If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. It explains what WP themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for online business owners.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to update your themes inside your dashboard.
Upgrading WP Themes – Best Practices
We recommend going through the checklist below before going through the upgrade process, to reduce any potential problems happening as a result of your upgrade.
1. Make A Complete Backup
Backing up your files and data before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their former settings.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many 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 some release notes included with an update listing 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 the theme, track bugs and verify that all plugins are working fine with the new theme 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 with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) 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 search online to see if anyone has reported any issues 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 paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Use Child Themes For Heavily Customized WordPress Themes
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 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 child themes, especially if you plan on using a theme that gets regularly updated. You can learn more about child themes by searching online, or visit the official WordPress child theme page here:
As you will see below, the actual process of updating a WordPress theme is very easy. The bit that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their WordPress 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 for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, it is solely the website owner’s responsibility to protect their online properties.
Updating Your Theme – Tutorial
Upgrading your themes from your admin dashboard is simple.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) installed on your site, you may receive occasional notifications in your dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a theme from the WP dashboard is quite simple and easy. You can update your themes via the “Themes” feature, or the “Updates” screen.
Updating Your Themes Via The “Themes” Area
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes page.
Choose Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” page …
Themes that need updating 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 automatically updates the theme in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method described below to upgrade multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Site Themes Using The “Updates” Section
Update your WordPress themes via the “Updates” area as follows:
To view all themes installed on 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 update process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your themes from the WP dashboard.
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