Recently, I was updating one of my client’s websites as part of their scheduled website maintenance when one of the updated plugins ended up breaking the site. Most people would have either panicked or waited for the plugin developer to release the next update to fix the broken lines of code, but I prefer taking matters into my own hands.
How To Downgrade WordPress Plugins
Now, since I’m not always in the mood to correct a line of code, the easiest way to downgrade WordPress plugins is by following the steps below:
Step 1: Visit The Plugin Developer’s WordPress Plugin Page
You’ll want to visit their wordpress.org/plugins/ page, not the developer’s official website. You can search for the plugin you want to downgrade using the search box shown in the image above (1)
Step 2: Copy The Link Address Of The Download Button
This is self-explanatory, but if you really need directions on how to do this, just right-click the “Download Version X.X.XX” button (2) and select “Copy Link Address”, as shown in the image above.
Step 3: Paste The Link Address Into The Address Bar
Do not “paste and go”, just paste it into the address bar as we’ll be modifying this URL so that we can download the downgraded version of the plugin.
Step 4: Change The Version Number To A Previous Version
It’s best to downgrade to the last known working version of the plugin as the earlier versions of some plugins may be incompatible with newer versions of the WordPress content management system.
Step 5: Click Enter to Download The Older Version
There’s nothing else to this step as the older version should download automatically. Once it’s saved to your computer, keep it on your desktop as you’ll be using it in just a moment.
Step 6: Delete The Current Version Of The Plugin
To do this, just go into your plugins folder using your host’s file manager or via FTP and delete the current plugin.
Step 7: Upload The Downgraded Plugin
Then you’re finished! Congratulation, you now know how to downgrade WordPress plugins!