Beginner’s tutorial on WordPress updates, plugins and themes. Describes the automatic and manual update method as well as the reasons for the update.
WordPress regularly brings new updates. Updates include new functionality for WordPress themes and plugins. Regular updates are also important for site security. Hackers are more likely to attack outdated systems. Regular updates reduce the likelihood of hacking your site.
Table of Contents
Automatic Updates
All minor WordPress updates will be installed automatically. However, only basic WordPress files are updated automatically. Themes and plugins must be updated manually. You will receive an email notification of all automatic updates as a site administrator. If the automatic update fails for some reason, you will be notified about it.
Manually updating the WordPress version
Most updates must be installed manually. The necessary tools are available in the administration of the site: go to Dashboard ›Updates. I recommend backing up all data before manually updating any part of the page. You do this for cases when something unexpected happens during the update installation. Here’s a tutorial on how to backup WordPress.
At the top of the page, you can find out if your version of WordPress is current and when the last check took place. You will also find the Check again button to manually check the current version. If you want to update the WP version, click Update. WP will download the necessary files and install them.
If you need to manually update the WP corn, here’s the official guide.
Updating WordPress plugins
The second important information on the update page is the list of plugins with available updates. To update them, first check the box next to the name of the specific plugin. Then click Update plugins.
WordPress theme update
If you need to update WordPress themes, you can find a list of them under the list of plugins. Check the box next to the specific theme name. Then click Update themes. New files are automatically installed after downloading.
To be sure, after the update check if all the functions on the website work properly.
How to update WordPress – summary
As we said, it’s important to update WP and all plugins and themes. This way you will avoid unnecessary problems.