If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what WP themes are and how they can be cost-effective and time-saving for business owners.
This tutorial will show you how to upgrade your themes in your admin area.
Upgrading A WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating your themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below.
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your site before making any changes to your site is essential. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its previous configuration.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:
2. Check The Changelog
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, bug fixes or any other changes in the new theme version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should 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 the theme, track any bugs and verify that the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying it to a live site.
If you’re managing 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 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 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 WordPress themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing 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 that parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, your modifications 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 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 fairly easy. The step in the upgrade 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 “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your online properties.
Upgrading A Theme In WordPress – Tutorial
Upgrading your WordPress theme from your dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on what theme(s) you have installed on your website, you may receive occasional notifications in your dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating WordPress themes from your dashboard is very simple and easy. You can update your themes using the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” page.
Updating Your Theme Using The “Themes” Area
To see which themes need updating, go to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
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 automatically updates the theme in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method below to update multiple themes at once.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Updates” Screen
Update your theme via the “Updates” page as shown below:
To view all themes on 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 update process …
WordPress will automatically update all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your theme from your dashboard.
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