Backup & Restore

Updated Jul 26, 2026

Backup & Restore

Backup & Restore helps you protect your Admin UX Cleaner (AUC) configuration before making significant changes.

You can create a backup of your current AUC settings and restore a previous configuration when necessary.

This is useful when experimenting with a new setup, changing client access rules, or maintaining a known working configuration that you may want to return to later.

Caption: Backup & Restore lets you create recovery points for your AUC configuration.

What an AUC Backup Contains

An AUC backup stores configuration managed by Admin UX Cleaner.

Depending on your current setup, this may include settings related to:

  • Audience.
  • Menu Cleaner.
  • Page Locks.
  • Notice Cleaner.
  • Dashboard Cleaner.
  • Admin Bar Cleaner.
  • Other supported AUC configuration.

A backup is intended to preserve the state of your AUC setup so that it can be restored later.

AUC Backup Is Not a Website Backup

An AUC backup contains Admin UX Cleaner configuration only.

It does not replace a complete WordPress backup.

An AUC backup does not back up your:

  • WordPress database as a whole.
  • Posts or pages.
  • Media library.
  • Themes.
  • Other plugins.
  • WordPress users.
  • Server files.

Use AUC Backup & Restore for AUC configuration. Use your normal website backup solution for WordPress itself.

For production websites, we recommend having both when making significant changes.

Create a Backup

Before changing a working AUC configuration, open Backup & Restore and create a new backup.

Caption: Create a backup before making significant changes to a working AUC configuration.

A useful time to create a backup is:

  • Before changing Audience rules.
  • Before adding several Page Locks.
  • Before restructuring the admin menu.
  • Before a major client handoff.
  • Before resetting AUC configuration.
  • Before testing a substantially different setup.

This gives you a known configuration that you can return to if the new setup does not work as expected.

Use Meaningful Backup Information

If AUC allows you to identify or describe backups, use information that makes the backup easy to recognize later.

For example:

Before client handoff
Before Page Locks update
Working configuration - July 2026
Before admin menu restructure

A backup is much more useful when you know why it was created.

Avoid creating many indistinguishable backups without a clear reason.

Restore a Backup

If you need to return to an earlier AUC configuration, select the appropriate backup and choose the restore option.

Caption: Restore a previous backup when you need to return to an earlier AUC configuration.

Before restoring, confirm that you have selected the correct backup.

Restoring a backup replaces the affected current AUC configuration with the configuration stored in that backup.

After the restore is complete, review the resulting setup before allowing affected users to continue working normally.

Before Restoring

A restore can change several parts of the admin experience at once.

Before restoring a backup:

  1. Confirm that it is the backup you intend to use.
  2. Consider creating a backup of the current configuration first.
  3. Make sure you have trusted administrative access.
  4. Keep your recovery information available.
  5. Review any significant WordPress changes made since the backup was created.

Creating a backup of the current state before restoring an older one gives you another point to return to if necessary.

A safe workflow is:

Current configuration
        ↓
Create backup
        ↓
Restore older backup
        ↓
Review and test

Review the Configuration After Restore

Do not assume that an older configuration is automatically correct for the website in its current state.

WordPress environments change over time.

Since a backup was created, you may have:

  • Installed a new plugin.
  • Removed a plugin.
  • Changed themes.
  • Added new users or roles.
  • Added new admin pages.
  • Changed plugin settings.
  • Updated software that changed admin menus or toolbar items.

After restoring a backup, review the affected AUC features.

Pay particular attention to:

  • Audience.
  • Menu Cleaner.
  • Page Locks.
  • Dashboard Cleaner.
  • Admin Bar Cleaner.

Then preview and test the important user workflows.

Backups and Dynamic Admin Elements

Some AUC configuration refers to admin elements created by WordPress, themes, or plugins.

For example, a backup may contain configuration related to a menu item created by a plugin.

If that plugin is no longer installed when the backup is restored, the corresponding admin element may no longer exist.

Similarly, newly installed plugins may introduce admin elements that were not present when the backup was created.

This does not necessarily mean the backup is damaged.

It means the WordPress environment has changed since the configuration was saved.

Review your AUC setup after restoring older backups to make sure it still matches the current website.

Backup Before Page Lock Changes

Page Locks can affect access to important WordPress admin pages.

Before making significant Page Lock changes, creating a backup is especially useful.

For example:

Known working configuration
        ↓
Create backup
        ↓
Add or change Page Locks
        ↓
Preview and test
        ↓
Keep changes if everything works

If the new setup causes unexpected behavior, you have a known configuration available for restoration.

Remember that if an AUC configuration prevents normal administrative access, you may need to use Recovery URL or Safe Mode before you can perform a normal restore.

Backup Before Reset

Before using Reset or Factory Reset, create a backup whenever possible.

This is especially important before Factory Reset because you may later decide that part of the previous configuration is still needed.

The recommended workflow is:

Existing configuration
        ↓
Create backup
        ↓
Reset or Factory Reset
        ↓
Create new configuration

See Reset & Factory Reset for details about destructive reset operations.

Backup vs. Export

Backup and Export are related, but they serve different purposes.

Backup is primarily intended to preserve a configuration so it can be restored later.

Export is intended to create a portable configuration that can be moved or reused where supported.

A simple way to think about them is:

Backup
└── I may want to restore this configuration later.

Export
└── I want a portable copy of this configuration.

For transferring configurations between compatible WordPress installations, see Import & Export.

Backup Strategy for Client Websites

You do not need to create a backup after every small change.

For most client websites, useful recovery points include:

  1. After completing the initial AUC setup.
  2. Before making significant Audience or Page Lock changes.
  3. Before a major client handoff.
  4. Before restructuring an established configuration.
  5. Before Reset or Factory Reset.

This keeps the backup history useful without filling it with unnecessary snapshots.

Example: Updating a Client Configuration

Suppose a client has been using a stable AUC configuration for several months.

You now want to simplify additional admin areas and introduce new Page Locks.

A safe workflow would be:

Stable client configuration
        ↓
Create backup
        ↓
Make the new changes
        ↓
Preview affected users
        ↓
Test important workflows
        ↓
Everything works?
       ↙       ↘
     Yes        No
      ↓          ↓
Keep setup    Restore backup

This gives you a practical rollback point without needing to rebuild the previous configuration manually.

Recommended Approach

When using Backup & Restore:

  1. Create a backup after completing a known working configuration.
  2. Back up before significant changes.
  3. Use meaningful backup names or descriptions where available.
  4. Consider backing up the current state before restoring an older backup.
  5. Review the website environment after a restore.
  6. Preview affected roles and users.
  7. Test important workflows after restoration.
  8. Continue using a separate WordPress backup solution for the complete website.

Backups are most useful when they represent meaningful, tested states rather than every minor configuration change.

Next Step

Continue with Import & Export to learn how to create portable AUC configuration files and reuse compatible configurations between WordPress installations.