Restore a Previous Version of a SharePoint Page: Practical Workflow for Business Users

You made changes to a SharePoint page, and now the layout is broken, a web part is missing, or the content is incorrect. SharePoint automatically saves every change you make to a page as a version. This article explains how to view, compare, and restore a previous version of a modern SharePoint page. You will learn the exact steps to recover an earlier version without losing other recent edits.

How SharePoint Page Versioning Works

SharePoint automatically creates a new version each time a user saves a page. This happens when you click the Save button or when the system autosaves changes. Version history is enabled by default on modern SharePoint pages. You cannot disable versioning for pages. Each version stores the full page content, including all web parts, text, images, and layout settings. The system keeps a minimum of 500 versions per page. Site collection administrators can increase or decrease this limit, but the default works for most business scenarios.

Version history applies only to the page file itself. It does not track changes to files linked inside web parts. For example, if you replace an image in an Image web part, the old image file is not restored when you revert the page. You must restore the image file separately from its own version history if needed.

The version history list shows the version number, the date and time of the save, and the person who saved it. Version numbers start at 1.0 and increment by 1.0 with each save. Minor versions (0.1, 0.2) do not apply to modern SharePoint pages. Every save creates a major version.

Steps to Restore a Previous Version of a SharePoint Page

1. Open the page in edit mode
   Navigate to the site where the page exists. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Edit page. The page opens in editing mode with the ribbon at the top.
2. Access the page details pane
   In the editing ribbon, click the Page details button. It is located on the left side of the ribbon. A pane opens on the right side of the screen.
3. Open version history
   In the page details pane, scroll down to the Version history section. Click the link labeled Version history. A new page opens showing all saved versions for this page.
4. Preview a version
   In the version history page, locate the version you want to restore. Click the drop-down arrow next to the date and time. Select View. A new browser tab opens showing the page exactly as it appeared in that version. Use this to confirm it is the correct version. Close the preview tab when done.
5. Restore the version
   Return to the version history page. Click the drop-down arrow next to the version you want. Select Restore. A confirmation dialog appears. Click OK. SharePoint replaces the current page with the restored version. The restored version becomes the latest version in history.
6. Publish the restored page
   After restoring, the page is saved as a draft. To make it visible to readers, click the Publish button in the top-right corner of the page. Enter any comments about the restore if desired, then click Publish again.

Alternative Method: Restore from the Page Settings Menu

1. Go to the page library
   Navigate to Site Pages in the left navigation of your SharePoint site. This library stores all pages.
2. Select the page
   Hover over the page name. Click the checkmark circle that appears on the left. The item is selected.
3. Open version history from the toolbar
   In the toolbar above the list, click the three dots (ellipsis) and select Version history. The same version history page opens.
4. Restore the version
   Follow steps 4 through 6 from the previous method.

Common Mistakes When Restoring a SharePoint Page Version

I restored a version but the page still looks wrong

Restoring a page version reverts only the page content. It does not restore linked files such as images, documents, or embedded videos. If the original image file was deleted or replaced, the page will show a broken image icon. Restore the image file from its own version history in the site assets library. Then refresh the page.

I cannot see the Version history option

The Version history link appears only when a page has at least two versions. If you just created the page and saved it once, only one version exists. Make a small edit and save again. The link will appear. Also verify that you have Edit or Full Control permissions on the site. Read-only users cannot access version history.

I restored the wrong version by accident

Restoring a version does not delete any versions. The version you overwrote is still in the version history list. You can restore back to the previous version by following the same steps. Open version history again, find the version you just overwrote, and restore it. No data is permanently lost.

The Restore button is grayed out

The Restore button is disabled when the page is checked out to another user. Ask the person who has the page checked out to check it in. If they are unavailable, a site owner can force check-in from the Site Pages library. Select the page, click the three dots, and choose Check in.

Page Restore Methods Comparison

Feature	Edit Mode Method	Library Method
Access path	Page details > Version history	Site Pages > select page > Version history
Preview version before restore	Yes, via View option	Yes, via View option
Requires page to be in edit mode	Yes	No
Best for	Quick restore while editing	Restoring without opening the page

You can now restore a previous version of any SharePoint page in under one minute. Use the preview feature to confirm the correct version before restoring. Always publish the restored page to make it visible to site visitors. For pages with embedded files, remember to restore those files separately if they were changed or deleted.