Keeping WordPress updated helps protect your website, improve performance, and maintain compatibility with the latest themes and plugins. However, the right update method depends on your technical experience, website setup, and how outdated your current version is.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to update WordPress safely using 5 methods below:
- Update WordPress through the dashboard;
- Replace WordPress core files via FTP;
- Run the update with WP-CLI;
- Enable automatic WordPress updates;
- Upgrade an outdated WordPress store with LitExtension experts.
Without further ado, let’s get the ball rolling!
Why You Need A WordPress Update?
WordPress releases updates regularly to improve security, performance, and functionality. To understand why these updates matter, here is the difference between minor vs major WordPress updates:
- Major updates usually arrive every four to six months and introduce significant changes, such as new features or improvements to the WordPress editing experience.
- Minor updates focus on security patches, bug fixes, and smaller performance improvements.
Although they serve different purposes, both types of updates help keep your website running properly. By updating WordPress regularly, you can:
- Stronger security: Updates patches known vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.
- Better performance: New versions may improve your site’s speed, stability, and overall efficiency.
- Fewer technical issues: Bug fixes help prevent errors and unexpected behaviour.
- Improved compatibility: An updated WordPress version is more likely to work smoothly with the latest themes and plugins.
- Access to new features: Major releases often introduce tools that improve website management and the visitor experience.
In short, WordPress updates help your website remain secure, compatible, and reliable. Now that you understand why they matter, let’s move on to how to update WordPress safely.
WordPress Migration Made Easy With LitExtension!
LitExtension offers great migration solutions that help you transfer your data from the current eCommerce platform to WordPress accurately, painlessly with utmost security.
Before You Update: A Quick Checklist
Now that you understand why WordPress updates matter, some preparation is necessary before installing the latest version. The following checks can reduce the risk of data loss, compatibility conflicts, and unexpected errors. Before moving on to how to update WordPress, you should complete these three steps.
1. Back up your WordPress website
A complete website backup gives you a safe restore point in case the update causes an error. Your backup should include both the WordPress database and website files, including themes, plugins, uploaded media, and configuration files.
The backup should also be stored separately from your hosting server, such as on your local device or in cloud storage. If the update affects your website’s layout or functionality, you can restore the previous version without losing important data.
2. Check your current WordPress version
Your current WordPress version is available under Dashboard > Updates. This page also shows whether new updates are available for WordPress core, themes, or plugins.
Knowing the current version helps you understand how significant the update will be. If your website is several versions behind, moving directly to the latest release may involve more compatibility risks than installing a minor update.
3. Review plugin and theme changelogs
Plugin and theme changelogs provide useful information about compatibility, bug fixes, known issues, and minimum WordPress requirements. You should confirm that your active theme and essential plugins support the WordPress version you plan to install.
Extra attention is necessary for plugins that handle important functions, such as checkout, payments, forms, memberships, or page building. If a critical plugin does not support the latest version yet, you may need to wait for its next release or test the update on a staging site first.
Once these checks are complete, your website will be better prepared for the WordPress update process.
How to Update WordPress Website Manually?
There are three common methods for anyone learning how to update WordPress manually: using the admin dashboard, FTP, or WP-CLI. Overall, the dashboard offers the simplest option for most users, whereas FTP and WP-CLI provide greater control when dashboard updates are unavailable.
Method 1: Via dashboard
For sites using WordPress 3.7 or later, minor and security updates usually run automatically in the background. However, if you want to know how to update WordPress to a major release, you may still need to start the process manually:
- From your WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard > Updates.
- Under the latest available version, select Update to version [number].
- WordPress will then download and install the update automatically.
Sometimes, you might encounter a request for FTP credentials when trying to update WordPress automatically. For WordPress sites hosted on IIS, you can fix this issue with the following steps:
- In IIS Manager, find the application pool connected to your WordPress site.
- Under Advanced Settings > Process Model, change Identity to LocalSystem.
- Under Sites, right-click your WordPress site and select Edit Permissions.
- From the Security tab, add Authenticated Users.
Once the permissions are updated, WordPress should be able to complete the update without requesting FTP credentials.
Method 2: Via FTP
If the dashboard update is unavailable or fails, FTP provides another way to replace the WordPress core files manually. This method is helpful when learning how to update WordPress without relying on the admin dashboard.
To start with, you will need an FTP client such as FileZilla and access to your server credentials.
- From the official WordPress download page, download the latest version and extract the ZIP file.
