The error Table… doesn’t exist

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, errors of this type appear on your site:

wp_users: Table ‘wp_users’ doesn’t exist
wp_usermeta: Table ‘wp_usermeta’ doesn’t exist
wp_posts: Table ‘wp_posts’ doesn’t exist
wp_links: Table ‘wp_links’ doesn’t exist
wp_options: Table ‘wp_options’ doesn’t exist
...

This error can occur following:

• Has a failed update of WordPress
• In case of accidental deletion of data
• In case of malicious damage to your site
• In case of a problem with your database

Depending on the access and what you have at hand, different possibilities are available to you:

• If this is a problem with an update, please try again.
• If you don’t have access to your database, ask your web host if they have a recent backup that they can give you.
• If you have access to your database :
  • If you have a recent backup that does not involve a major loss of data or your work, you can try to restore it.
  • The easiest way to do this is to access your database via a web interface provided by your host, or to upload phpMyAdmin to your site via (S)FTP : https://www.phpmyadmin.net/downloads/
  • If you don’t have a recent data backup, you can try to repair the tables in your database :
    • Select the default table(s) then click on “With the selection”
      
    • Choose “Fix the table”. phpMyAdmin will then inform you whether or not the operation was successful.
    • 

The best thing is to have regular backups of your database to avoid stress and limit any data loss. To do this, you can ask your hosting provider whether they offer such an option or you can set up an automatic backup strategy yourself. You don’t know how to do this? WordPress experts can offer you different backup scenarios depending on the criticality of your data.