Notes on Upgrading WordPress

Upgrading to the latest version of WordPress using the automatic option from within your Dashboard will generally be a straightforward task, especially if you only use the simplest of plug-ins.

However – it’s that 1% of times that it really is worth being prepared for – the one time that you upgrade with a resulting blank screen – the “white screen of death” it can be called (somewhat melodramatically, in my opinion).

When to action your WordPress upgrade?

I tend to wait a couple of days after each WordPress version upgrade; this gives the creators of the most popular and well-tended plug-ins a chance to test their work on the latest version of WordPress. So it therefore makes sense to upgrade any plugins that require such before upgrading your WordPress.

So then you want to take your backup, de-activate your plugins, and then carry out the WordPress upgrade. Once that’s successfully completed remember to activate your plugins, perhaps one by one to be quite happy that each will work happily with the new version of WordPress.

And just remember that if anything does go wrong, it will most likely be a plugin incompatibility, and this can be sorted out by connecting to the server using your ftp details and moving or deleting the most likely plugin culprit (the whole folder from within /wp-content/plugins).

If you want any guidance, clarification or someone to virtually hold your had while you action any of this, drop me an email at hello@blogmistress.com