If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our introduction to WordPress themes. It explains what WordPress themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business website owners.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to upgrade your themes with just a few clicks inside the dashboard.
Upgrading Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before going through the upgrade process, to reduce any problems happening during the upgrading process.
1. Make A Full Site Backup
Backing up your site before making any changes to your site is essential. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its previous state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of WordPress plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully 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 accompanying an update which provides an overview of any new features, improvements, security fixes or important information pertaining to the new theme version.
If the theme 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 an installed theme, track any bugs and check to see if the new theme version doesn’t conflict with any existing plugins or settings before installing 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 configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and play with the new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your main website.
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 type 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. Is Your Theme Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing WordPress theme files, updating 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 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 use a theme that gets regularly updated. You can learn more about child themes by searching online, or visit the WordPress Codex 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 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 solely your responsibility to protect your online properties.
Upgrading Themes In WordPress – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your theme in your dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on what theme(s) are installed on your website, you may receive occasional alerts in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating themes from the WP dashboard is quite a simple process. You can update your WordPress themes from the “Themes” area, or the “Updates” section.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Themes” Page
You can see which themes need to be updated by going to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” screen …
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 your theme …
Your theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Theme Via The “Updates” Screen
Update your WordPress theme from the “Updates” screen as shown below:
To view all themes in your site that need 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 upgrade process …
WordPress will automatically update all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your WP themes from your admin dashboard.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)