Yoast Plugin Disables User Accounts After Cloning Website

  • Resolved joshdb

    (@joshdb)


    5 years, 3 months ago

    Not sure why, but this isn’t the first time I’ve had issues with Yoast messing with user accounts after cloning a website.

    What tends to happen is it messes with user values in the WordPress database. I’m not 100% certain but I think it deletes values in some cases, and in others I’m not sure what the issue is.

    To reproduce this issue you need a website with Yoast install and active. After cloning the website to a new domain or sub-domain, you will either not be able to log in, or when you do log in, you cannot access the WordPress admin panel.

    If it is the former, you need to replace the database before proceeding.

    If it is the latter, go to cPanel > File Manager > home/account/[affected-site-location]/wp-content/plugins and rename “wordpress-seo” (Yoast) to anything else to disable it (example: “wordpress-seo_disabled”).

    Refresh the browser window you logged into with WordPress. Your WordPress bar will now contain the user options you had (example: Edit Page).

    In WordPress go to Dashboard > Plugins > Yoast SEO > [Deactivate]

    In File Manager, rename the Yoast plugin folder back to what it was (i.e. “wordpress-seo”).

    In WordPress Plugins > Yoast SEO > [Activate].

    If simply disabling Yoast does not work, Deactivate and Delete Yoast before reinstalling.

    This is the fix I sometimes have to go through myself, but I wish Yoast would just leave the database and/or whatever it does to disable user accounts alone. I don’t know exactly what Yoast does to cause this issue, I just know that the problem is with the Yoast plugin.

    If anyone has any better solutions to this problem please enlighten me.

    • This topic was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by joshdb.
Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • Hello,

    Can you please share how you are duplicating your sites? We tried this locally and on a server environment, but can’t replicate any of this behavior. Are you duplicating on the same server environment over and over again, or does this happen on different server environments and specifications?

    Plugin Support amboutwe

    (@amboutwe)

    This thread has been marked as resolved due to a lack of activity.

    You’re always welcome to re-open this topic. Please read this post before opening a new request.

    Thanks for understanding!

    Thread Starter joshdb

    (@joshdb)

    Steps to duplicate site
    1. Setup cPanel requirements (if required)
    2. Create offline backup of files, database and theme
    3. Create online recovery backup of files and database
    4. Copy files, update wp-config.php and .htaccess, copy/update database and theme
    5. Disable Yoast plugin if unable to log in to WordPress
    6. Finish step 4
    7. Enable Yoast plugin

    This happens on the same server environment using the same domain.

    It may have also happened on the same server environment but from a different domain as well, but I cannot confirm this with 100% certainty.

    • This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by joshdb.
    • This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by joshdb.
    Plugin Support Md Mazedul Islam Khan

    (@mazedulislamkhan)

    We are afraid to say that we are unable to reproduce the issue on our end. So, we’d need to investigate further on your site but are unable to do so on these forums. You can purchase Yoast SEO Premium and receive our Premium email support and we can help you further.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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