There’s nothing more stressful for a website owner than discovering their site has been hacked. Whether you’re running a blog an eCommerce store or a corporate website a cyberattack can feel like a nightmare. One moment everything’s fine and the next your site is redirecting users showing suspicious pop-ups or completely offline.
But here is the good news: you can recover hacked website quickly and restore everything back to normal.
This guide is for non-techies and web professionals alike. It explains how to recover hacked website fast, how to protect it from future attacks and where to turn if you are stuck.
🚨 First Things First: How Do You Know Your Website Is Hacked?
Before jumping into recovery it is important to confirm that your site is actually compromised. Here are the most common signs:
- Your site is redirecting to another domain
- Google shows a warning like “This site may be hacked”
- You see unknown files or strange code in your backend
- Your hosting provider has suspended your site
- Visitors report strange pop-ups or malware alerts
- Sudden drop in traffic from search engines
- You’re locked out of your WordPress, cPanel or admin panel
If you’re seeing any of these do not panic but act fast.
✅ Step-by-Step Guide to Recover a Hacked Website Quickly
1. Take Your Website Offline (Temporarily)
If you suspect a hack the first step is to take your site offline temporarily to prevent further damage to your visitors or your business reputation.
You can do this by:
- Using your hosting dashboard to suspend the site
- Or replacing it with a temporary “Under Maintenance” page
Why? It prevents malware from spreading to users or getting flagged by Google.
2. Notify Your Hosting Provider Immediately
Your web hosting company may already be aware of the issue and might even have logs or backups to help you.
Ask them:
- When the hack occurred
- What files or areas were affected
- If they can temporarily clean or isolate the infected parts
- Whether a clean backup is available
Pro Tip: Hosting providers like SiteGround, Bluehost and Hostinger often have free malware scans built-in.
3. Scan Your Site for Malware and Suspicious Code
If you are using WordPress, Joomla or another CMS install a malware scanning plugin or use external tools.
🔧 Tools for Malware Scanning:
- WordFence (WordPress)
- MalCare
- Sucuri SiteCheck (Free online scanner)
- RestoreWebpages.com (Advanced recovery tools + malware cleanup)
These tools can identify:
- Backdoors
- Infected core files
- Unwanted redirects
- Suspicious scripts
4. Change All Your Passwords
Even before you start cleaning, change passwords to avoid further tampering.
Update:
- Website admin password (WordPress, Joomla, etc.)
- cPanel or hosting account
- FTP/SFTP credentials
- Database access (MySQL, phpMyAdmin)
- Email accounts linked to your domain
Use strong passwords or a password manager like Bitwarden or LastPass.
5. Restore from a Clean Backup (If Available)
If you regularly back up your website now’s the time to use it.
Common Backup Options:
- Hosting provider backups
- Backup plugins (UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, Jetpack)
- Manual backups via cPanel or FTP
Restore the most recent clean backup that existed before the hack.
⚠️ Important: Make sure your backup is not already infected scanning it before restoring is essential.
6. Manually Remove Malware or Use Cleanup Tools
If backups are not available you will need to manually remove malware or use a service that specializes in infected site cleanup.
Manual Cleanup Involves:
- Comparing original theme/plugin/core files with current versions
- Deleting suspicious or newly added files
- Removing malicious scripts from HTML, PHP or JS files
- Checking .htaccess, wp-config.php or index.php for injected code
Or Use Cleanup Services:
If you are not confident doing it yourself, services like:
- RestoreWebpages.com
- Sucuri
- MalCare
- WordFence Premium
…can scan, clean and restore your site professionally.
7. Update Everything
Most hacks occur due to outdated software.
Update the following:
- CMS (e.g., WordPress, Joomla)
- Plugins and themes
- Server software (if you’re managing a VPS)
- PHP version (consult your host)
Tip: Remove unused themes and plugins entirely, not just deactivate them.
8. Check User Accounts for Intruders
Go to your CMS’s Users section and look for:
- Unknown administrator accounts
- Recently created accounts you don’t recognize
Delete suspicious users immediately and limit admin access to trusted users only.
9. Re-submit to Google (If Blacklisted)
If Google has flagged your site or deindexed it due to malware, you’ll need to:
- Clean the site fully
- Create or log into Google Search Console
- Navigate to “Security Issues”
- Request a review after cleaning is complete
This process can take 24–72 hours after submission.
