If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. We’ve written an in-depth article that explains what themes are and how themes can save website owners time and money.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily upgrade your WordPress theme in your admin area.
Updating A WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the checklist below before going through the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Your Site Fully
Backing up your site before making any changes to your site is essential. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups 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 new features, improvements, security fixes or any other changes in the new version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should upgrade.
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 check to see if the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying it to a live site.
If you’re managing 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 play with the new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your main 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 enter the theme name and version into Google, and search the theme developer’s support forum (many developers provide forums for paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your Theme Heavily Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing WordPress 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 the 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 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 precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Many 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 for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, it is solely the website owner’s responsibility to protect their digital properties.
Upgrading Themes In WordPress – Tutorial
Updating your theme in your dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on what theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive an occasional alert in your WP Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating a WordPress theme from the dashboard is simple and easy. You can update your theme via the “Themes” area, or the “Updates” feature.
Updating Your Site Themes Via The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes need to be updated by going to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WordPress admin menu …
This brings you to 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” alert.
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 process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating Your Site’s Theme From The “Updates” Area
Update your themes via the “Updates” section 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 …
Select 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 upgrade your theme from the WP dashboard.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)