If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what themes are and how they can save web business owners significant time and money.
This tutorial will show you how to easily update themes inside your admin area.
Upgrading A WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to reduce any problems happening during your upgrade.
1. Back Up Your Site Files And Data
Backing up your site before making any changes to your site is essential. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their previous settings.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of free and paid WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:
2. Check The Changelog
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 any new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other information pertaining to the new theme 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 make sure that all plugins are working fine with the new theme 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 with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) 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 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. 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 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 step in the update process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their 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 “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, it is solely the website owner’s responsibility to protect their online properties.
How To Upgrade WP Theme From Your Admin Dashboard – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your WP themes in your admin dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on what theme(s) are installed on your site, you may receive occasional notifications in your WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a theme from your dashboard is a very simple process. You can update your site’s theme from the “Themes” area, or the “Updates” page.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Themes” Page
To see which themes need updating, go to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
Themes with new versions 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 in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method described below to update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Themes Using The “Updates” Section
Update your themes from the “Updates” screen as shown below:
To view all themes installed in your website that need updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This opens 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 upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your theme from the WP dashboard.
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