Tomorrow we’ll update WordPress.
Why have we waited so long (3.3 was released mid-December)? Well partly because Christmas got in the way, and partly because we like to give the plugins and themes a chance to be double-checked that they work with the live, new version of WordPress. Even now some won’t have been checked and tweaked if necessary, and it is for those instances that it’s wise to be prepared.
So – before you even think of updating, do the following. Hopefully, by the law of sod, you won’t need them, but we’ve had a few rescues to do for people who have then had to rummage around for some vital information.
- Backup your WordPress. If you don’t already, tsk!
One of our latest favourites is EZPZ One Click Backup – very friendly and does the lot. Install this (Plugins, Add New and then search), then activate and choose your options – you’ll get a menu item just for the EZPZ OCB. Take a Manual Backup and then set a schedule for weekly (or however often is sensible for your activity). I then download my backup, just in case. - Find and note your ftp details. If you cannot get into your Dashboard, for whatever reason, then you will need to get to the server. Your host should provide this for you and will include the host, the login id and a password. If you’re not sure where this is, ask your host – send in a support ticket, or whatever system they use, and ask for these details. Do not update your WordPress without them, is my recommendation. Keep this information somewhere you’ll find it next time
(or is it just me that keeps forgetting where I file things?) - Test your ftp information. Take a look at the post on how to connect to your server using ftp and test it. If you can do this, you can get to your WordPress site and most often that will be enough to recover from any white screens of doom.
That’s it for now. Get this ready and in the next post we’ll update WordPress.
