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 WP themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for online business owners.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to easily update your WP theme with just a few clicks inside the dashboard.
Updating A WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before going through the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Your Website Fully
Backing up your website before making any updates to your site is vital. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore your site to its former state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many WordPress 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
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 included with an update listing any new features, improvements, security fixes or important changes in the new version.
If the theme changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should 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 an installed theme, track bugs and verify that all plugins are working fine with the new theme before installing it on a live site.
If you manage your own website, you can set up 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 live website.
4. Search Online
Before updating your theme, it’s a good idea to search online to see if other theme users have reported any issues 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 paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive changes 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”, your customizations get preserved through the “child theme.”
If you plan to customize your theme files, then we recommend becoming familiar with 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 not complicated at all … a few simple clicks and you’re done! The part of the update process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation 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 your responsibility as a website owner to protect your online assets.
Updating Themes In WordPress – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your theme in the WP dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on what theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive an occasional notification in your WP Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating WordPress themes from your dashboard is very simple and easy. You can update your theme using the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” area.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WP dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over the theme’s thumbnail image …
Locate the theme you want to update and click on the “Update Available” message.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme …
Your theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method described below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Section
Update your theme from the “Updates” section as shown below:
To view all themes in your site that require 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 bulk upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your WP theme in your admin 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)