If you maintain a WordPress site by yourself, you must take care that all its components are always compatible with the current version of the program. There are many reasons for this, and I will mention only two: adding new functions and maintaining maximum security, preventing possible abuses. It goes without saying how widespread WordPress is, which automatically makes it very attractive to hackers and anyone else who would like to take control of a website. It is precisely for this reason that the authors of WordPress strive to make the entire system as secure as possible through constant improvements and additions. Fortunately, maintaining WordPress is very easy, and in this lesson I’ll show you how.

If you are wondering why my Dashboard suddenly became different, you must not have had the opportunity to use the previous version of WordPress. As you can see, its tag is 3.7.1 and I installed it on purpose, because there is no better way to show you how to use the auto-update feature.

Considering that there is currently an old version of WordPress on my server, the system will automatically inform me that a new version has appeared in the meantime and offer me the opportunity to update it. In addition, if you pay attention to the information in the upper left corner, you will see that there is only one update available to me, which means that I only need to click on the button in the middle of the screen and immediately switch to version 3.8. Instead, I’ll run the Update function and double-check what’s on the update list. As you can see, there is also a notification here about the new version of the basic program, but you can also see that all plugins and themes are completely up-to-date. To automatically switch to the new version, it is enough to click on the button Update Now and if

if you prefer to do it yourself, you can first download the complete archive and then upload individual files. In any case, it would not be bad if you first make a copy of your site, especially the database with all user data and the folder with accompanying content. This is just an additional precaution, because in practice it is very rare that unexpected problems appear after switching to a new version of the program. After all, copying data should become your daily routine, because you never know when you might need it.

I don’t have much to save at the moment, so I will immediately click on this button and start the automatic program replacement. After that, I have nothing left but to be patient for a few minutes because it takes so long to download the data, install the new system and check all its functions. If the program asks you for permission to change the base or some other segment, feel free to click on the Yes button and wait for this part of the work to finally come to an end. At the end, a new version of WordPress should appear in front of you, which means that you can freely continue upgrading your site.

If instead it happens that the whole process stops somewhere, don’t worry. The most important components are replaced at the very end, so any downtime should not affect the functionality of the existing system. In that case, it would be a good idea to turn off all plugins first and then repeat the entire procedure.

Although most users opt for automatic system replacement, there are also those who prefer to do this work themselves. If you also fall into that category, do not under any circumstances allow the database and wp-content folder to be changed, because they contain all your data.

Before I finish this lesson, I would like to draw your attention to one more detail. Namely, there is the possibility that certain additions to the system are made completely automatically – without any involvement of the administrator, the person in charge of its maintenance. Admittedly, this primarily refers to the so-called Point Updates, minor changes that do not interfere with the essence of the currently current version of WordPress. This means that the transition from version 3.8 to 3.8.1 or 3.8.2 will be practically seamless, so don’t be surprised if a new label suddenly appears on the screen. These additions are usually made for security reasons, which means that your system will be even more resistant to possible hacker attacks in the future.

This means that you, as the person in charge of system maintenance, only have to react if a notification about a completely new version appears in the upper left corner and after that you activate the Update function.