How to Update WordPress: 10 Powerful Tips for Safer Updates

Updating WordPress always looks easy right up until your finger hovers over the button.

Maybe it is a small business site that brings in leads. Maybe it is a WooCommerce store where one broken checkout step costs real money. Maybe it is a client site, and you can already hear the message: “The homepage looks weird. What changed?”

If you searched for how to update WordPress, here is the safe answer: back up the site, use Dashboard > Updates for the normal update path, and test the parts of the site that actually matter afterward. The update button is not usually the scary part. The scary part is not knowing whether your workflow for safe WordPress updates can get you back to a working site.

TL;DR: Backup your site first, then use Dashboard > Updates for the simplest WordPress update path. For important or complex sites, test on staging, update one layer at a time, and verify forms, checkout, login, and key pages afterward.

The Safe Path For Most Sites

For a maintained WordPress site, the safest update process is simple:

1. Back up the files and database.
2. Use staging first if the site handles orders, members, bookings, courses, or custom code.
3. Go to Dashboard > Updates in wp-admin.
4. Update WordPress core.
5. Update plugins and themes with the right amount of caution.
6. Clear caches.
7. Test the workflows visitors use.

That is the practical route. The judgment is in deciding how much caution your site deserves.

A five-page brochure site that was updated last month can usually move quickly. A store with custom checkout rules should slow down. A site ignored for 18 months should not be treated like a normal Tuesday update, because the update may expose old plugins, themes, or PHP problems that were already waiting there.

👍 Use this rule of thumb: the more the site earns, stores, or automates, the more you should test before touching production.

Know What Is Being Updated

The WordPress Updates screen can show several different jobs. They do not all carry the same risk.

Update	Treat with extra care when
WordPress core	It is a major release, the site is old, or the build is customized
Plugins	The plugin controls checkout, forms, login, caching, security, bookings, or layout
Themes	The active theme has custom templates or direct edits
Database	The site has orders, members, course data, or large custom data
PHP/server	You are making a major version jump

A tiny-looking form plugin can stop lead capture. A payment plugin can break checkout. A caching plugin can make a fixed page keep looking broken. The question is not “How many updates are available?” The useful question is: Which update touches something visitors depend on?

Minor security updates usually need speed. Major updates need review. Do not leave a known security update sitting for weeks because updates make you nervous. Back up, test if the site matters, and apply it properly.

Before You Click Update

Preparation is what turns an update from a gamble into maintenance. Do this before updating:

On our WordPress test site, the Updates screen displayed WordPress’s own reminder to backup the database and files before updating. It appears near the update controls, which makes it easy to skim past. It is also the line you will wish you had respected if an old plugin throws a fatal error.

WPRemote fits here when updates are part of ongoing maintenance, not a one-off chore. A backup and restore workflow answers the question that matters most before any update: can I recover quickly if this goes wrong?

Choose The Right Update Method

Use the simplest method that gives you enough control.

Method	Use it when
Dashboard	You have wp-admin access and the site is mostly healthy
Staging first	The site handles revenue, members, bookings, courses, custom code, or high traffic
WPRemote	You manage repeated updates or multiple sites and need backups, scheduling, and checks
WP-CLI	You are comfortable with SSH and command-line site management
FTP/SFTP	wp-admin is unavailable or the dashboard update failed
Automatic updates	Minor/security updates are backed by monitoring and restore points

Do not choose manual FTP because it sounds advanced. Choose it when the normal path is unavailable. The best update method is boring in the right way: backed up, controlled, and easy to reverse.

How To Update WordPress From The Dashboard

This is the main path for most site owners.

WordPress may briefly put the site into maintenance mode while it replaces files. That is normal. Visitors may see a short maintenance message, and it should disappear when the update finishes.

If the page seems stuck, pause before you start deleting files or refreshing in a panic. Give it a little time, then check whether the site is still in maintenance mode. Production is a bad place to create a second problem while diagnosing the first one.

What Order Should You Update In?

There is no universal update order that fits every site. The right order depends on how current the site is and how much damage a bad update could cause. For a simple, current site:

1. Backup.
2. Update WordPress core.
3. Update plugins.
4. Update the active theme.
5. Clear caches.
6. Test key pages.

For a WooCommerce, membership, or custom site, use staging first and update critical pieces one at a time. Test checkout after payment updates. Test login after membership updates. Test forms after form plugin updates. The work is slower, but it tells you which change caused a problem if something breaks.

For a long-neglected site, check compatibility before updating everything. Look for abandoned plugins, old PHP requirements, direct theme edits, and page-builder dependencies. If a plugin has not been maintained by its developer, updating everything around it can expose a problem that was already there.

The mistake is treating a site updated last week and a site ignored since the last redesign as the same job.

Updating Plugins And Themes

Plugins and themes deserve their own caution because they carry the most site-specific risk. If you need the deeper workflow, use a dedicated guide to update WordPress themes and plugins safely.

A plugin name may look small in the update list, but the job it performs may be central to the business. A broken contact form can quietly stop leads for a week. A broken checkout plugin announces itself faster, usually while someone is trying to pay you. Both are bad; one is just louder.

