How to Update WordPress, Themes, and Plugins Safely

Keeping WordPress, your theme and your plugins updated is essential — most hacks target outdated software. But every so often an update clashes with something and breaks a site. The solution is not to skip updates; it is to do them safely. Here is how.

Always back up first

Before any update, take a full backup so you can roll back instantly if needed. Use a cPanel backup or back up to Dropbox. This one habit turns a potential disaster into a two-minute recovery.

Update in the right order

Update WordPress core first.
Then update your theme.
Then update plugins — ideally one or a few at a time, not all at once.

Updating in stages makes it easy to spot which update caused a problem, if one does.

Test after updating

Visit your site and click through key pages — the homepage, a product or post, forms, and the checkout if you have one. Check both the front end and the admin area. If something looks wrong, you will catch it straight away.

Safest of all: test on staging first

For important sites, apply updates to a staging copy first. If everything works there, repeat on the live site with confidence.

If an update breaks your site

Don’t panic. Restore your backup, or if you are locked out, disable the problem plugin without wp-admin. For a blank page, see the white screen of death guide.

Frequently asked questions

Should I enable automatic updates?

Automatic updates for minor security releases are wise. For major core, theme and plugin updates, manual updates with a backup give you more control.

How often should I update?

Check weekly, and apply security updates promptly. Staying current is far safer than falling behind.

A plugin update broke my site. What now?

Restore your backup or disable that plugin, then update it again once the developer releases a fix.