If an import finishes but a page still shows its old content, confirm what was actually imported before running it again. A browser's upload-complete message, a list of executed queries and a final committed result can mean different things.
IN THIS ARTICLE
01 Confirm the destination and completion result
Check that you selected the database used by the live installation. A staging database or another regional site's database can contain similar table names. Verify the connection through your authorised configuration process without sharing the database password.
Read the import's final status and diagnostics. A guarded script can intentionally roll back when its expected source content does not match. That refusal is not a reason to delete tables or skip the checks.
02 Inspect one known record
For a WHMCS article, identify its actual article ID from the public page or admin interface. Inspect the corresponding record without changing it. This example is read-only; replace 145 with the article you are checking:
SELECT id, title, CHAR_LENGTH(article) AS body_characters,
LEFT(article, 180) AS body_start
FROM tblknowledgebase
WHERE id = 145;Compare the result with the intended package. Do not copy a preview page's entire navigation interface into the article body. WHMCS should continue rendering its own page title and surrounding layout.
03 Separate stored content from presentation
If the database contains the new text but the browser does not show it, review the relevant application, server, CDN and browser caches. Purge the appropriate cached page through the supported controls rather than changing unrelated DNS or reinstalling the site.
If new inline formatting exists in storage but appears differently, check the actual rendered HTML and theme behaviour. Do not apply a global stylesheet to fix one article before understanding the cause.
04 Check whether the update was only partial
A script that depends on temporary tables and a transaction must follow its documented import method. Keep the full error report if processing stopped. Do not resume from a guessed line or combine separate sessions unless the package was designed for that process.
05 Questions we receive
Can I delete the table and rerun an update?
No. An update normally expects the table and its existing data. Restore or repair through a verified backup and an appropriate installer only when that is the intended recovery action.
What evidence should I send us?
Provide the package filename, final status, selected database name, affected article ID and exact error. Redact credentials and session URLs. Tell us whether you edited the source records after the package was prepared.