- In your WordPress dashboard, temporarily deactivate all plugins to reduce compatibility risks.
- Through your FTP client, connect to the website and delete the existing wp-admin and wp-includes folders.
- From the extracted package, upload the new wp-admin and wp-includes folders. You should then upload the contents of the new wp-content folder into the existing one without deleting it.
- The remaining WordPress core files, such as index.php and wp-login.php, should also be uploaded to the root directory. Existing files can be overwritten when prompted.
Afterward, you can reactivate your plugins, clear the website cache, and check that the updated site works properly. If the website remains in maintenance mode, the .maintenance file should be deleted from the WordPress root directory.
Once the upload is complete, visit /wp-admin. If WordPress requests a database update, select Upgrade WordPress Database and follow the instructions.
Method 3: Via WP-CLI (advanced)
WP-CLI allows you to manage WordPress through the command line, making it useful for advanced users, multiple websites, or updates affected by browser timeouts.
- Your server must have WP-CLI installed. Many hosting providers include it by default, but you can check with your provider or follow the official WP-CLI installation guide.
- From a terminal, connect to your server via SSH and navigate to the WordPress installation directory:
ssh [email protected] cd /path/to/wordpress
- The latest WordPress core version can be installed with:
wp core update
For minor releases only, add the –minor flag. You can also install a specific version with –version:
wp core update --minor wp core update --version=6.3.1
- Once the update is complete, the following command will verify the installed WordPress version:
wp core version
- Your plugins and themes can also be updated through WP-CLI:
wp plugin update --all wp theme update --all
After running these commands, you should check the website’s pages and key functions to confirm that everything works properly.
How to Update WordPress Websites Automatically?
If you want to learn how to update WordPress with less manual work, automatic updates offer a convenient option. WordPress can install security patches, minor core releases, and new plugin or theme versions in the background. However, regular backups are still necessary in case an update causes compatibility issues.
Enable automatic WordPress core updates
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard > Updates. Under the current version information, select the option to enable automatic updates for all new WordPress versions. If you prefer a more cautious approach, you can keep automatic updates limited to maintenance and security releases.
WordPress will then install eligible core updates in the background and send a confirmation email to the site administrator.
Enable automatic plugin updates
From Plugins > Installed Plugins, find the plugins you want WordPress to update automatically.
The Enable auto-updates option appears next to each supported plugin. You can activate it for individual plugins instead of enabling it across the entire website.
Enable automatic theme updates
From Appearance > Themes, select an installed theme and choose Enable auto-updates from its details panel. WordPress will automatically install future versions of that theme when they become available.
Knowing how to update WordPress automatically can save you time, but your website should still be monitored after each installation. Important pages, forms, checkout functions, and integrations should be checked to ensure everything works correctly.
How to Upgrade WordPress with LitExtension Experts
If you are unsure how to update WordPress without risking your existing store, LitExtension offers a more secure and hands-off WordPress upgrade service. Instead of updating the outdated installation directly, our migration experts transfer your products, customers, orders, and other essential data to a new WordPress environment.
We manage the entire process, from store setup and data migration to testing and post-migration support, through the following seven steps:
- Step 1: Consult with experts
- Step 2: Set up pre-migration
- Step 3: Run demo migration
- Step 4: Perform full migration
- Step 5: Test the migration results
- Step 6: Perform post-migration tasks
- Step 7: Contact customer support
1. Consult with experts
You can start with a free consultation to discuss your current WordPress store and upgrade requirements. Our experts will review your data volume, WordPress version, plugins, custom fields, and any special migration needs. Based on this assessment, we will recommend a suitable migration plan and provide a clear quotation.
2. Set up pre-migration
Once the plan is confirmed, our experts will connect your old and new WordPress stores and configure the migration. At this stage, we will select the entities to transfer, map the corresponding data fields, and prepare any additional options or custom solutions required for your store.
3. Run demo migration
A sample of your store data will be transferred to the new WordPress website through a demo migration. This allows you to review how products, customers, orders, and other selected entities appear in the updated environment before proceeding with the entire dataset.
4. Perform full migration
After you approve the demo results, our experts will begin the full migration. All selected data will be transferred from the outdated WordPress store to the new one. Your current website can remain active during the process, allowing customers to continue browsing and placing orders.
5. Test the migration results
Once the full migration is complete, our experts will check the transferred data for accuracy and completeness. Key elements such as product information, customer accounts, order records, categories, images, and URLs will be reviewed. You can also test the new store and report anything that requires further adjustment.
