Autosave in WordPress

In WordPress, the autosave feature is a built-in functionality that automatically saves a draft of a post or page while the user is editing it. Autosave is designed to prevent data loss in case the user forgets to save their work or experiences a technical issue, such as a power outage or a network error.

By default, WordPress autosaves posts and pages every 60 seconds while the user is editing the content. The autosave feature is triggered by JavaScript, which sends an AJAX request to the server to save a copy of the current post or page data. Autosaved data is stored in the WordPress database in a separate table, which allows users to restore their content to a previous version if needed.

Autosave is enabled by default in WordPress, and it can be configured and customized by modifying settings in the wp-config.php file. For example, developers can change the frequency of the autosave feature by defining the AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL constant in the wp-config.php file. They can also disable the autosave feature entirely by setting the AUTOSAVE_DISABLED constant to true.

In addition to the built-in autosave feature, WordPress also includes a revision system that allows users to restore previous versions of a post or page. Revisions are created automatically each time a post or page is saved, and they are stored in the WordPress database. Users can access previous revisions of a post or page by clicking the “Revisions” link in the editor, and they can restore a previous version by clicking the “Restore This Revision” button.