How to upgrade your Wordpress version

Before you decide to upgrade your Wordpress version, please read my article on whether to upgrade your Wordpress version or not.

If you decide to go ahead, below are the step-by-step guide on how to go about it:

Step 1: Download the latest Wordpress version.

Step 2: Unzip the new Wordpress version

Step 3: Backup your Wordpress database in case something goes wrong during the upgrading process. I suggest that you use a Wordpress database backup plugin which you can download here: Wordpress Database plugin

Step 4: Unzip and upload the plugin to your Wordpress Plugin directory using your FTP program and activate it. After you have activated your Wordpress database backup plugin, you should see the Back up tab when you click Manage in your Dashboard.

Step 5: After you have activated your Wordpress database backup plugin, back up your core Wordpress tables by clicking the Manage and then Backup (in the lower panel). Choose Download to your computer (create a backup folder beforehand) and click the Backup button. Save the backup file on your computer. See diagram below.

Step 6: Back up your current Wordpress files. Create a folder to put up your backup files. Use your FTP program to download all the files that are under the public_html folder (highlight all the files and drag them to the folder that you have created to put your backup files. Note: Your hosting panel may look different from the diagram shown below.

Step 7: Deactivate all your Wordpress plugins – in the Dashboard, click Plugins and then the Deactivate All Plugins button. (This step is necessary as some of your existing plugins may not be compatible with the new Wordpress version. If this happens, you will not be able to access your plugin folder at all. In this case, you will not be able to tell which plugin is incompatible with the new Wordpress version and you have to delete and reinstall ALL your plugins again! On the other hand, if you have deactivated all your plugins prior to your Wordpress upgrade, you can activate one plugin at a time and immediately test whether you can access your plugin folder. If not, you will be sure that this particular plugin is incompatible and you should delete the same using your FTP program before you can again access your plugin folder. You should repeat the above steps for each plugin that you have reactivated. In this way, you only need to delete the incompatible plugin that is causing the problem. )

Step 8: To upgrade your Wordpress version, you need to fire up your FTP. On the left side of your FTP program, click open the unzipped Wordpress folder (new version). On the right side of your FTP program, click the public_html folder (your hosting account may have a different folder title). Once this is done, the left and right side of your FTP program should look the same except for some additional files on the right side. Below is the end result:

a) On the left side, click the wp-admin folder and drag the file to the right side of the FTP program i.e. upload the wp-admin folder to your server and replacing the existing folder. Choose Override and click Ok when a new message says that the target file already exist.

b) Do the same thing for the wp-includes folder.

Note: Do not upload your wp-content folder (left side of FTP program) to your server as this will replace all your existing plugins and themes.

c) Update all the individual files that are outside the wp-admin, wp-content and wp-includes folders. Using the above diagram as an example, click the index.php file, hold down the Shift key and click the file at the bottom (not shown here) to highlight all the files and drag them to the right side (empty space) of your FTP program (i.e. upload the files to your server).

d) Next, open the wp-content folder and upload the index.php to your server, replacing the old one. See diagram above.

Step 9: To run the upgrade.php file, open your browser (not the browser from your Wordpress Dashboard) and type the following URL into the address bar. If your blog is on your main domain, this is what you would see:

If your blog is residing inside a blog directory, this is what you should see in your browser address bar:

Once you are in the upgrade screen, just follow the instructions and you will complete your Wordpress upgrade. Note: Do not panic if the screen give you an error message. Just check whether you have updated the files in your server with the following new WP version fciles during the upgrade process:

a. Files in the wp-admin folder (step 8a)

b. Files in the wp-includes folder(step 8b)

c. All the other individual files outside the wp-admin folder, wp-includes folder, wp-content folders (step 8c)

d. Index.php file in the wp-content folder (step 8d)

Step 10: Activate all your plugins. In your Dashboard, click Plugins and activate one plugin (advisable to write down the name of the plugin you are activating so that you will know which plugin is incompatible to your new WP version) ) at a time and test whether you can access your plugin folder. If you can access your Plugin folder, it means that this particular plugin is compatible with the new Wordpress version. Repeat the process with the other plugins. If there is any cases where you cannot subsequently access your Plugin folder, it means that the particular plugin is incompatible and you should delete the same using your FTP program before you can again access your plugin folder.

After your upgrade, you should be able to enjoy your new Wordpress version.

Note: The writer is not responsible in any way for any damage to your files as a result of following the steps as described herein.

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Tags: how to upgrade wordpress, steps to upgrade wordpress, Upgrade wordpress