6. Perform post-migration tasks
If new products, orders, customers, blog posts, or other data appear on your old WordPress store after the full migration, our post-migration services can transfer them to the new website. Within 60 days, your All-in-One Migration package includes:
- Unlimited Recent Data Migration, free when the new data is within 5% of the original package
- Unlimited Smart Update
- Two Re-migrations
7. Contact customer support
LitExtension’s support team remains available throughout the upgrade and after the migration is complete. If you still have questions about how to update WordPress, find missing data, or need help with post-migration tasks, you can contact our team for further review and assistance.
Troubleshooting Errors When Updating WordPress
Most WordPress updates finish without any issues. However, if something goes wrong, it's usually caused by incomplete file replacement, plugin or theme conflicts, or server caching. Let’s discuss what causes these errors and how to fix them:
Stuck in maintenance mode
After updating WordPress, some users see the message “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” even though the update has already finished. This issue is likely to happen when an automatic update is interrupted before WordPress can remove its temporary maintenance file.
To fix it, you can:
- Connect to your website using FTP or your hosting File Manager
- Delete the .maintenance file located in your WordPress root directory
- Refresh your website.
Also, if the update was interrupted before completion, verify that all WordPress core files have been uploaded successfully before putting your site back into production.
White screen or critical error after updating
If your site suddenly displays a blank white page or a “There has been a critical error on this website” message after an update, the most likely cause is a compatibility issue between the new WordPress version and an outdated plugin, theme, or custom code.
To fix this, you need to disable all plugins:
- If your website becomes accessible again, reactivate each plugin one at a time until you identify the incompatible one.
- If the problem persists, temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme to determine whether the issue comes from your theme instead.
Note: Updating your plugins and themes before upgrading WordPress can significantly reduce the chance of encountering this error.
Changes don’t appear after updating
Even though WordPress reports that the update completed successfully, your website still looks exactly the same. In most cases, the update itself was successful; the old version is simply being served from your browser, WordPress caching plugin, server cache, or CDN cache.
To fix this:
- Clear your browser cache and refresh the page.
- Purge any caching plugin you're using
- Clear your hosting server cache and CDN cache if applicable.
After all caches have been cleared, revisit your WordPress dashboard and confirm that the new version number is displayed under Dashboard > Updates or in the At a Glance section.
What to Do After the WordPress Update Process?
Now your WordPress upgrade has been finished, it’s a good idea to browse around to make sure everything is in order.
First things first, go back to the Admin Dashboard and look under the At A Glance module. Your site is now supposed to be running on the latest version of WordPress.
Remember you disabled the caching before updating? It’s time to reactivate it! Also, you might want to take a look at your posts, media, and pages to make sure everything is well displayed.
How to Update WordPress Website: FAQs
How do I update my WordPress site?
You should first back up your website files and database. Then, go to Dashboard > Updates, select Update to version [number], and wait for WordPress to complete the installation. FTP and WP-CLI are alternative methods if the dashboard update fails or you need more control.
What is the latest version of WordPress?
As of now, the latest stable version is WordPress 7.0.2. This security release addresses critical and high-severity vulnerabilities, so WordPress recommends updating affected websites immediately.
Is it necessary to update WordPress?
Yes. Regular WordPress updates patch security vulnerabilities, fix bugs, improve performance, and maintain compatibility with newer plugins and themes. An outdated installation may become less secure and more likely to experience technical issues.
Does WordPress update automatically?
WordPress usually installs minor maintenance and security updates automatically. Major core updates require automatic updates to be enabled, while plugins and themes have separate auto-update settings. You should still maintain regular backups and check your website after each update.
How difficult is it to update WordPress?
Updating WordPress through the dashboard is generally straightforward and only takes a few clicks. FTP and WP-CLI require more technical knowledge, particularly when you need to manage server files, permissions, or command-line operations.
Final Words
Our guide has outlined two different approaches of how to update WordPress website. With major and minor updates rolling out on a regular basis, WordPress only grows stronger over time and remains the most favored content management system globally to date!
Given such popularity, many eCommerce users undoubtedly want to migrate their websites to WordPress for sustainable growth. If you’re also considering this move, let LitExtension help you here! With over 12 years of experience and 200,000 satisfied customers across 100+ countries, we’re confident we can make your WordPress update just as smooth and pleasant.
