If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what themes are and how themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for business owners.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to update a theme with just a few clicks inside your admin area.
Updating Themes – Best Practices
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to ensure that no settings or customizations are lost and your update goes smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Site Fully
Backing up your files and data before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their previous configuration.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can 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 some release notes accompanying an update which provides an overview of any new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other changes in the new theme version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, it’s best to 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 bugs and check to see if the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying and activating 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 with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and play with the 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 and 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 provide forums for premium 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 theme files, updating 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”, 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 to use a theme that gets regularly updated. You can learn more about child themes by searching online, or just 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 part of the upgrading process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their WordPress themes regularly, while others 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 your responsibility to protect your online assets.
Upgrading Your Theme – Tutorial
Updating your themes from the WP 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 alert in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating themes in the dashboard is very simple and easy. You can update your WordPress theme from the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” section.
Updating Your Theme Using The “Themes” Section
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes page.
Choose Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
WordPress Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over their thumbnail image …
Locate the theme you want to update and click on the “Update Available” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating Your Themes Via The “Updates” Area
Update your WordPress theme using the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes installed on your website that need updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This brings 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 upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your theme from your admin dashboard.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group