If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our overview of WordPress themes. It explains what themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for web business owners.
This tutorial will show you how to upgrade WP themes to the newest version inside the admin area.
Updating Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
We recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below before attempting the upgrade process.
1. Make A Complete Backup
Backing up your files and data before making any updates to your site is essential. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their previous state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many free and paid 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 accompanying an update listing any 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 update.
3. Test Your 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 all plugins are working fine with the new theme 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 site.
4. Search Online
Before updating your theme, it’s a good idea to search online to see if anyone has 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, 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”, your modifications are preserved through the “child theme.”
If you plan to customize your theme files, then we recommend becoming familiar with 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 not complicated at all … a few simple clicks and you’re done! What can feel slightly bothersome is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their themes regularly, while many upgrade without going through all of the steps listed in the section above. As mentioned earlier, the above are “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your online assets.
Upgrading Your Theme – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your WP themes in your admin dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on which theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive occasional notifications in your WP Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating a WordPress theme in your dashboard is easy. You can update your theme from the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” screen.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Themes” Screen
You can see which themes need updating by going to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes from your WP 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” alert.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress will automatically update your theme …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above process to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to bulk upgrade multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Updates” Section
Update your themes from the “Updates” page as shown below:
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 bulk update process …
WordPress automatically updates all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your themes in your admin dashboard.
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