If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. It explains what WP themes are and how using themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for website owners.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to upgrade your WP theme with just a few clicks inside the admin area.
Upgrading A WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to reduce any problems happening as a result of your update process.
1. Make A Complete Backup
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is essential. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore your website to its former state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of free and paid WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups 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 accompanying an update which provides an overview of any new features, improvements, bug 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 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 an installed theme, track any bugs and make sure that all plugins are working fine with the new theme before installing 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 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 and 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. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized 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”, your 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 plan on using 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 bit of the update process that takes the most time and effort to complete 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 recommended “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, it is solely your responsibility as a website owner to protect your online properties.
Updating A Theme In WordPress – Tutorial
Upgrading your themes from your admin dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on which theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive occasional notifications in your WP Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating themes from your WP dashboard is quite a simple process. You can update your site’s theme using the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” section.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes page.
Choose Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” screen …
Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over the theme’s thumbnail image …
Locate the theme you want to update and click on the “Update Available” message.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress will automatically update your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above process to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to update multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Updates” Screen
Update your theme via the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes installed 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 upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your themes from your dashboard.
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