If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for business website owners.

This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to easily upgrade a WP theme with just a few clicks inside the admin area.

Upgrading Themes – Best Practices Checklist

Before updating your themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below to ensure that your update goes smoothly.

1. Back Up Your Website

Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is essential. 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:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Websites And Blogs With Backup Creator WP Plugin

2. Check The Changelog

Changes made to the WordPress software can affect the functionality of certain themes. Depending on the theme you have installed, there may be a changelog file accompanying an update listing any new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other changes in the new 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 a 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 manage your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain name with the same plugins and configuration settings and test 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 search online to see if other theme users have reported any issues 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 provide forums for paid themes, and even for some free plugins).

5. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized Themes

If you have made extensive customizations 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”, your modifications 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 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:

• WordPress Codex: Child Themes

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 that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.

Many 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, it is the website owner’s responsibility to protect their digital assets.

Updating A Theme In WordPress – Step-By-Step Tutorial

Upgrading your theme from your dashboard is easy.

Log into your WordPress administration 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 from your dashboard is easy. You can update your themes from the “Themes” area, or the “Updates” screen.

Updating WordPress Themes From The “Themes” Page

To see which themes need to be updated, go to your Themes page.

Select Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …

This brings you to the “Themes” screen …

Themes that need updating display an “Update Available” message over their 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 will automatically update your theme in seconds …

Your theme is now up-to-date …

Repeat the above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method below to bulk update multiple themes at once.

Updating Your Site’s Theme Using The “Updates” Area

Update your WordPress themes using the “Updates” screen as follows:

To view all themes installed in your website 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 upgrade process …

WordPress automatically updates all of the selected themes …

Congratulations! Now you know how to update your WordPress themes in the WP dashboard.

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