The Best Practices for Updating WordPress Safely

Regular updates are essential for securing your WordPress site, as each new version addresses vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. Malicious entities on the internet often target outdated sites, so keeping your WordPress core, plugins, and themes updated significantly reduces these risks. Think of updates as your site’s immune system, constantly adapting to fend off new threats.

Apart from security, updates bring new functionalities and performance improvements. Every update is an opportunity to enhance your site’s capabilities, making it more efficient and user-friendly. This could mean faster loading times, better SEO, or new features that improve your site’s functionality. Ignoring updates can lead to increased bugs, glitches, and performance issues, impacting your users’ experience and potentially driving them away.

Before:

Neglecting updates can lead to serious consequences, such as compatibility issues with plugins and themes, causing parts of your site to break or malfunction. Outdated software is more prone to bugs and glitches, degrading your site’s performance and user experience. In the worst-case scenario, skipping updates can make your website vulnerable to cyber-attacks, leading to data breaches and loss of user trust.

After:

Neglecting updates can lead to serious consequences, such as:

• Compatibility issues with plugins and themes, causing parts of your site to break or malfunction
• Outdated software being more prone to bugs and glitches, degrading your site’s performance and user experience
• Increased vulnerability to cyber-attacks, leading to data breaches and loss of user trust

Preparation is key before starting the update process. The first vital step is backing up your website. This ensures that you won’t lose any data or customisations in case something goes wrong during the update. A complete backup should include everything associated with your WordPress site: files, themes, plugins, and the database.

Once you have a backup, store it in a remote location such as your computer or cloud storage to ensure it’s safe. This precautionary measure safeguards your data against server failures and other unforeseen issues. Before updating, ensure that all installed themes and plugins are compatible with the latest WordPress version. Compatibility checks focus on verifying that all themes and plugins work smoothly with the new version to avoid conflicts and issues.

Check for any conflicts or issues between existing plugins, themes, and the upcoming WordPress update to ensure a smooth process. This step can save you from potential headaches down the line. Creating a backup of your site before starting an update is a recommended preventive measure.

By following these steps, you can confidently proceed with the update process, knowing your site is well-prepared and protected.

Backing up your WordPress website prevents data loss during an update. Regular backups protect your site from various risks such as malware, human errors, and server failures. A comprehensive backup should include both WordPress files and the database.

One of the most efficient ways to handle backups is by using reliable backup plugins like Duplicator or UpdraftPlus, which can automate the backup process. Storing backups in multiple locations, including cloud storage and local drives, ensures their safety. Offsite backups are vital as they protect against server issues and attacks.

For SmartHost customers, the process is even simpler. SmartHost provides advanced backup tools included in their hosting plans, making it easy to restore or download full backups of your WordPress site. Testing backup restorations regularly in a staging environment ensures they work when needed.

Schedule backups during low site traffic times to minimise potential performance impact. With these practices in place, you can update your WordPress site with peace of mind, knowing that your data is secure.

Update all WordPress plugins before the WordPress core. This ensures compatibility with the latest WordPress version and avoids conflicts that can cause site errors or crashes. Plugin updates often include compatibility improvements, making the update process smoother.

SmartHost’s hosting infrastructure is optimised for WordPress, ensuring that plugin updates run smoothly and without server issues. After updating all plugins, you can proceed to update the WordPress Core. Following this sequence reduces the risk of issues during the core update, maintaining a stable and functional website.

Manual updates can be necessary when automatic updates fail or when more control over the process is needed. You can manually update WordPress using the WP Admin dashboard, FTP, or WP-CLI. Each method has specific steps and best practices to keep your site secure and functional after changes.

Select the appropriate update method based on your specific needs and technical capabilities. The following subsections provide detailed, step-by-step instructions for each manual update method.

Updating via the WP Admin Dashboard

Updating via the WP Admin Dashboard is straightforward. Navigate to the Updates section in your dashboard and click the ‘Please update now’ link to start the update. The update process will start, temporarily putting your site in maintenance mode.

After the update, a success message will appear along with options to update plugins and themes. This user-friendly method ensures your site is up to date with minimal effort, making it a preferred choice for many WordPress users, especially when navigating the WordPress welcome screen.

Updating WordPress Manually via FTP

Using FTP to manually update WordPress provides more control over the process. Begin by downloading the latest WordPress version as a zip file. Then, connect to your web space using an SFTP client like FileZilla. Extract the folder contents to prepare for upload.

Upload the wp-includes and wp-admin folders, selecting Overwrite for existing files. Avoid deleting the wp-content folder during the update to preserve customisations and media uploads. After uploading, log in to the WordPress dashboard and follow any onscreen instructions to update the database if needed, ensuring that the core wordpress files are intact.

If prompted about existing files while uploading, select Overwrite and check ‘Always use this action’ to streamline the process. This hands-on method offers more control, especially useful for customised sites.

