Reinstalling WordPress from the Dashboard :

Step 1) Complete a Back Up of Content

A WordPress export file will be created in this step. This file will contain all your content including pages, posts, comments, categories and tags. This is a crucial step and will ensure your content is safe when a fresh install of WordPress is completed.

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Tools‘ menu.
2. Click on the sub-menu titled ‘Export‘.
3. Click on the check circle for ‘All Content‘.
4. Click the ‘Download Export File‘ button.
5. A file should have downloaded to your computers ‘Downloads‘ library. Ensure that you can locate that file before proceeding.

Step 2) Download Content from cPanel (or Similar)

1. Log into your ‘cPanel‘ account (or another FTP Client).
2. Locate the ‘wp-content‘ folder. Click on ‘File Manager‘, then on ‘public_html‘ and then right click on ‘wp-content‘.
3. Click on the ‘Compress‘ button. You should now see a zip file.
4. Click on the zip and then click on the ‘Download‘ button located at the top to download this file to your computer.
5. Ensure that the ‘wp-content‘ download is stored on your computer before moving onto the next step.

Step 3) Uninstall WordPress

1. In your FTP client, perhaps you are using cPanel, select all files and click ‘Delete‘.
2. Confirm deletion if you are prompted to.
3. Create a new database. You can choose whether or not you delete the old database.
4.  

Step 4) Install Latest WordPress

1. Go to ‘WordPress.Org‘ and download the latest version of the software.
2. Within your FTP Client (cPanel or similar) drag the unzipped files to the public_html folder.
3. Once you have uploaded all the files go to your website and enter the new database information you created earlier.
4. You will need to click ‘Submit‘ and then click on the ‘Run Install‘ button.
5. Click on the ‘Install WordPress‘ button.

Step 5) Delete Default Content and Restore WP-Content

1. Log into your fresh WordPress website.
2. In the WP dashboard, click on the ‘Posts‘ menu.
3. Trash any posts. For example the ‘Hello World‘ post. You will need to ensure there are no posts/pages that will conflict when the old data is added to the fresh install.
4. Click on the ‘Comments‘ menu and ensure the default comments have been deleted.
5. Ensure there are no pages within the ‘Pages‘ menu.
6. Log into your FTP Client (cPanel or similar) and locate the ‘public_html‘ folder.
7. Click on the ‘wp-content‘ folder.
8. Locate the file you previously downloaded and drag this inside the ‘wp-content‘ folder.

Step 6) Import WordPress Content from the Dashboard

1. Log back into your WordPress dashboard.
2. Click on the ‘Tools‘ menu and then on ‘Import‘.
3. Install the WordPress Importer.
4. Now click the ‘Run Importer‘ button.
5. Click on the ‘Choose File‘ button and select the XML export file that we downloaded earlier.
6. Click the ‘Upload File and Import‘ button to proceed. You will need to assign an author to the pages. Allow images to be imported to the media gallery.

Step 7) You have Reinstalled WordPress

You have now completed a re-installation of WordPress.