How to Update WordPress Without Breaking Your Website

Want to update WordPress, update these themes or these plugins?

Once your WordPress website is up and running, you need to maintain it regularly to keep it afloat.

This is where updating it becomes crucial. Ignoring the update message on your WordPress dashboard can lead to compatibility issues, malfunctions, or even a complete website crash.

Solving these problems is difficult, so it is better to take preventive measures beforehand.

Fortunately, there are four ways to safely update WordPress. But, aside from the basic WordPress update, we'll cover how to update your themes, plugins, and database. This way, your website will be free from any malware or other cyber attacks.

But before we start, if you have never installed WordPress, find out How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog 

Then back to why we are here.

Reasons to update a website to the latest version of WordPress

Like any other software, an update will ensure that WordPress users can improve their websites with new features, upgrades, and bug fixes.

If you don't update your WordPress, the website will run less efficiently because it's outdated and visitors will be less likely to explore it. As a result, the website will have lower traffic, which is not ideal in the long run.

Besides, there are other benefits of updating WordPress:

• Better security : Previous versions of WordPress are more prone to security vulnerabilities. Implement security updates to prevent hackers from stealing confidential data.
• Vitesse : Installing a new version of WordPress can speed up the website. As a result, it will be more responsive across different browsers and devices, encouraging visitors to stay longer and potentially return in the near future.
• Compatibility : The new version of WordPress will make your website compatible with plugins and themes. As such, you will have no problem installing other features to extend its functionality.
• Feature : WordPress updates come with quality or improved feature implementations. There will be more options and tools to develop your website.

Before Updating WordPress

Before updating your website to the latest version of WordPress, it is essential to be prepared for possible missteps.

Remember that these updates will impact your website files and their database.

Here is a quick checklist before updating a WordPress website:

• Read and understand the update notice. Find out what the latest update does through the WordPress changelog. These may be new features or security fixes.
• Check out the support forums. See what others are saying about the latest version of WordPress and if it contains any errors or bugs. Decide whether to update now or wait longer. As a general rule, prioritize security updates.
• Create a Full WordPress Backup. Backups prevent permanent data loss and act as a fallback plan if an error occurs while you edit or update your website. Make sure you can restore your website.
• Disable caching. Caching plugins may not recognize if a WordPress install is taking place, which can hamper the process. Empty your caching WordPress and disable caching plugins first.
• Disable other plugins. Some WordPress updates are not compatible with certain plugins. This can result in an inaccessible website. Disable all add-ons and extensions to install the update.
• Upgrade PHP version. If you find that your current PHP version is not compatible with the update, be sure to update PHP version of your website.

How to update WordPress

If this is your first time updating WordPress core, don't worry. We'll show you how to safely update a WordPress website using four different methods, both automatically and manually.

1. Update WordPress via Admin Dashboard

This is one of the easiest ways to update your website to the latest version of WordPress. This manual update process is just one click away and the installation process will only take a few minutes.

All you have to do is login to your WordPress admin dashboard. Next, check if there is a new WordPress version on the front page of the WordPress admin dashboard.

Click on Please update now to start updating the website. The page Updates will open, where you need to press the button again Update profile now.

For updates minor, the success message along with options for updating plugins and themes will appear.

However, you will see a welcome screen with a detailed summary of what has been upgraded for major releases.

You can now update all your themes and plugins to ensure they are compatible with the latest version of WordPress.

2. Update WordPress manually via FTP

Another way to update WordPress securely is via FTP if you cannot do so via the WordPress admin dashboard.

To manually upgrade your WordPress website, use an FTP client, such as fileZilla or File manager in your hosting control panel. For this method, you need to access your WordPress root directory.

You will need to overwrite the old WordPress core files – wp-includes et wp-admin – with new ones. To update your WordPress website using FileZilla, follow the steps below:

1. Download the last version of WordPress and unzip the ZIP file.
2. Navigate to the extracted folder and delete the file wp-config-sample.php and the file wp-content to avoid losing important data.
3. Connect to your WordPress website via FileZilla or your FTP client prefer.
4. Look for directories wp-includes et wp-admin of the existing website on the right side of the panel (remote site), then right-click for them. Supprimer.

5. On the local site – the left side of the panel – select the new folders wp-includes et wp-admin, then choose upload.

6. Upload the rest of the unzipped WordPress files from your computer to the web host's directory. Overwrite old WordPress files by uploading new ones to the server. When the confirmation message Target file already exists is displayed, select options Always use this action et Apply to current queue only.
7. When all files are uploaded, navigate to votresite.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php/ to check if you have successfully completed WordPress updates via FTP.

