I see many business owners who don’t keep their WordPress websites updated. The constant update notifications may be a pain, but you must schedule this maintenance. If you don’t have time to do it at least once a month, you should consider outsourcing it to a professional.
In this article, I’m going to talk about the 3 main elements you should be updating regularly: WordPress Core, Themes and Plugins.
Why you should keep your website updated
There are several reasons that you should keep on top of the updates. Here are the top ones:
1. Security
This is the number one reason to keep on top of your WordPress updates. As WordPress powers over a third of the world’s websites, hackers are always looking for vulnerabilities in the code. This doesn’t just apply to WordPress itself, but also the theme you are using and all the plugins. Developers will release updates to patch their code to close any security holes.
2. Compatibility
On occasions, WordPress will change the core code and the themes and plugins need to update their code to ensure their ongoing compatibility.
Additionally, the software that underpins WordPress is constantly updating too so WordPress, themes and plugins need to change to adapt to the new software.
3. New features
Well-maintained plugins and themes are constantly evolving with the developers adding exciting new features and functionality to them.
4. Speed
Plugins and themes all add weight to your website and will add to the load speed. Good developers are constantly working on their code to make it faster.
How often should you update your website?
You should schedule time in your diary to perform essential maintenance on your website at least once a month. If you have a very busy website (e.g. an e-commerce website), I recommend weekly.
How to update your WordPress website
There is a right way to update your website. Follow this fool-proof guide and you won’t go wrong:
1. Backup, backup, backup
I cannot stress this enough, backup your website before you start. There is a risk in performing any update that your website may break – if you haven’t backed up your website first, there is no undo and you will have a broken website. You can use a plugin such as Updraft Plus to back up your website or your hosting provider may provide a server-side solution. Some hosting providers even provide a staging environment where you can test all your updates before implementing them live(especially useful if you have a lot of plugins on a busy e-commerce site)
2. Caching
If you have a caching plugin, turn this off.
3. Updating your plugins
Ideally, you should do these one at a time, checking the changelog of each to see what has changed before updating.
You need to pay particular attention to any plugins that add direct functionality to your website (e.g. Woocommecre and the related plugins, membership plugins). Remember to check all the pages that the plugin update may affect
After each plugin update, check that your website is still working and looks the same as it did before. If all is good, proceed to the next plugin.
4. Updating your theme
You may have more than one theme installed – even though you can only have one activated at any one time, you must keep them all updated due to security holes. Check the changelog – is it a major or minor release? After updating, recheck your website. If the update on your active theme is a major release, it could cause issues on your website. You will need to read the documentation and changelog to see what new updates have been implemented and if you need to update any of your pages based on this.
5. Update WordPress core
Finally, update WordPress and give your website a final check.
6. Reactivating your caching
Don’t forget to reactivate your caching plugin!
7. Backup again
Why? Well, you have a lovely updated and fully-functioning website so back up a version just in case of emergencies in the future.
Some experts say that you should update in this order:
Themes – Plugins- WordPress. You could choose this way instead (there isn’t a right or wrong way to do it) as long as you remember to take a backup first and to keep checking your website as you go… I recommend you stick to a pattern.
When shouldn’t you update?
I know, this page is about updating your website and now I’m going to tell you that there are times when you shouldn’t update…
If there is a major release (either in a plugin, theme or core), there are often teething problems (aka bugs) in the code. I recommend you wait a few days as there will be patches released.
How can you tell if it is a major or minor release?
Look at the version number and the changelog – this will tell you if it is major or minor. For example:
WordPress 6.0 is a major release
WordPress 6.4 is a fairly major release
WordPress 6.4.2 is a minor release.
And WordPress 7.0 (when it releases) will be a major release.
Always take greater care over fairly major and major releases.
Also, looking at the changelog will give you an idea of whether it is a major release or some bug fixes.
What if something goes wrong?
This happens more often than you think – there are thousands of themes and plugins available and every developer can’t test the compatibility of their product with all of them and in every possible combination. So if something’s gone wrong with your website, there’s no need to panic because you made a backup, right? You can restore your backup to the previously saved point and start again – if you followed my recommendation to only update one plugin at a time and check the site between plugins, you’ll know exactly which plugin broke it and skip this one.
What about auto-updates?
WordPress automatically enables auto-updates of its core – if you can turn this off, please do so – WordPress will not take a backup first. If there is a major core update, the developers of the themes and plugins sometimes need a few days to catch up to ensure compatibility.
Sounds too much?
I meet a lot of WordPress website owners who haven’t followed the correct procedure or stayed on top of their updates and then regretted it when things went wrong. Hiring a developer to sort out your issues afterwards can be costly. For peace of mind, you may want to consider a monthly support package where a professional can do this for you – we offer monthly support packages starting at £50 per month where I take care of all your updates (including any issues). More details
