Keeping your WordPress website updated is crucial for security, performance, and functionality.
I know this may seem a bit daunting, but don’t worry, I’ll walk you through the process of updating your WordPress website safely, and simply with this step-by-step guide.
Disclaimer. Please note that although you can do this yourself, it is recommended to use an experienced WordPress specialist to maintain your site. This guide has been created to try and help your business save costs on website maintenance. Please proceed at your own risk. Weaverbird and all Authors of this guide will not be liable for any lost data or content, lost profits, business interruption or for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages arising out of or relating to this guide.
The Process:
Step 1: Backup Your Website
Step 2: Update Plugins & Theme
Step 3: Update WordPress Core
Step 4: Check Website Functionality
Before we get started, you might be wondering:
Why do I even need to keep my website backend updated?
- WordPress websites require 10-50 different plugins and 1 “theme” to achieve a desired business requirement. These plugins and themes are made by different developers and don’t necessarily account for each other. This can cause conflicts that break the website. These plugins and themes frequently get updated for important reasons, which can cause a website to go down without warning.
- The number 1 reason WordPress websites get hacked is due to outdated WordPress core, plugins, or themes that have been compromised.
Think of it as office or car maintenance.
You need to keep your car serviced, and check your tires and oil regularly to keep it in a safe and high-performing condition. If you neglect to maintain your car, eventually it will break down or malfunction. It’s the same for your website.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Backup Your Website
Before making any updates, it’s essential to create a backup of your WordPress website.
This ensures that you can easily restore your site if anything goes wrong during the update process. We use a reliable backup plugin like UpdraftPlus for this task.
Here’s how to back up your site with UpdraftPlus:
- First, make sure you log in to the backend of your site.
- Then follow this video guide:
Step 2: Update Plugins & Theme
- Navigate to the “Plugins” sections in your WordPress dashboard.
- Check for available updates.
- Update each plugin one at a time.
- After updating each plugin, check your website thoroughly to ensure it’s functioning correctly.
- Navigate to the “Themes” sections in your WordPress dashboard.
- Check for available updates.
- Update each theme one at a time.
- After updating each theme, check your website thoroughly to ensure it’s functioning correctly.
What happens if the site breaks or malfunctions after one of these updates?
Follow the following process, or get in touch with us (we’ll try to keep the troubleshooting costs down as much as possible.)
Step 3: Update WordPress Core
Go to the “Dashboard” in your WordPress admin area.
- If there’s a new WordPress version available, you’ll see a notification at the top of the page.
- Click on the “Update Now” button. Important – Please be patient after clicking “update” and do not click anything until you see the message that “WordPress has been updated”
- WordPress will automatically download and install the latest version.
Step 4: Check Website Functionality
After completing the updates, thoroughly check your website to ensure everything is working correctly.
Test different pages, forms, and functionalities to catch any issues that may have arisen during the update process.
If you have an eCommerce/online store website, please test the checkout process.
That’s it, nice work!
If you need any further assistance or have any questions, please do feel free to get in touch.
Dan 🙂
