If you are new to WordPress, make sure to read our overview of WordPress themes. The detailed article explains what WordPress themes are and how using a theme can save web business owners significant time and money.
In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to update a theme with just a few clicks inside your dashboard.
Upgrading WP Themes – Best Practices Checklist
We recommend going through the checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to reduce the risk of any problems occurring during the upgrade process.
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is essential. Whenever something doesn’t go as planned, you can always restore things back to their previous configuration.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are many free and paid WordPress plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your backup process here:
2. Check The Changelog
When WordPress upgrades its software to a new version, this can affect the functionality of certain themes. Depending on the theme you are using, there may be some release notes accompanying 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, 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 a theme, track 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 install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain name using 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 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 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 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 customizations 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 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! What can feel slightly bothersome is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Many 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 recommended “best practice” methods for ensuring problem-free upgrades. Ultimately, it is your responsibility as a website owner to protect your digital properties.
Updating WP Theme In Your Dashboard – Tutorial
Updating your themes from your dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) you have installed on your website, you may receive an occasional notification in your WP Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating themes from the WP dashboard is quite a simple process. You can update your theme from the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” page.
Updating Your Site Themes From The “Themes” Page
To see which themes need updating, go to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes from your WP dashboard menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” page …
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” alert.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now updated …
Repeat the process described above to update all of your remaining themes, or use the method below to bulk update multiple themes at once.
Updating Your Themes Via The “Updates” Screen
Update your theme via the “Updates” area as shown below:
To view all themes in your site that require 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 theme in your admin dashboard.
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"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)