7 Important Steps When Updating WordPress – Currently upgrading and updating the WordPress system has grown very well from year to year and is very easy. However, there are still some steps you can take to ensure that your WordPress upgrade goes smoothly.
Updating or updating WordPress is very easy, but sometimes it can also cause serious problems when updates don’t run smoothly.
In this article, I will write an article about 7 important steps when updating WordPress. Actually this step depends on what you need to update, some of these steps may need to be omitted, but here is the proper order when wanting to do a proper WordPress update:
1. Time
First and foremost, WordPress upgrades and updates should be done during your off-peak hours, i.e. times when your site gets low traffic. Usually this time is in the evening (when most people are sleeping and have come home from work), but depending on your site’s traffic patterns, you should first look in your Google Analytics to see when your site is lowest in traffic.
The key here is to run upgrades or updates on your site preferably at times of low activity, this is to avoid if something goes wrong and a problem occurs.
2. Back Up
By having a backup file, of course it can ensure that you have a plan of action as soon as possible when something goes wrong. You can quickly restore your site to its original state and find a solution without losing your site in a few hours.
Back up your site database. You can do this via PHPMyAdmin or by using a plugin like wp backup.
Back up themes and plugins. You can take manual backups via an FTP client or you can also use the help of a plugin.
It should be noted that backing up the uploads folder (inside wp-content), which can often take a long time, so this is not necessary before the upgrade. So all you need to do is back up your WordPress site’s database, themes and plugins.
3. Turn off Caching
Disabling your caching plugin is necessary before updating WordPress. Cache plugins that are often used are W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, or Quick Cache.
Please turn it off first, as this ensures that you’re not caching maintenance pages during updates and don’t otherwise interfere with the update process.
4. Update Plugins and Framework Themes
Often, WordPress updates are accompanied by plugin and theme updates. Developers usually have a heads up when WordPress updates and with dvelopers will know and immediately make their plugins and themes compatible and ready when new WordPress is released.
Please Update all plugins and themes before upgrading WordPress.
5. Update WordPress
In step 5, now is the time to update or upgrade WordPress itself! Just click the automatic upgrade button and let WordPress do its thing.
Sometimes it can take a few seconds to complete, wait for the update process to complete within a few seconds until the process runs smoothly.
6. Enable Caching Plugin
Enable caching plugin and clear all cache.
If you’re using W3 Total Cache or another cache plugin like WP Rocket and don’t have a customized configuration, now is a good time to re-enable your Cache and update your Cache settings to their original settings.
7. Check Your Site
Take a minute to look at the changes to your site and open a few pages and posts. If something isn’t working properly, quickly find the cause of the error and immediately look for a solution to keep your site running properly.
Above are 7 important steps that you must take when updating or upgrading WordPress, indeed not all of the points above are mandatory for you to do, but to avoid serious problems, it is better to do it than to make mistakes that harm you. Hope it is useful.