WordPress Blog Upgrade Tips
Upgrading your WordPress blog can be stressful to say the least, even with the new automatic built-in upgrade feature included with WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane”. You want to stay on top of the latest releases to take advantage of the latest features, bug fixes and security measures. But…
Don’t get in too much of a hurry! First things first. I just spent many hours yesterday trying to get my theme on ExtremeEzine.com to work with WordPress 2.7.1. It turned out to be a single line of code in the header but it made my post categories disappear. I’ have also lost several plugins throughout the many recent upgrades. I decided a post was in order to help others get through the upgrading process with a few tips from experience.
- Back It Up - Always – always backup your blog, files and databases. I also recommend using your FTP client to download a complete backup copy of your existing blog to your computer too. This step is especially important if you have any custom files in your theme. You want to backup before any WordPress or theme upgrades. [See Back That Blog Up!]
- Slow Down - If the upgrade is for a security issue then you want to get it taken care of right away but don’t get in such a rush you bring everything crashing down. Give everyone time to catch-up, especially with a maintenance release like WordPress 2.7.1.
- Use Google - Google the new version a few days after the release and see what’s what. Blogs and forums are going to be loaded with good and bad comments but you should get a feel of what to expect. I wouldn’t read into a few complaints too much. There are always going to be those that kick and cry about every change but if you find dozens or more posts about a particular problem it might be something to look into.
- Your Hosting Company - Check Your Web Host for Compatibility. If you need a reliable web host I recommend HostGator which is on the list.
- Theme and Plugins Compatibility - Check the compatibility lists for your WordPress Theme and Plugins:
*Â Plugin Compatibility List
* Theme Compatibility ListIf you need to work on your Theme and Plugins I would start with the designer. The designer is probably already ahead of you with an updated version if they’re still active. If you are on your own I would start with Migrating Plugins and Themes section. WordPress.org also has a Codex Help section and of course there’s the WordPress Support Forums.
I don’t want to make your WordPress upgrade a scary ordeal. It’s truly a simple matter. Ninety nine percent of the time it will go trouble free. Even if there is a problem it’s always a small issue and usually an easy fix. A whole bunch of clever people put a lot of effort and time into these upgrades and they know what they are doing. The steps above will help prevent problems and make corrections a little easier.
Related posts:
- Dress Your WordPress Blog For Success With Themes
- Wordpress Wedensday : Secure Your Blog
- Back That Blog Up!
- Wordpress Wednesday: Wordpress 3.0
- Wordpress Wednesday : Superspeed Your Blog
gee, I almost feel guilty that I did not follow your checklist and yet everything went OK. My problem is that as soon as I see an update I act in a knee jerk fashion and upgrade my blogs as soon as possible.
Hi Sire, My other blogs upgraded just fine. It was related to the theme but I have had a couple other minor issues in the past. I find myself holding my breath whenever I upgrade lol
I would do that, but I am afraid I will forget to start breathing if something went wrong.
I’m yet to upgrade to 2.7.1. Usually I’m one version behind and wait till the “bunch of clever” is done fixing those errors. That’s just me.
And I guess you are right too. Don’t jump in too early unless you know what you are doing.
I’ve been using WordPress since year 2006 and upgrading WordPress was never stressing to me. However I do agree that it’s important to check your plugin compatibility for every updates.
Thanks Jerry, veteran WP users like yourself are probably more at ease with the manual upgrades and maintenance. I’m quickly becoming a big fan of the automatic functions.
I just finished upgrading all my blogs from 2.7 to 2.8 and I think this was the easiest task to do today as compared to past when it was the cumbersome one. Wordpress is now going better and better day by day outranking all other available blogging softwares.
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thank you
thanks