If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. This in-depth article explains what themes are and how using a theme can save online business owners time and money.
This tutorial will show you how to easily upgrade your WP theme to its latest version inside the dashboard.
Upgrading WordPress Themes – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating your themes, we recommend going through the handy checklist below to prevent any problems affecting your site during the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Your Site
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. If something goes wrong, you can always restore things back to their previous settings.
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 backup process 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 a changelog file included with an update listing new features, improvements, security fixes or any other information pertaining to the new version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should update.
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 bugs and check if the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying and activating it on a live site.
If you’re managing your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain name using the same plugins and configuration settings and play with the 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 and see if anyone has reported any serious problems 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 offer this for paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized WordPress Themes
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 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 visit the official WordPress child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is very easy. What can feel slightly bothersome is the precautionary work 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 recommended “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your digital assets.
Upgrading Your WP Themes – Tutorial
Updating your theme in your dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive an occasional alert in your WP Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a WordPress theme in your dashboard is a simple process. You can update your WordPress themes using the “Themes” section, or the “Updates” area.
Updating Your Site Themes Using The “Themes” Section
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WP admin menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” page …
Themes that need updating display an “Update Available” message over their thumbnail image …
Locate the theme that needs to be updated and click on the “Update Available” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress will automatically update the theme …
Your WordPress theme is now updated …
Repeat the above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Site’s Theme Via The “Updates” Section
Update your WordPress themes via the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes in your site that need 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 bulk upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your theme from your admin dashboard.
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