10. Secure Your Site for the Future
Once your site is restored do not let it happen again. Here is how:
🔐 Security Best Practices:
- Use a firewall (e.g., Sucuri Firewall or Cloudflare)
- Enable 2FA for admin logins
- Limit login attempts
- Change file permissions
- Use security plugins (Wordfence, iThemes Security)
- Run regular malware scans
- Keep daily or weekly backups (store them off-site)
Pro Tip: Automate security as much as possible to avoid future stress.
🛠 When to Hire a Website Recovery Professional
Sometimes, the damage is too severe files are missing, your CMS won’t load or backups are corrupted. In such cases it’s best to contact a professional website recovery service like RestoreWebpages.com.
Why RestoreWebpages.com?
- Advanced malware cleanup
- Restore hacked or deleted sites even without backups
- Recover sites from archives like the Wayback Machine or Archive.ph
- Full support for WordPress, HTML, Joomla, custom-coded sites and more
- Help recover content even if your domain is expired or offline
They specialize in quick recovery, so you get your site and traffic back without delays.
⚠️ Real-Life Example: A Business Site Hacked Overnight
Ahmed, a small business owner in Lahore, woke up to find his eCommerce site redirecting visitors to a spammy casino site. His host flagged the site for malware and Google removed it from search results.
Luckily, he had used RestoreWebpages.com the previous year to recover a blog, so he contacted them again.
Within 12 hours, the team:
- Identified the breach
- Removed the injected malware
- Restored original site files
- Helped him submit a clean report to Google
By the next day, Ahmed’s site was back online clean and secured.
📌 Checklist: What to Do Immediately After a Hack
✔️ Take your site offline
✔️ Notify your host
✔️ Scan for malware
✔️ Change passwords
✔️ Restore clean backup (if available)
✔️ Remove malware manually or via tools
✔️ Update everything
✔️ Check for suspicious users
✔️ Submit to Google (if blacklisted)
✔️ Strengthen security measures
✔️ Contact RestoreWebpages.com if needed
🔄 Prevention Is Better Than Cure
While no system is 100% unhackable, most website attacks can be prevented with basic precautions.
- Backup regularly
- Keep software updated
- Don’t use nulled themes or plugins
- Choose a reliable hosting provider
- Install a firewall
- Monitor traffic for unusual behavior
If you implement these, you’ll drastically lower your chances of ever needing this guide again.
Conclusion: Act Fast, Stay Calm, Get Help When Needed
A hacked website is not the end of the world but it does require quick action and smart decisions. Whether you are comfortable diving into the backend yourself or prefer expert help, tools and services like Wordfence, Sucuri and RestoreWebpages.com are there to guide and support you.
The faster you respond, the less damage will be done to your SEO, customers and brand.
Need help right now? Visit RestoreWebpages.com your partner in professional website recovery fast and secure.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Recover Hacked Website
1. How do I know if my website has been hacked?
Common signs include sudden redirects, unknown content, strange pop-ups, or login issues. You may also get alerts from Google, your hosting provider or antivirus software flagging your website.
2. What is the first step to recover hacked website?
The first step is to take your site offline (temporarily) change all passwords and inform your hosting provider. Then scan for malware and check if a clean backup is available.
3. Can I recover hacked website without a backup?
Yes, it’s possible. Tools like RestoreWebpages.com can help restore hacked or deleted websites even if you don’t have a backup, using internet archives and site recovery methods.
4. How long does it take to recover hacked website?
It depends on the level of damage. Simple cleanups can take a few hours while more complex attacks may require 24–72 hours, especially if Google has flagged your site or content needs full restoration.
5. Will I lose my data when recovering a hacked site?
Not necessarily. If you have a clean backup, you can restore all data. If not professionals can often recover much of the original content using archive tools or partial backups.
6. Should I hire a professional to recover hacked website?
If you’re not confident handling technical tasks like malware cleanup it’s safer and faster to hire a website recovery service like RestoreWebpages.com, which specializes in cleaning and restoring hacked websites.
7. Is my SEO ranking affected if my website gets hacked?
Yes, a hacked website can be removed from Google search results or flagged with warnings. Quick recovery and resubmitting your site through Google Search Console can help regain your rankings.
8. How can I prevent my website from being hacked again?
Keep your CMS, plugins and themes updated, use strong passwords, install a firewall and run regular security scans. Also avoid using nulled or pirated themes and plugins.
9. What are the best tools to scan a hacked website?
Popular tools include Wordfence, MalCare, Sucuri and SiteCheck by Sucuri. You can also use RestoreWebpages.com for a full malware analysis and recovery.
10. Can RestoreWebpages.com help me recover hacked website fast?
Absolutely. RestoreWebpages.com offers full recovery services for hacked, broken or deleted websites. They can recover content even without backups clean malware and help get your site back online quickly.