How to Update WordPress Safely Every Time

Keeping your WordPress website updated is crucial for maintaining its functionality and security. However, updates can sometimes lead to unexpected issues, such as conflicts with customizations or even site malfunctions. To help you navigate this process smoothly, we've outlined five key considerations for installing WordPress updates. By following these guidelines, you can confidently update your site without compromising its performance or stability.

Back Up Your Site Regularly (and Before Updating Anything)

To mitigate any concerns about an update potentially harming your website, it is imperative to create a comprehensive backup before installing any updates. You have a wide array of options available for this critical step.

For those seeking a swift and straightforward solution, numerous premium remote backup services offer seamless setup and ease of use. These services are designed to provide a robust and full-featured backup experience.

It is strongly recommended to utilize remote backup solutions. Relying solely on server-based backups can be risky; if a fatal error impacts your server, both your website and its backups could be compromised. Many excellent backup solutions, both free and premium, are available. For those who prefer a manual approach, detailed instructions for performing a database backup can typically be found in comprehensive WordPress documentation.

Use WP Safe Updates to Test Plugin Updates

Plugins, due to the diverse range of developers, varying compatibility, and differing quality control standards, are frequently the source of conflicts during updates.

Fortunately, innovative tools like WP Safe Updates have emerged to address this challenge. This plugin enables you to test plugin updates within a ‘sandbox’ environment. This proactive approach allows you to identify potential update conflicts before they can impact your live site.

The sandbox functions in a manner similar to how some advanced WordPress configurations operate. It temporarily directs WordPress to use a distinct database prefix and a separate plugins directory within this isolated testing area.

In practice, when a plugin update is available, WP Safe Updates integrates a new ‘Test Update’ button. Clicking this button allows you to preview any changes the plugin introduces before committing them. This functionality provides a clear view of how updates will behave on your site, for instance, when creating new posts or adjusting settings, all without affecting your live environment.

Please note that implementing WP Safe Updates typically involves a minor modification to your site’s code. Comprehensive instructions for this process are usually provided in the installation documentation for the plugin.

While WP Safe Updates presents a promising solution to a common frustration with WordPress updates, it is important to be aware that tools in early development stages might not be entirely stable. Nevertheless, for anyone concerned about plugin updates interfering with their site’s functionality, such solutions are highly recommended as they provide an invaluable layer of protection.

Use a Child Theme

One of WordPress’s most significant advantages is its extensive customizability through themes and plugins. However, with this flexibility comes the responsibility to make design adjustments thoughtfully and correctly.

It can be tempting to directly edit your theme’s PHP or CSS files for customizations, but this practice should be avoided for two critical reasons:

1. There is a considerable risk of encountering errors, such as a complete site outage, due to a single misplaced character in the code.
2. Any changes you make directly to the original theme files are temporary; updating your site’s theme will overwrite and erase these modifications.

To circumvent both these problems, it is always advisable to use a child theme when customizing any aspect of your site’s code. Child themes are straightforward to create and provide a safe, isolated environment where you can experiment with design and functionality without fear of breaking your parent theme or losing your work during updates.

Review Theme, Plugin, and Core Update Changelogs for Conflicts

Before proceeding with any update, it is highly recommended to consult its changelog for potential conflicts. Staying informed about the new features and changes in the latest versions of themes, plugins, or core updates is beneficial in itself. More importantly, you should scrutinize the changelog for any alterations that might interfere with your specific site configuration and existing customizations.

For example, if you have applied custom CSS to modify the appearance of a contact form generated by a plugin, you must verify that the update does not alter any of the CSS IDs or classes that your custom code relies upon. Such changes could render your custom styling ineffective.

The location of the changelog varies depending on what you are updating. For plugins obtained from the official plugin repository, the changelog is typically found as one of the tabs on the plugin’s dedicated page.

This image shows an example of a changelog section for a popular WordPress plugin.

For themes, it is best to check the theme developer’s official website. Reputable themes, whether free or paid, should always provide a detailed changelog. For updates to the WordPress core itself, a comprehensive changelog documenting every version released to date is usually available within the official WordPress documentation.

Reviewing the changelog thoroughly for potential conflicts is a crucial step to ensuring that all WordPress updates are applied smoothly and without unexpected issues.

Never Test Updates on a Live Site

To guarantee that the user experience on your website remains uninterrupted by a problematic update, it is paramount to never test updates directly on your live production site. Adhering to this simple rule can prevent a multitude of potential issues and save you considerable troubleshooting time.

Several effective options exist for testing WordPress updates outside of your live environment. The most suitable choice will depend on your hosting provider, your technical proficiency, and the scope of the update you are performing. These options include:

1. Establishing a WordPress staging site through your web hosting provider. The exact procedure will vary with each provider, but many managed hosting services offer integrated staging environments, simplifying this process.
2. Testing updates using a specialized plugin, such as WP Staging. This is an excellent alternative for users on shared hosting plans. Such plugins typically create a complete copy of your website’s files and database within a subfolder of your current WordPress installation. You can then use this isolated clone to safely test any updates. If an update causes issues on the test site, your live website remains unaffected.
3. Conducting updates in a local development environment that contains an exact replica of your site. This method involves setting up a WordPress installation on your personal computer, allowing for thorough testing in an offline setting before deploying changes to your live site.

Utilizing any of the aforementioned strategies will enable you to thoroughly test updates, identify any potential bugs, and resolve them before they impact your live audience. A staging site is often considered an ideal approach for comprehensive testing.

Conclusion

While understanding the importance of keeping WordPress updated is a key first step, confidently installing those updates without the apprehension of potential conflicts is equally vital. This guide provides you with the knowledge and best practices to achieve just that.

By adhering to the following straightforward guidelines, you can ensure that all WordPress updates on your live site(s) are applied successfully every time:

1. Always back up your site regularly, and especially before initiating any update process.
2. Utilize dedicated tools or staging environments to test plugin updates thoroughly.
3. Implement all theme customizations within a child theme to prevent loss of changes during theme updates.
4. Review the changelogs of themes, plugins, and core WordPress updates for any potential conflicts prior to installation.
5. Never test updates directly on your live production website; always use a staging or development environment.