If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written an in-depth article that explains what WordPress themes are and how themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for business owners.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily upgrade themes in the admin area.
Upgrading WordPress Themes – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating your WordPress themes, we recommend going through the handy checklist below.
1. Make A Complete Backup
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. If something goes wrong, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:
2. Check The Changelog
When WordPress upgrades its software to a new version, this can affect the functionality of certain themes. Depending on the theme you are using, there may be a changelog file accompanying an update which provides an overview of new features, improvements, security fixes or important information pertaining to the new version.
If the 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 bugs and check to see 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 name 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 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 themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your Theme Heavily Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive changes to your existing 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 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 official WordPress child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is very simple. What can feel slightly bothersome is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Many people don’t upgrade their WordPress 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 your responsibility as a website owner to protect your online assets.
How To Upgrade A Theme In WordPress – Tutorial
Upgrading your themes in your admin dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on what theme(s) you have installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating a theme from your dashboard is a simple process. You can update your WordPress themes from the “Themes” section, or the “Updates” area.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Themes” Area
To see which themes need to be updated, go to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes from your WordPress dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
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 will automatically update your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Area
Update your theme via the “Updates” screen 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 upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your theme in your admin dashboard.
***
"Learning WordPress has been a huge stumbling block for me. I've been looking for something that covers absolutely everything but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Thank you so much ... you have just provided me with what I have been looking for! Truly appreciated!" - Tanya