If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what WordPress themes are and how they can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business website owners.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to easily update a WP theme in your dashboard.
Updating Themes – Best Practices
We recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below before going through the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your files and data before making any changes to your site is essential. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully 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 have installed, there may be some release notes accompanying an update listing 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 upgrade.
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 the theme, track any bugs and check to see if all plugins are working fine with the new theme before installing it on a live site.
If you’re managing your own website, you can set up a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain name using the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) 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 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 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 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 customizations 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 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 easy. What can feel slightly bothersome is the preparation 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 to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your online assets.
Upgrading A Theme In WordPress – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your WP theme from the WP dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on which theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a WordPress theme from your WP dashboard is easy. You can update your site’s theme from the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” feature.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Themes” Screen
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WordPress admin menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” screen …
WordPress Themes that need updating 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 the theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Screen
Update your theme from the “Updates” area as follows:
To view all themes installed in your website that require updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This brings 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 update process …
WordPress automatically updates all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your WP themes in your admin dashboard.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum