If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. It explains what WordPress themes are and how themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for website owners.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily update a WP theme to its latest version inside the dashboard.
Updating Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
We recommend going through the checklist below before going through the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Your Site Fully
Backing up your website before making any changes to your site is essential. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its previous state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many WordPress plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:
2. Check The Changelog
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 important information pertaining to the new version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should 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 a theme, track any bugs and make sure that the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying it to a live site.
If you manage your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and play with the new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your live website.
4. Search Online
Before updating your theme, it’s a good idea to do a quick search online and see if anyone has reported any serious problems 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 WordPress themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing theme files, upgrading 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 get 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 just visit the WordPress Codex child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is simple. What can feel slightly bothersome is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their WordPress themes regularly, while others upgrade without going through some or all of the steps listed in the section above. As mentioned earlier, the above are recommended “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, it is the website owner’s responsibility to protect their online assets.
How To Upgrade WP Themes From Your Dashboard – Tutorial
Updating your themes in your admin dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on which theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a WordPress theme in your dashboard is easy. You can update your themes from the “Themes” area, or the “Updates” section.
Updating Your Site’s Theme Via The “Themes” Section
You can see which themes need updating by going to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
WordPress Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over their thumbnail image …
Locate the theme that needs to be updated and click on the “Update Available” message.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates the theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above process to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Section
Update your WordPress themes using the “Updates” area as follows:
To view all themes in your site 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 update process …
WordPress will automatically update all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your WP theme in your dashboard.
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