If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. This comprehensive article explains what WP themes are and how using themes can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business owners.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to easily update your theme inside your admin area.
Upgrading Themes – Best Practices
We recommend going through the handy checklist below before going through the upgrade process, to ensure that your update goes smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Website Fully
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. If something goes wrong, 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 fully 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 some release notes included with an update which provides an overview of any new features, improvements, bug fixes or important changes in the new theme version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should update.
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 any bugs and make sure that all plugins are working fine with the new theme before installing 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 plugins and configuration settings and test 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 do a quick search online to see if other theme users have reported any issues 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 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 theme files, updating 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 the parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, all customizations 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 easy. The step in the upgrading process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Many 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 to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is your responsibility to protect your digital assets.
Upgrading A Theme In WordPress – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your themes from your admin 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 notification in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating themes in your dashboard is easy. You can update your WordPress themes via the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” page.
Updating Your Themes From The “Themes” Screen
You can see which themes need to be updated by going to your Themes page.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WP admin menu …
This opens up the “Themes” screen …
WordPress Themes with new versions display an “Update Available” message over the theme’s thumbnail image …
Locate the theme you want to update and click on the “Update Available” notice.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates the theme …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Updates” Section
Update your WordPress themes from the “Updates” area as shown below:
To view all themes installed on your site that require 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 upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your WP theme in the WP dashboard.
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