Keeping your WordPress plugins and themes up to date is crucial for maintaining your website’s performance, security, and compatibility. Outdated software can lead to slow load times, broken features, or even security vulnerabilities.
In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to update your WordPress plugins and themes the right way—without breaking your site.
Step 1: Backup Your Website
Before updating anything, it’s important to back up your entire site.
Why? If something goes wrong during the update, a backup allows you to restore your site to its previous state.
How to do it:
- Use a plugin like UpdraftPlus, All-in-One WP Migration, or BlogVault.
- Save your backup to a secure location (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).
Step 2: Log Into Your WordPress Dashboard
Go to yourdomain.com/wp-admin and enter your username and password to access your WordPress dashboard.
Step 3: Check for Available Updates
Once inside your dashboard:
- Look at the left-hand sidebar and go to Dashboard > Updates
- Here, you’ll see all available updates for:
- WordPress core
- Plugins
- Themes
You’ll also see a notification bubble next to Plugins or Appearance if updates are available.
Step 4: Update Plugins
To update plugins individually:
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Find the plugin with an available update
- Click the “Update now” link under the plugin name
To bulk update multiple plugins:
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Check the boxes next to the plugins you want to update
- Select “Update” from the Bulk Actions dropdown
- Click “Apply”
Note: It is safer to do the updates one plugin at a time to avoid the website breaking and you not knowing which plugin caused the issue.
✅ Done! Your plugins are now updated.
Step 5: Update Themes
To update your themes:
- Go to Appearance > Themes
- If an update is available, you’ll see a notification on the theme thumbnail
- Click the theme, then click “Update now”
Note: If you’ve made custom changes to your theme files (without using a child theme), updating may overwrite those changes. Always back up first.
Step 6: Test Your Website
After updates are complete:
- Visit your homepage and key pages
- Check for broken layouts, missing elements, or slow loading
- If anything looks off, restore your backup or troubleshoot using a plugin like Health Check & Troubleshooting
Step 7: Enable Automatic Updates (Optional)
For added convenience, you can enable automatic updates for some plugins and themes but this is not suggested:
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Click “Enable auto-updates” next to the plugin name
You can do the same for themes under Appearance > Themes by clicking on the theme and then enabling auto-updates.
⚠️ Caution: Use auto-updates only for trusted plugins/themes that don’t often cause compatibility issues.
Conclusion
Regularly updating your WordPress plugins and themes helps keep your website secure, fast, and functioning properly. By following these simple steps—and always backing up before you update—you’ll avoid most of the common headaches that come with website maintenance.
Need help or want a maintenance plan? Feel free to reach out!