If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. It explains what themes are and how using themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for business website owners.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to update your themes to a new version inside your admin area.
Upgrading WP Themes – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating any themes, we recommend going through the checklist below.
1. Back Up Your Files
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their former settings.
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 fully 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 included with an update which provides an overview of new features, improvements, security fixes or important changes in the new theme 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 the theme, track bugs and check if 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 plugins and configuration settings and test 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 to see if anyone has 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 paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Heavily Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations 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 the parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, all customizations are preserved through the “child theme.”
If you plan to customize your theme files, then we recommend becoming familiar with using 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 not complicated at all … a few simple clicks and you’re done! The step that takes the most time and effort to complete is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Some 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 for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is solely your responsibility to protect your online properties.
How To Upgrade Your Themes – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your themes in your dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on which theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive an occasional notification in your WordPress Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating themes in the dashboard is very simple and easy. You can update your theme using the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” feature.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Themes” Area
To see which themes need updating, go to your Themes page.
Select 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 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 in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now updated …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Section
Update your WordPress theme via the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes on your website that need updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This opens up the Updates screen. Scroll down to the Themes section …
Select all the themes you want to update and click on Update Themes to complete the bulk upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your themes from your dashboard.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)