Whenever there is a new version of the WordPress content management system available, an alert will appear at the top of your Administrator page. You should always make sure to update to the latest version of the platform, since new updates frequently introduce important bug fixes, address security issues or even add new features. It is also wise to keep your plugins and themes updated for the same reasons, and developers of plugins and themes often release frequent updates as well. This guide explains how to update the WordPress platform before updating your themes and plugins.
Using the One-Click Upgrade Feature
By far the quickest and easiest way to update the WordPress platform is to use the one-click update feature. This is supported in all recent versions of WordPress from 2.7. If an update is available, all you need to do is click on the link in the warning, and you will be redirected to the WordPress Update webpage. To continue, simply click “Update Now”. This feature works with most servers.
Manually Upgrading WordPress
Sometimes, you may need to manually update WordPress, since not all servers support the one-click update feature. This is more likely if you are using a hosting package which does not come with WordPress preinstalled.
1- Visit wordpress.org/download and download the latest package.
2- Disable all of the plugins by navigating to the Plugins section and clicking the “Deactivate” links as shown in the screenshot below:
3- Access your FTP server either through an FTP client installed on your computer or by using the tools provided by your hosting company. Delete the folders “wp-includes” and “wp-admin.” Extract the WordPress archive you downloaded earlier and upload the new versions of these directories to your FTP server in place of the ones you just deleted.
4- In the extracted archive, open the “wp-content” folder and copy the individual files into the “wp-content” folder on your FTP server, overwriting existing files as necessary. You should never delete this folder on your FTP server, since doing so will delete your site’s content as well.
5- Upload the remaining files from the root directory of the extracted archive to your FTP server.
6- Return to your WordPress Administrator dashboard. After certain major updates, WordPress may ask you to upgrade your database. You can do this by clicking the button as shown in the screenshot below:
7- Enable your plugins again before you continue using WordPress.
3 – Updating Your Plugins and Themes
The number of available updates, if any, will be displayed at the top of the sidebar on your administrator dashboard. Click on the link and scroll down the page to see which updates are available. Click “Update Plugins” to update all of your plugins and “Update Themes” to update all of your themes.
