If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our introduction to WordPress themes. It explains what themes are and how themes can save website owners significant time and money.
This tutorial will show you how to easily upgrade a theme inside your admin area.
Upgrading Your WordPress Theme – Best Practices
We recommend going through the checklist below before attempting the upgrade process, to make sure that no settings or customizations are lost and that your update goes smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Website
Backing up your files and data before making any updates 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 plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process 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 accompanying an update which provides an overview of new features, improvements, bug fixes or any other information pertaining to the new theme 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 a 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 install a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain with the same configuration settings (e.g. plugins) and play with the 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 and 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 WordPress Themes
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing WordPress theme files, upgrading 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 that 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 the use of 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 easy. The bit of this process that takes the most time and effort to complete is the precautionary work involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their WordPress 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.
How To Upgrade Your Theme – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Upgrading your WordPress themes from the WP 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 WordPress Dashboard that your theme(s) need updating …
Updating a WordPress theme in the WP dashboard is quite simple and easy. You can update your themes via the “Themes” page, or the “Updates” feature.
Updating WordPress Themes Using The “Themes” Section
To see which themes require updating, go to your Themes area.
Select Appearance > Themes in your WP dashboard menu …
This opens up the “Themes” page …
Themes with new versions 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 will automatically update your theme in seconds …
Your WordPress theme is now up-to-date …
Repeat the above process to update all of your outdated themes, or use the method below to bulk upgrade multiple themes.
Updating Your Theme Via The “Updates” Screen
Update your WordPress themes from the “Updates” section as shown below:
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 upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to upgrade your theme in your 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)