If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. We’ve written a comprehensive article that explains what WP themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for small business website owners.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily upgrade your themes in the dashboard.
Updating Themes – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating your themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below.
1. Back Up Everything
Backing up your site before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if things don’t go as planned, you can always restore everything to its former state.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of plugins you can use. You can read about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process 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 new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other changes in the new theme version.
If the changes seem irrelevant or unimportant, you can skip the update. Otherwise, you should update.
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 a theme, track bugs and check if all plugins are working fine with the new theme before applying and activating 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 with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and test new theme versions on your test site before applying it to your live 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 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 changes 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 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 plan to 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 fairly simple. 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 recommended “best practice” methods to help you avoid problems. Ultimately, it is solely the website owner’s responsibility to protect their digital assets.
Updating WordPress Theme From The WP Dashboard – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your themes from your dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) installed on your website, you may receive an occasional alert in your dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating a WordPress theme in your WP dashboard is simple and easy. You can update your theme via the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” area.
Updating Your Site Themes Using The “Themes” Area
To see which themes need updating, go to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes in your WordPress dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
WordPress Themes that need updating 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” message.
When the theme details window opens up, click on update now …
WordPress automatically updates your theme in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method described below to update multiple themes.
Updating Your Themes Using The “Updates” Page
Update your themes using the “Updates” screen as follows:
To view all themes installed in your site that need updating, click on Dashboard > Updates …
This brings 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 update your WordPress themes from the WP dashboard.
***
"I was absolutely amazed at the scope and breadth of these tutorials! The most in-depth training I have ever received on any subject!" - Myke O'Neill, DailyGreenPost.com