If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. It explains what WP themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business owners.
This tutorial will show you how to easily upgrade WP themes in your admin area.
Updating Themes – Best Practices
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to reduce the risk of any potential problems happening during your update process.
1. Make A Full Site Backup
Backing up your website 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 many WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups here:
2. Check The Theme Update Notes
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 listing any new features, improvements, bug fixes or important information pertaining to the new theme version.
If the 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 check if the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying it to a live site.
If you manage your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain 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 do a quick search online to 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 premium WordPress themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized Themes
If you have made extensive changes 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 that 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 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 official WordPress 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.
Some people don’t upgrade their WordPress themes regularly, while others upgrade without going through some or 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, it is solely the website owner’s responsibility to protect their online assets.
Updating Your Themes – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your theme from your dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive occasional alerts in your WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating themes from the dashboard is easy. You can update your site’s theme from the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” area.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes need updating by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
WordPress 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 in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above process to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Screen
Update your WordPress themes from the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes in your website 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 update process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your theme from the WP 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