Updating WordPress Manually via WP-CLI

Using WP-CLI to update WordPress is powerful for those comfortable with command-line interfaces. SSH access to the root directory of your WordPress installation is required. To update, use the command: $ wp core update. This command downloads and installs the latest WordPress version.

After the update, rerun previous commands to confirm success. This method is efficient and useful for managing multiple WordPress sites or automated workflows.

Be cautious with customisations, as automatic updates can overwrite changes to CSS or themes.

Automatic updates for WordPress save time and keep your site updated without manual intervention. They cover both major and minor WordPress updates, enhancing security and functionality without manual checks.

The next subsections will explain how to enable automatic updates via the admin dashboard and by modifying the wp-config.php file.

Enabling Automatic Updates via the Admin Dashboard

To enable automatic updates from the admin dashboard, navigate to the Updates section and choose the option for major new WordPress version. This simplifies the process, ensuring your site remains secure and up to date with minimal effort in this version of WordPress.

Configuring Automatic Updates via wp-config.php

If dashboard access is limited, configure automatic updates by modifying the wp-config.php file. Add ‘define(‘WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE’, true);’ to enable automatic updates for the WordPress core. This keeps your WordPress site updated even without admin dashboard access.

Enable or disable automatic updates by changing the true or false value in the added line of wp-config.php code. This simple modification reliably maintains your site’s security and functionality with minimal manual intervention.

Regularly updating your WordPress theme is crucial to improve security and functionality, addressing vulnerabilities in the code. Updating a theme by installing a newer version helps fix bugs and enhance security. Using a child theme for customisations ensures changes remain intact after updates.

Customisations made via the WordPress theme customiser are stored in the database and preserved during theme updates. Direct edits to theme files like functions.php or style.css will be lost during a theme update if not properly safeguarded. Rename the existing theme folder before uploading a new version to keep the old version intact and ensure a safer update process.

Ensure themes are compatible with the latest WordPress version to maintain functionality and design integrity. After updating the Core, update the active theme for seamless integration and optimal performance.

After completing all updates, perform post-update checks and maintenance to ensure everything functions correctly. Begin by clearing your website caches to avoid display or functionality issues. Test your website on various devices to ensure it remains mobile-responsive and user-friendly.

Check for potential conflicts and test all functionalities, especially critical features like forms and e-commerce checkout. Regularly update plugins to maintain security, as outdated versions are often targeted by hackers. Set all directories and files to the correct permissions (755 and 644, respectively) to avoid permission-related issues during updates.

Optimising images and media files after updates improves your website’s loading speed and overall performance. Regularly check for broken links as they can negatively affect your SEO and user experience. These post-update checks and maintenance tasks ensure your WordPress site remains secure and performs optimally.

Despite thorough preparation and careful execution, update issues can still arise. Common problems include compatibility errors, plugin conflicts, and unexpected failures. If you encounter compatibility issues after updating, refer to a list of common WordPress errors for fixes or consult the SmartHost troubleshooting guide.

SmartHost’s support team is highly trained to troubleshoot and resolve issues that may arise during the update process. Leveraging their expertise helps you quickly identify and fix problems, ensuring your site remains functional and secure.

HTTP 500 Error

The HTTP 500 error is a generic message indicating that the server encountered an unexpected condition preventing it from fulfilling the request. Common causes include plugin issues, theme incompatibility, or server configuration errors.

To troubleshoot, deactivate plugins, switch to a default theme, or check the server logs for more information.

Failed Update Message

A failed update message indicates that something went wrong during the update process, which can prevent your WordPress site from functioning correctly. Common issues include server errors, such as HTTP 500 errors, or file permissions errors. To resolve these, check your server logs and increase PHP memory limits if necessary.

File permissions errors can often be resolved by ensuring that the relevant directories and files on your server have the correct permissions set. This step is crucial to allow the WordPress file system to write to the server and complete the update process successfully.

File Permissions Error

File permissions errors can prevent updates due to incorrect settings that restrict access to critical WordPress files. These errors often require adjustments to the file ownership or permission settings to resolve. Ensuring that files have the correct permissions is essential for a successful update.

A failed update message can occur if the WordPress file system is unable to write to the server, often due to:

• Incorrect file permissions
• Server configuration issues
• Server timeouts
• Insufficient disk space

Ensuring proper file permissions and sufficient server resources can help mitigate these errors.

SmartHost’s hosting platform utilises advanced SSD technology to enhance website loading speeds during updates. Leveraging Amazon AWS for optimal performance and reliability, SmartHost ensures that your update process is safe and efficient. Their infrastructure is optimised to handle cache and performance issues effectively, ensuring a smooth experience for WordPress users.

SmartHost provides expert assistance, making it easy to troubleshoot and resolve any issues that may arise during the update process. High uptime and reliable performance are guaranteed, enabling you to update your WordPress site with confidence. If you encounter any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out to SmartHost’s support team for help.