Don't rush to replace everything in the WordPress root directory. You can easily break your website if you do something wrong, so follow the tutorial carefully.

3. Update WordPress via WP-CLI

If you're reading this part of the tutorial, you probably already have SSH access to your WordPress root directory in the folder public_html.

When everything is set up, perform the following actions to safely update the WordPress website to the latest version:

1. Once you have access to your SSH account, use the command cd to switch to your WordPress root directory using the following line:

cd public_html

To display the contents of your directory, type the command ls or type cd ~ to change your directory to home.

2. Enter the following command to check if the latest version of WordPress is ready to update

wp core check-update

3. If there is a new version of WordPress available, you will see a similar message

+---------+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| version | update_type | package_url                                                   |
+---------+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| #.#.#   | minor       | https://downloads.wordpress.org/release/wordpress-#.#.#.zip   |
| #.#.#   | major       | https://downloads.wordpress.org/release/wordpress-#.#.#.zip   |
+---------+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------------+

4. If no update is available, you will see this message instead:

Success: WordPress is at the latest version.

5. To start the update run the following line

wp core update

6. Wait for the process to complete and your WordPress website will be updated automatically.

Now that you know how to update core files via WP-CLI, it's time to upgrade your database. Run these following commands to update plugins and WordPress themes

wp core update-db
wp theme update --all
wp plugin update --all

When the program has completed the update process, run the previous commands again to confirm if everything is updated correctly. This is what it should look like:

4. Update WordPress Automatically

The WordPress platform, by default, will update your website whenever there are minor updates, which include maintenance and stability implementations.

Depending on your host, you can enable automatic updates for major releases. Updating your WordPress website involves a lot of technical details, but with this method you can automatically update your website using a plugin such as Easy Updates Manager.

You can also enable automatic WordPress updates by adding a line of code in the file wp-config.php. Follow the steps below to do so:

1. Login to cPanel and go to File manager under the section files.
2. Once you are in the folder public_html, scroll down and select the file wp-config.php.
3. Push the button Edit located in the top menu.
4. Add or modify the following line:

define('WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', true);

5. Finally, click Save. This is how you will safely update WordPress to the latest version.

How to update WordPress themes and plugins

After updating the core WordPress files, don't forget to update themes and plugins. If you don't update your WordPress database, technical and operational errors can ruin the functionality of your website.

It is important to regularly check all plugins and themes, in order to know which of them need immediate updates. Updating them late will make it harder for your website functionality to sync, increasing the risk of potential crashes.

Before updating, run a test and check if the updated version will not cause any problem to your website.

To perform plugin and theme updates, go to the page Updates by hovering over the menu Dashboard.

This will take you to the updates screen. Here you will find all the plugins and themes that came out with the latest versions.

Select All Select to update them all at once or do it one by one by selecting the specific plugins and themes you want to update.

However, be careful when choosing to update all plugins at once, as this will use a lot of resources and could slow down your website.

Although the process involves the same steps, you will need to update your plugins separately from your themes. Make sure to update your caching plugin first to avoid complications.

Once you're done, open a real-time preview of your website to see if the updates are successful.

In some cases, you may not receive notifications about updates on the dashboard. Usually, plugin developers will email you information about updates, so check your inbox once you're done updating WordPress.

If you are unhappy with the current WordPress update, consider eliminating or replacing themes and plugins that are breaking your website. However, do not revert a plugin to its old version as it may cause more damage to your website like SEO and traffic downgrade.

Pro Tip

Updating your WordPress theme will get rid of any customizations you have made to the theme. Avoid losing them by using a child theme, instead of editing the parent theme directly.

In this tutorial, you learned how to safely update WordPress through manual and automatic methods without breaking your website – it's a must-have skill for a website owner.

Updating your website improves security and fixes bugs. A well-functioning website will attract more visitors and increase your Conversion rate.

For the update, you will need to check for future versions of WordPress, make a backup, clear the website cache, and perform a PHP upgrade. Also, make sure to disable plugins before updating to the new WordPress version to avoid file errors.

Also, don't skip upgrading themes and WordPress plugins so that your website can perform its functions. Go to the Updates page in your WordPress admin area and choose whether you want to update each database separately or all at once.

Other recommended resources

We also invite you to consult the resources below to go further in the grip and control of your website and blog.

• How to add infinite scrolling on a WordPress
• How to implement lazy loading in WordPress
• Elementor: How to Add a Button Sound Effect
• How to create custom templates on WordPress
• Using different backgrounds WordPress

Conclusion

That's it for this tutorial. Now that you have successfully updated WordPress to the latest version, feel free to leave a comment below.

However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation or the one on Divi: the best WordPress theme of all time.

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