Updating WordPress, Themes and Plugins: What To Do First?

If you haven’t logged into your WordPress site in a while you may be surprised to learn you need to update a lot of things:

• WordPress
• Your theme
• Your plugins

If they all need to be updated do it in this order:

1. WordPress
2. Your theme
3. Your plugins

The WordPress website in this video had eleven (11) items that needed to be updated, indicated by red circles opposite the Dashboard menu items “Plugins” and “Updates.” Six (6) of these items were plugins, four (4) were Themes and (1) item was WordPress itself.

What To Update First?

Go to Dashboard —> Updates

At the top of the WordPress Updates page you’ll see a message that recommends backing up your entire site first, before beginning your updates. It’s never happened to me, but I’ve been told that sometimes site files can become corrupted during an update, so before you update anything, make a backup of your entire site just in case you need to go back to your pre-updated version.

Unless you have a host like Websynthesis that backs up all sites daily, keeps your seven latest backups and discourages the use of 3rd party plugins for making backups, you’ll need to use a plugin to make your backups.

I like having a hard copy on my desktop, so use Duplicator. Other great choices are:

• BackWPup Free – WordPress Backup Plugin
• BackupBuddy

OK, Now Your Ready

1. Begin by updating WordPress
2. Click the Update Now button
3. If successful you’ll be taken to your login page
4. Log back in

Update Themes Next

Dashboard —> Updates —> WordPress Updates page

NOTE:

You’ll see that Plugin Updates are listed before the Theme Updates — so why am updating the plugins first?

I have asked a number of developers what to update after updating WordPress? They’ve all told me to update the Theme before Plugins because plugins “talk” to the Theme which “talks” to WordPress. My advisors have not failed me yet.

To Update the Themes

1. Scroll down to Themes
2. Select All
3. click Update Themes

Finish By Updating the Plugins the Quick and Easy Way

To update all your Plugins at the same time,

1. Click Select All
2. Select Update Plugins

You’re done!