If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our overview of WordPress themes. This detailed article explains what themes are and how they can save online business owners significant time and money.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to update your WordPress theme to a new version inside the admin area.
Updating WP Themes – Best Practices
Before updating any WordPress themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below.
1. Back Up Your Site Files And Data
Backing up your site before making any changes to your site is vital. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many 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 some release notes included with an update which provides an overview of new features, improvements, bug fixes or important 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 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 bugs and make sure that the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings 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 configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and test 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 search online and see if anyone has 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 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 the parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, all modifications 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 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 simple. 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 for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your digital assets.
How To Upgrade WordPress Theme In Your Admin Dashboard – Tutorial
Upgrading your themes from the WP dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on what theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive an occasional notification in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating WordPress themes from your dashboard is quite simple and easy. You can update your themes via the “Themes” section, or the “Updates” section.
Updating Your Themes Via The “Themes” Section
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
Themes that need updating 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” message.
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 above process to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Updates” Area
Update your themes from the “Updates” page as shown below:
To view all themes on your website that need 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 bulk upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your WP theme in your admin dashboard.
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