If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a comprehensive article that explains what themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for website owners.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to easily update WP themes to the newest version inside the admin area.
Updating Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices
Before updating any WordPress themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below to ensure that no settings or customizations are lost and your upgrades go smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Website Fully
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of free and paid plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully 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 are using, there may be a changelog file included with an update which provides an overview of new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other changes in the new theme version.
If the theme changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, it’s best to upgrade.
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 the theme, track any bugs and check to see if all plugins are working fine with the new theme before applying it to a live site.
If you manage your own website, you can set up a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain using the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and play with the 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 search online and see if other theme users have reported any serious problems with the new theme version.
You can enter 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. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized WordPress Themes
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing theme files, upgrading your theme could 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 customizations get preserved through the “child theme.”
If you plan to customize your theme files, then we recommend becoming familiar with child themes, especially if you plan to use a theme that gets regularly updated. You can learn more about child themes by searching online, or just visit the WordPress Codex child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is very easy. The step that takes the most time and effort to complete is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Many people don’t upgrade their WordPress themes regularly, while others upgrade without going through all of the steps listed in the section above. As mentioned earlier, the above are “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, it is solely your responsibility as a website owner to protect your digital properties.
Updating Your Themes – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your themes in the WP dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on the theme(s) installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your WordPress Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating a theme in the WP dashboard is a simple process. You can update your WordPress theme via the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” screen.
Updating Your Site’s Theme Using The “Themes” Screen
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes in your WP dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” page …
Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over the theme’s thumbnail image …
Locate the theme that needs to be updated and click on the “Update Available” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress will automatically update your theme …
Your theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Site Themes Using The “Updates” Screen
Update your WordPress themes from the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes in your website that require updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This opens up the Updates screen. Scroll down to the Themes section …
Check the box next to all the themes you want to update and click on Update Themes to complete the bulk update process …
WordPress will automatically update all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your WP themes in your dashboard.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)