If you are new to WordPress, make sure you read our overview of WordPress themes. We’ve written a detailed article that explains what WordPress themes are and how using a theme can be cost-effective and time-saving for business website owners.
This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to easily update a WP theme to the latest version inside the dashboard.
Updating WP Themes – Best Practices Checklist
Before updating your WordPress themes, we recommend going through the “best practices” checklist below to ensure that no settings or customizations are lost and your update goes smoothly.
1. Back Up Your Website Fully
Backing up your files and data before making any updates to your site is vital. This way, if something goes wrong, you can always restore.
If you don’t want to perform manual backups, there are a number of free and paid WordPress plugins you can use. Learn about a WordPress backup plugin that can fully automate your site backups 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 a changelog file included with an update which provides an overview of any 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 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 an installed theme, track bugs and check if 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 set up a test WordPress site on a subdomain or a separate domain with the same plugins and configuration settings and play with the 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 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 provide forums for paid themes, and even for some free plugins).
5. Is Your WordPress Theme Heavily Customized? Use A Child Theme
If you have made extensive customizations to your existing theme files, updating 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”, your modifications get 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 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! The part that takes the most time and effort to complete is the preparation involved prior to upgrading.
Some people don’t upgrade their 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 your responsibility as a website owner to protect your digital properties.
Upgrading Your Theme – Step-By-Step Tutorial
Updating your theme in the WP dashboard is easy.
Log into your WordPress admin area …
Depending on the theme(s) installed on your site, you may receive an occasional notification in your WordPress Dashboard that new theme versions are available and require updating …
Updating themes in your WP dashboard is a simple process. You can update your WordPress theme via the “Themes” screen, or the “Updates” area.
Updating Your Site Themes From The “Themes” Screen
You can see which themes require updating by going to your Themes area.
Choose Appearance > Themes from your WordPress admin menu …
This brings you to the “Themes” screen …
WordPress 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 your theme in seconds …
Your theme is now updated …
Repeat the above process to update all of your out-of-date themes, or use the method described below to update multiple themes.
Updating Your Themes Using The “Updates” Screen
Update your WordPress theme from the “Updates” area as follows:
To view all themes installed on 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 upgrade process …
WordPress automatically updates all of your selected themes …
Congratulations! Now you know how to update your WP themes in the WP dashboard.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum