Upgrading to WordPress 3.0x

Yes, we have blogged on upgrades before, but it can make a huge difference to your experience if you take your time to carry out backups and deactivate your plugins before hitting that “Update” button.

So – step by step – how to upgrade your WordPress :

1. Install 2 backup plugins:

1. Plugins, Add New
2. Search for wp-db-backup, install and activate
3. Search for WordPress Backup, install and activate
4. Go to Tools, Backup
5. Tick everything, select to email backup to your email address, and click Backup now.
6. Go to Settings, WordPress Backup
7. Check the settings there (follow the notes provided or shout if you get stuck)

Now you should have a full backup of your WordPress – just in case – and have regular backups scheduled for peace of mind.

2. De-activate your plugins:

1. Go to Plugins
2. Select the Active list
3. Click to select all
4. then click on the Bulk Actions drop-down and select Deactivate, and Apply

And now you can click the Upgrade Automatically button that is offered from the Please Update now  link at the top of your Dashboard.

WordPress will work through the process of upgrading and will mostly not have any problems at all. So then as soon as it’s complete, you need to then re-activate your plugins:

1. Go to Plugins
2. Select the Recently Active list
3. Activate each one individually – this is where most problems might occur – if there is any incompatibility between the plugin and the new version of WordPress, it will happen as you work your way though re-activating. Doing it this way tells you which plugin is the cause of any problem.

If all is well, you’re live again and running smoothly.

If you do have a problem, watch out for the next blog post which will take you through how to deal with most issues. You’ll need your ftp access details for that.

Good luck – and if you need a hand at any time, pop an email to hello@blogmistress.com and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Babs