Loading...

Knowledge Base
Save 25% on a custom website!
Get Started
Home 
 
/
 How to Update WordPress Plugins and Themes
Categories: Hosting

How to Update WordPress Plugins and Themes

Important: This article does not apply to Secure WordPress.

Why Update WordPress Plugins and Themes?

WordPress website hosting is rapidly growing in popularity. With that popularity comes visibility into any security flaws and breaches from hackers. It is estimated that almost 30,000 websites are hacked daily. Hackers can use vulnerabilities in older versions to compromise your website. That is why keeping your themes and plugins as up to date as possible is essential, as updates typically contain security improvements. This guide will teach you how to update WordPress plugins and themes to keep them up to date.

You can update plugins and themes automatically or manually. In this article, we will discuss:

Important: We recommend you back up your website before making any changes.

How to Automatically Update WordPress Plugins and Themes

Enable Auto-Updates for Plugins

  1. Open an internet browser, navigate to your WordPress website's domain name, and add /wp-admin to the URL (for example: http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin).
  2. Log in to your WordPress administrator panel with your username and password.
  3. Once logged in, click Plugins on the left menu, then select Installed Plugins.
    Plugins option and Installed Plugins option
     
  4. Select the plugin or plugins you want to enable auto-updates by clicking the checkbox, then click the Bulk actions drop-down. Select Enable Auto-updates from the options, then hit the Apply button.
    Enable Auto-updates option and Apply button

You have enabled auto-updates for the selected plugins.

Auto-updates enabled status under the Automatic Updates column

Enable Auto-Updates for Themes

  1. Open an internet browser, navigate to your WordPress website's domain name, and add /wp-admin to the URL (for example: http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin).
  2. Log in to your WordPress administrator panel with your username and password.
  3. Once logged in, click Appearance on the left menu, then select Themes.
    Appearance option and Themes option
     
  4. Select an installed theme, then click on the Enable auto-updates link.
    Enable auto-updates link

You have enabled auto-updates for the selected themes.

Auto-updates enabled status for theme

How to Manually Update WordPress Plugins and Themes

Manually Update WordPress Plugins via FTP

To update WordPress plugins manually, you need an FTP program. You will also need to download the newer version of the plugin you want to update from the official webpage of that plugin.

Note: If you do have access to the admin panel, we recommend disabling the plugin first in your admin panel.

To update your plugin manually using FTP, follow the steps below. We will be using FileZilla as our example in the steps below:

  1. Connect to your WordPress website using the FTP program.
  2. Open the /wp-content folder.
    wp-content folder in FileZilla
     
  3. Open the plugins folder.
    plugins folder in FileZilla
     
  4. Find the plugin that you are updating. It may be in the main plugins folder or a subfolder that is named appropriately.
  5. Replace the plugin with the updated plugin file or folder downloaded.

You have updated your plugin manually.

Manually Update WordPress Themes via FTP

To update WordPress themes manually, you need an FTP program. You will also need to download the newer version of the theme you want to update from the official webpage of that theme.

Note: If you have access to the administrator panel, we recommend changing to a different theme first in your administrator panel.

To update your theme manually using FTP, follow the steps below. We will be using FileZilla as our example in the steps below:

  1. Connect to your WordPress website using the FTP program.
  2. Open the /wp-content folder.
    wp-content folder in FileZilla
     
  3. Open the themes folder.
    themes folder in filezilla
     
  4. Find the theme that you are updating. It may be in the main theme folder or a subfolder that is named appropriately.
  5. Replace the theme with the updated theme file or folder you downloaded.

You have updated your theme manually.

Review

There are risks of not updating WordPress Themes and Plugins. With the increasing popularity of WordPress, the risk of security breaches has grown, making it crucial to keep themes and plugins updated. Learn how to enable automatic updates for both plugins and themes and manually update them via FTP, using FileZilla as an example. 

Check out "What is WordPress and What is it Used For?".

Back to Top ↑
Did you find this article helpful?

 
* Your feedback is too short

Loading...