The Updates screen separates plugin updates from the core update area, which helps you review those changes as their own risk category.

Use this approach:

This is where WordPress maintenance becomes less about buttons and more about consequences. Ask what each update could break before you decide how cautiously to apply it.

How To Update WordPress With SFTP

Manual updates are a fallback, not the beginner default. Use this when wp-admin is unavailable, the dashboard update failed, or a developer needs direct file control. SFTP is safer than FTP because the connection is encrypted.

⚠️ The big warning is simple: do not delete wp-content. That folder holds uploads, themes, plugins, and other site-specific files. If this process feels uncomfortable, stop and ask your host or developer for help. Production files are not a good place to learn by guessing.

Update WordPress With WP-CLI

WP-CLI is for developers, sysadmins, and technical site managers who already use SSH. Run commands from the WordPress root folder, or specify the site path if you manage several installations.

wp core check-update
wp core update
wp core update-db
wp plugin update --all
wp theme update --all

The command wp core update updates WordPress core. The command wp core update-db handles the database update when one is needed.

Be careful with version and force flags. They are useful when you know the exact reason for using them. They are risky when you are in the wrong directory or connected to the wrong server.

Should You Turn On Automatic Updates?

Automatic updates are useful. Unchecked automatic updates are the problem.

For a personal blog, minor security auto-updates are usually reasonable if backups exist. For a small business site, security auto-updates can still make sense, but someone should check forms and key pages afterward. For WooCommerce, membership, and custom sites, avoid blind major, plugin, and theme updates on production.

The practical difference is ownership. Automation can click the button. It cannot decide whether checkout, login, a custom template, or a campaign landing page still works unless your workflow checks those things.

WPRemote is useful when updates need to be repeatable: backups before changes, safe update checks, scheduled update windows, monitoring, and one view across sites. That matters most when “I’ll remember to check later” has become the maintenance plan. That plan ages badly.

What To Check After Updating

An update is finished only after the site still works. Clear the caches first:

Then run a smoke test. This does not need to take all afternoon. It does need to cover the parts of the site that would hurt if they failed.

Check:

Keep the backup until the site passes these checks. Do not throw away the recovery option before you know the site is healthy.

If the site feels slower after cache or plugin changes, Airlift’s guide to speeding up a WordPress site is a useful performance-focused next step.

What To Do If The Update Fails

Most WordPress update failures are recoverable if you slow down and fix the first real problem. If a WordPress update broke your site, focus on recovery before making more changes. Start here:

Restore the backup if the live site is broken and diagnosis will take too long. A store with broken checkout needs a working site first and an investigation second.

When a plugin update fails, knowing how to recover your site is a valuable troubleshooting skill.

Call your host, developer, or maintenance provider when checkout, login, admin access, payments, database connections, or customer data are involved. That is not overreacting. That is knowing when production deserves a grown-up recovery path.

Managing Updates Across Multiple Sites

Updating one site is a task. Updating many sites is a system.

The hard part is not clicking update 30 times. The hard part is knowing which sites have clean backups, which plugins are risky, which updates need staging, which updates finished, and which pages need checking afterward. For multiple sites, use a central workflow:

WPRemote is built for this kind of work. It turns scattered dashboard chores into a repeatable update workflow with backups, safe update checks, scheduling, monitoring, and one view across sites. If you are comparing management tools, this MainWP vs WPRemote breakdown is the more useful next step.

Mistakes To Avoid

Most update problems start with shortcuts that felt reasonable at the time.

The process does not need to be dramatic. It needs to be reliable.

FAQs

How do I update WordPress?

Back up the site, go to Dashboard > Updates, click the WordPress update button, run any database update prompt, clear caches, and test key pages.

What is the safest way to update WordPress?

Create a restorable backup first. Use staging for ecommerce, membership, custom, high-traffic, or long-neglected sites. Update in a controlled order and test the workflows that matter.

Should I update WordPress core or plugins first?

For a maintained site, update WordPress core first, then plugins and themes. For an old or complex site, check compatibility first and update one component at a time on staging.

Are automatic WordPress updates safe?

Automatic minor security updates are useful when backups and monitoring are in place. Avoid blind major, plugin, or theme auto-updates on important production sites.

How do I manually update WordPress?

Back up the site, download WordPress, connect with SFTP, replace wp-admin, wp-includes, and root WordPress files, then run any database update prompt. Do not delete wp-content or overwrite wp-config.php.

What if WordPress breaks after an update?

Restore the backup if the live site is broken and diagnosis will take time. For common issues, remove a stuck .maintenance file, disable plugins, switch to a default theme, or ask your host or developer to inspect logs.

Conclusion

The safest WordPress update is the one with a recovery path.

For a simple, maintained site, that may mean a fresh backup and the dashboard update button. For a store, member site, or custom build, it means staging, careful sequencing, and testing the workflows that affect revenue or access.

Start with the backup. Choose the method that fits the site. Test what visitors actually use. That is how WordPress updates stay routine.