different ways you can perform a WordPress search and replace. Let’s take a look at five recommended options.

1. Install a WordPress Search and Replace Plugin

You can use a plugin to perform a WordPress search and replace without having to manually search your database. One popular solution you can use is Better Search Replace:

Better Search Replace is developed by Delicious Brains, and was inspired by the interconnect/it PHP script, which we’ll mention in the next method.

Important: At the time of writing this article, Better Search Replace hasn’t been updated in a few months. While we didn’t experience any issues when trying it out, we highly recommend backing up your site first and testing it in a staging environment before pushing it to your live site.

Some features of Better Search Replace include:

• Support for serialized data for all tables.
• The ability to select specific tables.
• The option to do a “dry run” to see how many fields will be updated.
• No server requirements beyond a running installation of WordPress.
• WordPress Multisite compatibility.

This tool has hundreds of different use cases. As you can see in the example below, within the Better Search Replace options, you can easily search for any hard-coded HTTP references and update them with the HTTPS version:

There’s also a pro version of the plugin that gives you access to even more features. You can check out their official documentation on how to better use the plugin.

Another tool you might consider using is Search Regex:

While it’s sufficient for performing basic search and replace tasks, including bulk updating URLs and content, this plugin isn’t as popular or widely used as Better Search Replace. Nevertheless, it’s still an actively maintained and well-reviewed tool that can get the job done, and it’s easy to use.

You can download either solution from the WordPress plugin repository. Alternatively, you can search for them under Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Use the PHP Script Search Replace DB

You might not want to install a plugin like this on your WordPress site. If so, another way you can perform a WordPress search and replace is by using the free PHP script from interconnect/it – Search Replace DB:

It’s important to note that using this script can break your WordPress website if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you’re not comfortable with this method, please consult with a developer or your web hosting provider first.

This script has been around since 2011, and the developers actively update it. To use the script, simply download the zip file, unzip the folder named “search-replace-db-master,” and rename it to something of your choosing.

In our example, we renamed it to “update-db-1551”:

Next, upload the file to your web server’s public directory via FTP or SFTP. This is usually the same directory that contains your /wp-content folder. Then, navigate to your private folder in your browser, such as “https://domain.com/update-db-1551”.

The script will automatically attempt to find and populate the database fields. However, you must check to ensure the details are all correct and that they’re the right information for the database you want to perform the search and replace on.

You can click dry run first to see what the script will update or replace. When you’re ready, select live run, which will perform the database updates and WordPress search and replace:

Also, it’s crucial that you delete this script when you’re finished, for security reasons! You can select the delete me button to do so.

If you don’t do this, it could leave your website vulnerable. It’s a good idea to double-check your web server to confirm that the folder and script have been completely removed.

3. Perform a Search and Replace Directly with WP-CLI

Another method you can use to perform a WordPress search and replace is to do it directly with WP-CLI. This is an option for WordPress developers.

Here’s an example of the command:

wp search-replace ‘http://example.dev’ ‘http://example.com’ –precise –recurse-objects –all-tables

You can read more about the available parameters for the wp search-replace command in the official WP-CLI documentation. You might also want to check out this advanced search and replace WP-CLI guide.

4. Run a Find and Replace MySQL Query in phpMyAdmin

If you’re comfortable with code and don’t want to use a plugin to perform a search and replace in your WordPress database, you can also use a MySQL query in phpMyAdmin. However, this should only be done by professional WordPress developers.

If your hosting provider uses cPanel, then you can browse to and select phpMyAdmin under Databases:

Those using Baota can directly access phpMyAdmin from the Baota dashboard. Click on the Database menu on the left, then find the database for the corresponding site and click “Manage“:

A new tab will open with the phpMyAdmin login page. Enter your database username and password, and then select Go:

Once you’ve accessed phpMyAdmin, find the name of your database. If you need help with this, navigate to your File Manager. Under the public_html or www/yourdomain folder, open your wp-config.php file, and look for the line that says “define(‘DB_NAME’,’Database Name’);”.

Next, from phpMyAdmin, select the SQL tab:

Add the following code snippet:

update TABLE_NAME set FIELD_NAME = replace(FIELD_NAME, 'Text to search', 'Text to replace it with');

Then click the Go button to run the SQL query. Once the process is complete, it will show a success message indicating the number of instances that have been changed. You can visit your WordPress site to confirm that the search and replace was successful.

Key Takeaways

Whether you want to update keywords or replace a specific text across all your posts, learning how to perform a bulk search and replace can be very useful. Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to do so.

The four methods we recommend for WordPress search and replace include:

1. Installing a WordPress search and replace plugin, such as Better Search Replace or Search & Replace.
2. Using the PHP script from interconnect/it – Search Replace DB.
3. Performing a search and replace directly with WP-CLI.
4. Running a MySQL query in phpMyAdmin.

FAQ

Q: Is it safe to use a search and replace plugin on my WordPress site?

A: Yes, but always back up your site first and test in a staging environment if possible. Some plugins may not be actively maintained, so check the last updated date.

Q: Can I undo a search and replace operation?

A: No, there is no undo button. Make sure you have a backup and double-check your settings before running a search and replace.

Q: What is the best method for performing a search and replace?

A: It depends on your comfort level and technical expertise. Plugins are generally the easiest, while using WP-CLI or phpMyAdmin requires more technical knowledge.