If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our overview of WordPress themes. This comprehensive article explains what WP themes are and how using themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business owners.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to upgrade your WordPress theme inside the dashboard.
Upgrading A WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating any themes, we recommend going through the checklist below.
1. Make A Backup
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its former state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:
2. Check The Theme Update Notes
Changes made to the WordPress software can affect the functionality of certain themes. Depending on the theme you have installed, there may be some release notes included with an update listing any new features, improvements, security fixes or important information pertaining to the new theme version.
If the theme changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, it’s best to update.
3. Test The Theme
If you can, it’s a good idea to check the theme before installing it on your site.
Typically, web service providers will set up a test site where they can test the latest version of an installed theme, track bugs and check if all plugins are working fine with the new theme before applying and activating it on a live site.
If you manage your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain using the same plugins and configuration settings and test new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your main site.
4. Search Online
Before updating your theme, it’s a good idea to do a quick search online to see if other theme users have reported any issues with the new theme version.
You can type the theme name and version into Google, and search the theme developer’s support forum (many developers offer this for premium themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Heavily Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive changes to your existing WordPress theme files, updating your theme may result in your custom modifications being overwritten. To prevent losing your theme modifications, therefore, we recommend you learn how to create “child themes”.
A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme, and allows you to modify, or add to, the functionality of that parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, all modifications are preserved through the “child theme.”
If you plan to customize your theme files, then we recommend becoming familiar with the use of child themes, especially if you use a theme that gets regularly updated. You can learn more about child themes by searching online, or visit the WordPress Codex child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is not complicated at all … a few simple clicks and you’re done! The part that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Many people don’t upgrade their WordPress themes regularly, while many upgrade without going through some or all of the steps listed in the section above. As mentioned earlier, the above are “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your digital assets.
How To Upgrade Your WP Theme – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your themes in the WP dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on the theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive occasional alerts in your WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a theme from your WP dashboard is easy. You can update your site’s theme from the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” section.
Updating Your Site Themes From The “Themes” Area
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WP dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” screen …
WordPress Themes that need updating display an “Update Available” message over the theme’s thumbnail image …
Locate the theme you want to update and click on the “Update Available” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress will automatically update the theme …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above process to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Site’s Theme Using The “Updates” Section
Update your theme from the “Updates” area as follows:
To view all themes in your site that need updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This opens up the Updates screen. Scroll down to the Themes section …
Select all the themes you want to update and click on Update Themes to complete the upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your themes from your admin dashboard.
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