You know those little red numbers that appear in your WordPress dashboard? Most business owners see them, feel a small pang of guilt, and click away. If that sounds familiar, this guide is for you. I am going to show you exactly how to update your WordPress website safely, from installing a free backup plugin to the final check, in a routine that takes about ten minutes a month.
I have recorded the whole process on my own website, so you can watch me do every step before you try it on yours.
Why it is important to keep your website updated
First of all, security. Out of date plugins are the easiest way for hackers to get into your website. Think of it as a tiny little door left open in the back end. That is all they need to get in, and they find it with automated scripts, not by targeting you personally.
Second, everything runs smoothly. Updates keep your plugins and theme in step with the latest version of WordPress, so you get the new features and the layouts and functionality of your website keep working the way they should.
And third, things keep working. When updates sit there for months, you start to notice forms not sending messages, buttons that are broken, or a layout that suddenly looks funny. If you update your WordPress website regularly, you catch all of this before your visitors ever do.
Keeping on top of updates is also the cheapest part of owning a website. I break down the rest in my post on WordPress website costs.
Step 1: Back up your website first
Never update without a backup. If anything goes wrong, a backup means you can put your website back exactly as it was in a few clicks. Once it is set up, it is one click, or not even one click, and it saves a copy to your computer or your Google Drive.
Install UpdraftPlus
If you do not have a backup plugin yet, go to Plugins, then Add New Plugin, and search for UpdraftPlus. Click Install Now, then Activate. It is free, and it backs up your entire website.
Set your schedule and connect Google Drive
Before your first backup, go to the UpdraftPlus Settings tab. Choose your backup schedule. I set mine to monthly and keep my copies for 6 months, for both the files and the database. Then select Google Drive as the remote storage, and UpdraftPlus creates the folder for you automatically.
Include the file backups you want to keep, which is your plugins, themes and uploads. You can also tick the box to receive an email confirming each backup. Click Save Changes, then sign in with your Google account when it prompts you. Once you see the success message, you are connected.
Run your first backup
Now go to the Backup and Restore tab and click Backup Now. Include your database, include your files, and send the backup to the remote storage we just set up. There is also an option to only allow this backup to be deleted manually. Because I keep 6 months of copies, anything older is deleted automatically, which suits me fine.
Give it a few minutes, then double check the files have landed in your Google Drive. You will see more than one file with today's date, because one is for the database and the others are for your themes, plugins and uploads.
The good news: this setup is a one off. Next month you skip this whole section, your backup runs by itself, and you can come straight to the updates. That is when the routine really does take only ten minutes.
Step 2: Run the updates, in the right order
Now the main event. It is very important that you run your updates in this order:
- Plugins first
- Then themes
- Then WordPress itself, always last
Plugins go first because their developers test against the current version of WordPress. When you update your WordPress website in this order, each layer lands on solid ground.
Plugins first
If you see the little arrows icon with a number at the top of your dashboard, something needs an update. Click it, or go to Dashboard, then Updates. Either way you land on the same page. Select all your plugins and click Update Plugins.
Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it is quick. While it is loading, do not touch anything else on your website, because everything is updating in the back end and you might trigger an error. When it is finished you will see green messages. If something comes back red, an update went wrong and you need to look at why, or restore your backup.
Then your theme
Go back to the Updates page, select your theme, click Update Themes, and let it do its job.
WordPress itself, always last
This one does not happen every month, maybe once a month or once every two months. When a new version of WordPress is available, it will show on the same Updates page with its own button. Run it last, after your plugins and theme are done.
Step 3: Clear the cache
Your website keeps saved copies of its pages so they load quickly for visitors. After updating, those copies are out of date. I host with SiteGround, so I click Purge SG Cache in the toolbar, which deletes all the old copies of my website around the internet and serves visitors a fresh one.
If you use a speed plugin that has its own cache settings, do the same there. I clear and preload mine as well. If you skip this step, your website can look broken, and your visitors might be seeing the old version of your website even though the updates went perfectly.
Step 4: Do a quick check
Last step. Open your homepage and make sure everything is working. I check my animations, my carousel, my hover states, and especially my buttons.
The biggest test is your contact form. Send yourself a test message, then check it arrives in your inbox. If it arrives, everything is good. If it does not, something went wrong and you need to find out why before a real enquiry goes missing.
While you are clicking around, it is a good moment to read your pages with fresh eyes too. The words on your site do more work than most people realise, and I explain why in how website copy influences SEO.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I update my WordPress website?
Once a month is the sweet spot for most small business websites. The exception is security updates, which should be done as soon as you see them.
Can I just turn on automatic updates?
You can, but I do not recommend it for business websites. Automatic updates with no backup and no check afterwards is how sites break quietly overnight. If you want hands off, a managed care plan is the safer version of automatic.
What if an update breaks my website?
Restore the backup you took in step one, then run the updates again one at a time to find which one caused the problem. This is exactly why the backup is never optional.
Do I need to update plugins I have deactivated?
Yes, or better, delete them. Deactivated plugins still sit on your server and can still carry security holes. If you are not using it, remove it.
How long does it all take?
The first time takes a little longer because you set up the backup plugin. After that, it is about ten minutes a month: the backup runs by itself, the updates take a few clicks, and the check takes two minutes.
And that is it. Back up, update your WordPress website in the right order, clear the cache, and do a quick check. Ten minutes a month keeps your website secure and saves you from the expensive kind of surprise.
That said, things can still break, and there is always something to improve on a website. If you would rather not have to worry about any of it, and have your website continually improved for SEO and speed as well, my WordPress Care Plans take care of everything and more for you.
