How to Update WordPress Automatically

Automatic updates keep WordPress theme and plugin versions up to date, thereby protecting your website from vulnerabilities and difficulties. In this guide, we'll walk you through enabling these updates on WordPress dashboard settings and guide you on how to deal with any issues that may arise during update installation.

By the end of this article, you'll know how to keep your site up-to-date and functional with the least effort and how to update WordPress automatically, regardless of your experience.

In this article, we will discuss:

• Updating to a Newer Version of WordPress
• Enable Automatic Updates
• Automatic Updates for Plugins and Themes
• Automatically Update WordPress Core Using a Plugin
• Automatically Update WordPress Plugins
• Automatically Update WordPress Themes
• Review

Updating to a Newer Version of WordPress

You receive a notification on your WordPress dashboard when a new version is available to download. Here is how you can check it from your dashboard:

1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Then, click on Dashboard tab from the left navigation panel.
   
    
3. You can check for updates by clicking on the number displayed on the Updates button. The number represents the number of items (such as plugins and themes) that require updating. You also see a message "a new version of WordPress is now available" at the top of the dashboard, as shown below:
   
    
4. Click Updates or click the "Please Update now" from the mssage.
    
5. You can also update it from the WordPress Updates page. Scroll down and click on the Update to version button.
   
    
6. Once the update is done, you will see a confirmation message that you are now using the updated WordPress version.
   

 

Enable Automatic Updates

Easy Updates Manager is a useful plugin that will keep your WordPress website up to date with the most recent versions of the core software, plugins, and themes. This allows you to automatically improve security, performance, and access to new features on your website without having to actively initiate upgrades.

 

Automatic Updates for Plugins and Themes

When you enable this feature, it automatically downloads and installs the updates for your WordPress website's plugins and themes as soon as they become available.

Automatically Update WordPress Core Using a Plugin

1. From the WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins tab.
   
    
2. Then, select Add New Plugin.
   
    
3. In the Search plugins field, enter Easy Updates Manager and press Enter.
   
    
4. Once the plugin shows, click on Install, and then the Activate button.
   
    
5. Upon activation, refresh the page by pressing the Ctrl+R on your keyboard.
    
6. Next, navigate to the Dashboard tab and click on the Updates options.
   
    
7. In the Updates settings page, find the WordPress core updates section. Then, click the Auto update all releases option.
   

Automatically Update WordPress Plugins

1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. From the left navigation menu, select Plugins.
   
    
3. From the Plugins page, tick the Plugin checkbox to select all plugins that are installed to your website.
   
    
4. Once all plugins are chosen, click on the Bulk actions drop-down menu. Then, select Enable Auto-updates.
   
    
5. Click Apply.

Automatically Update WordPress Themes

1. Login to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. From the left navigation panel, select Appearance tab. You will see all the themes you've downloaded on your WordPress site.
   
    
3. In the Themes page, select the theme for which you want to enable the automatic updates by hovering the cursor on its title. Then, click on Theme Details.
    
4. Once the theme shows up, select Enable auto updates on the right side. You can do the same thing for your other themes installed.

Review

Updating your WordPress website is essential for both functionality and security.

• Update WordPress Manually: Learn how to manually update WordPress by checking for updates and installing them straight from the dashboard.
• Turn on automatic updates: By installing the Easy Updates Manager plugin, which handles theme, plugin, and core WordPress updates automatically.

Advantages of Automatic Updates

• Enhanced Security: Timely vulnerability patches via automatic updates protect your website against attacks.
• Enhanced Performance: Updates frequently improve performance, which keeps your website up and working smoothly.
• New Features: You can always access the latest features and functionality thanks to automatic upgrades.