If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. This detailed article explains what WP themes are and how themes can save small business owners time and money.
This tutorial will show you how to easily update a theme inside your admin area.
Updating Themes – Best Practices
Before updating your WordPress themes, we recommend going through the handy checklist below to make sure that your upgrades go smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Files
Backing up your website before making any changes to your site is essential. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its former settings.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups 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 accompanying an update listing new features, improvements, security fixes or important 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 the theme, track bugs and make sure that all plugins are working fine with the new theme 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 with the same plugins and configuration settings 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 enter the theme name and version into Google, and search the theme developer’s support forum (many developers provide forums for paid WordPress 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, 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 the use of 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 just visit the official WordPress 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 bit of the upgrade process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their 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 recommended “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, it is your responsibility as a website owner to protect your digital assets.
How To Upgrade WP Theme From The WP Dashboard – Tutorial
Upgrading your WP themes from your admin dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on the theme(s) you have installed on your site, you may receive occasional notifications in your WordPress Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating themes in the WP dashboard is simple and easy. You can update your site’s theme using the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” screen.
Updating WordPress Themes From The “Themes” Screen
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
Themes with new versions 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” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above process to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes Via The “Updates” Page
Update your themes from the “Updates” screen as follows:
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 …
Select all the themes you want to update and click on Update Themes to complete the bulk update process …
WordPress will automatically update all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your theme in the WP 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)