Whenever there is a new version of the WordPress content management system available, a notification will appear at the top of your Administrator page. You should always ensure to upgrade to the latest version of the platform, as new updates frequently introduce important bug fixes, address security issues, and even add new features. It is also wise to keep your plugins and themes up to date for the same reasons, and developers of plugins and themes often release frequent upgrades as well. This guide explains the steps to upgrade the WordPress platform before upgrading your themes and plugins.

Using the One-Click Upgrade Feature

The fastest and easiest method to upgrade the WordPress platform is to utilize the one-click upgrade feature. This is supported in all current versions of WordPress from 2.7. If an upgrade is available, all you need to do is click on the link in the alert, and you will be redirected to the WordPress Upgrade webpage. To proceed, simply click “Upgrade Now”. This feature works with most servers.

Manually Upgrading WordPress

Sometimes, you may need to manually upgrade WordPress, as not all servers support the one-click upgrade feature. This is more likely if you are using a hosting package that does not come with WordPress preinstalled.

1-    Visit wordpress.org/obtain and acquire the latest package.

2-    Disable all the plugins by navigating to the Plugins section and clicking the “Deactivate” links as depicted in the screenshot below:

3-    Access your FTP server either through an FTP client installed on your computer or by using the tools provided by your hosting company. Delete the folders “wp-includes” and “wp-admin.” Extract the WordPress archive you downloaded earlier and upload the new versions of these directories to your FTP server in place of the ones you just deleted.

4-    In the extracted archive, open the “wp-content” folder and copy the individual files into the “wp-content” folder on your FTP server, replacing existing files as necessary. You should never delete this folder on your FTP server, as doing so will delete your site’s content as well.

5-    Upload the remaining files from the root directory of the extracted archive to your FTP server.

6-    Return to your WordPress Administrator dashboard. After certain major upgrades, WordPress may prompt you to upgrade your database. You can do this by clicking the button as shown in the screenshot below:

7-    Re-enable your plugins before continuing to use WordPress.

3 – Upgrading Your Plugins and Themes

The number of available upgrades, if any, will be displayed at the top of the sidebar in your administrator dashboard. Click on the link and scroll down the page to see which upgrades are available. Click “Upgrade Plugins” to upgrade all your plugins and “Upgrade Themes” to upgrade all your themes.