If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. It explains what WP themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for website owners.
This tutorial will show you how to easily upgrade themes to the latest version inside your dashboard.
Updating Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the checklist below before going through the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if things don’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 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 have installed, there may be some release notes accompanying an update listing new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other information pertaining to the new version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, it’s best to 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 a theme, track any bugs and verify that the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before applying and activating 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 plugins and configuration settings and play with the new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your live site.
4. Search Online
Before updating your theme, it’s a good idea to 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 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 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”, all modifications get 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 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 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 many upgrade without going through some or 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 properties.
Upgrading Your WP Themes – Tutorial
Updating your themes in the WP dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on what theme(s) you have installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a theme in your dashboard is a very simple process. You can update your site’s theme from the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” area.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes need to be updated by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress 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 that needs to be updated and click on the “Update Available” alert.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above process to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method below to update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Site Themes Via The “Updates” Section
Update your theme via the “Updates” screen as shown below:
To view all themes installed in 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 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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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)