How to Update WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Safely

Keeping WordPress, your theme, and your plugins updated is one of the simplest ways to keep your website secure and working properly. Outdated plugins are one of the most common ways a website gets compromised, and skipped core updates can eventually break compatibility with your hosting environment. This guide walks you through updating each part safely, in the right order.

Before you update anything

Updates are usually routine, but occasionally a theme or plugin update conflicts with something else on your site. A few minutes of preparation saves you a lot of trouble if that happens.

1. Take a full backup of your site and database first. If you're not sure how, see How to Take a Full Backup of Your Hosting Account.
2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard (usually at yoursite.co.ke/wp-admin).
3. Go to Dashboard then Updates to see everything that currently has an update available: core, themes, and plugins, all in one place.

If your site gets a lot of traffic or handles orders and payments, update during a quiet period so you can quickly spot and fix any issue before many visitors are affected.

Updating plugins

Update plugins one at a time rather than all at once, especially on a live site. If something breaks after a bulk update, it's hard to tell which plugin caused it.

1. Go to Plugins in the left-hand menu.
2. Any plugin with an update available shows a notice below its name with an update now link.
3. Click update now for one plugin, wait for it to finish, then check that your site still loads and looks correct.
4. Repeat for each remaining plugin.

If a plugin's update notes mention major changes or a new required PHP version, check your site's current PHP version before updating that one.

Updating your theme

1. Go to Appearance then Themes.
2. If an update is available, you'll see an update notice on the theme's thumbnail. Click it and then click Update Now.
3. Reload your homepage and a couple of inner pages afterward to confirm the layout and styling still look right.

If you've made direct edits to your theme's files, a theme update can overwrite those changes. Custom changes should live in a child theme so they survive updates.

Updating WordPress core

1. Go to Dashboard then Updates.
2. If a new WordPress version is available, click Update Now.
3. Wait for the process to finish. Do not close the browser tab or navigate away while it's running.
4. Once it completes, log back in and check that your site's front end and admin area both work as expected.

WordPress applies minor security releases automatically in the background by default, so you may sometimes find core is already up to date when you check.

If something breaks after an update

If your site shows a blank page or an error after an update, don't panic. Most causes are a plugin or theme conflict with the new version. See WordPress White Screen of Death: How to Fix It for how to identify and fix the conflicting plugin or theme. If you're unable to resolve it, restore the backup you took before updating and try updating items one at a time instead.