How to restore a deleted temporary website

When you delete a website that used a randomly assigned temporary domain name, you cannot simply recreate that exact same domain string. However, if your hosting plan has unexpired backups available, you can restore your website files into a new temporary domain and point them to your original data.

Pre-requisites

• Access to your Hostinger hPanel.
• Available unexpired backups from the deleted website.

Step 1: Generate a new temporary domain

Since you cannot reuse the old automatically assigned string, you must start fresh with a clean slate:

1. Log in to your hPanel and navigate to the Websites section.
2. Click on the Add website button.
   
3. Select PHP/HTML from the application type options.
4. Choose the option to Use a temporary domain name.
   
5. Continue through the remaining setup screens until a new, empty website is active on your dashboard.

Step 2: Restore your deleted website’s files

Next, you need to pull your old website’s folder structure out of the system backups and into your server directory.

1. Go to the Files section in hPanel and select Backups.
2. Click on File backups and choose a backup date from before the website was deleted.
3. Select the Show files toggle option.
   
4. When the list of files shows up, click on domains.

5. Check the box directly next to the folder named after your deleted temporary domain.
6. Confirm and click Restore selected. Wait for the system to complete the recovery.
   

Step 3: Remap the directories via File Manager

Once restored, you will have two folders inside your server: your newly created empty temporary site and your old recovered site data. You must swap their identities so the new domain points to the old data.

1. Open the File Manager, ensuring you select the option to see the files for your entire hosting plan (the root directory), rather than a single site environment.
2. Navigate into the domains folder.
3. Locate the folder belonging to your newly generated temporary domain and rename it by appending a suffix (e.g., rename newsite.hostinger-site.com to newsite.hostinger-site.com-original).
   
4. Locate the recovered folder belonging to your deleted website (e.g., oldsite.hostinger-site.com).
5. Rename that old folder to match your new temporary domain exactly (e.g., newsite.hostinger-site.com).
   

Step 4: Database configuration and adjustments

If your temporary website was a dynamic application (like WordPress) or used configuration variables, you must wrap up the setup:

1. Navigate to Backups to restore the database associated with your old site if needed.
   
2. Open your configuration files (such as wp-config.php or .env) using the File Manager.
3. Update any hardcoded entries of your old temporary domain to reflect your new temporary domain string so styles and links load correctly.

After migrating the website from a temporary domain to another, it’s crucial to update the site URL throughout the whole website. If it’s a WordPress website, you can use the Search and Replace function by following this tutorial: How to Perform a WordPress Search and Replace in the Database

By shifting your restored backup files under the identity of a new temporary domain, you can fully salvage your work. Your site files will now load seamlessly through the newly generated link.