How to update WordPress, themes and plugins

This guide shows how to update WordPress itself, your themes and your plugins, and how to choose which updates happen automatically.

Take a backup first

Updates usually go smoothly, but a plugin that clashes with a new version can break a page. We back up your account every six hours with JetBackup, so you can roll back if needed. If you’re about to make a big change, check when the last backup ran, or test the change on a staging copy first. See how to restore a backup with JetBackup.

Update from the WordPress dashboard

1. Log in to WordPress.
2. Go to Dashboard, then Updates.
3. If a new version of WordPress is available, click Update to version followed by the number.
4. Under Plugins, tick the plugins you want to update and click Update Plugins.
5. Under Themes, tick the themes you want to update and click Update Themes.
6. Visit your site and check the main pages still look and work as they should.

Update one or two plugins at a time if you’re cautious. That way, if something breaks, you know which one caused it.

Update from WP Toolkit

1. Log in to cPanel and click WP Toolkit.
2. Find your site. Any waiting updates are shown on the site card.
3. Click Updates (or the update count, depending on your version).
4. Tick the items you want to update and click Update.

On our WordPress plans, WP Toolkit Deluxe includes smart updates. When turned on, WP Toolkit tests the updates on a copy of your site first and shows you whether anything looks different before you apply them to the live site. Look for a Smart Update switch on the site card or in the updates screen.

Set automatic updates

In WP Toolkit, open the Updates screen for your site and look for the auto-update settings. You can usually choose separately for WordPress core, plugins and themes. A sensible starting point is to let minor WordPress updates (security and bug fixes) install automatically and to check major updates yourself.

You can also turn on auto-updates for single plugins in WordPress. Go to Plugins and click Enable auto-updates next to the plugin.

If it doesn’t work

• The site shows “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance”. An update was interrupted. Open File Manager, delete the file called .maintenance in your WordPress folder, then run the update again. You may need to show hidden files.
• The site breaks after an update. See how to fix the white screen of death, or restore the backup from before the update.
• A plugin won’t update. Some paid plugins need a licence key entered in their settings before they can update.

Good to know

Out of date plugins are a common way sites get hacked. See how to secure WordPress for more ways to protect your site.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we’ll help.