If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a comprehensive article that explains what WordPress themes are and how themes can save web business owners time and money.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily update your theme inside the admin area.
Updating A WordPress Theme – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating any themes, we recommend going through the handy checklist below.
1. Back Up Your Website Fully
Backing up your files and data before making any changes to your site is vital. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many free and paid WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your site backups 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 included with an update listing any new features, improvements, bug fixes or important information pertaining to the new version.
If the theme 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 and activating it on a live site.
If you’re managing your own website, you can install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain 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 do a quick search online and see if other theme users have 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 premium WordPress themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized WordPress Themes
If you have made extensive changes 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 the parent theme. When you update the “parent theme”, all 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 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! What can feel slightly bothersome is the preparation 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 “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, as a website owner, it is solely your responsibility to protect your digital assets.
How To Upgrade WP Theme In Your Dashboard – Tutorial
Updating your themes in your dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress administration area …
Depending on which theme(s) you have installed on your website, you may receive an occasional alert in your WP Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating WordPress themes from your dashboard is easy. You can update your WordPress theme via the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” section.
Updating Your Themes Via The “Themes” Section
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” page …
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” alert.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes.
Updating Your Theme From The “Updates” Page
Update your WordPress themes from the “Updates” page as follows:
To view all themes installed in your site 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 bulk update process …
WordPress automatically updates all of the selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your themes from 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)