Keeping your WordPress website updated with the latest version is one of the most important things you can do as a site owner. However, many people skip updates because they don‘t understand the benefits or are worried about potential issues.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain from my 15 years of experience as a webmaster why you should always use the latest WordPress version. I‘ll also provide actionable tips to properly and safely update WordPress.
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Why You Should Always Update WordPress
There are several compelling reasons why you should keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated.
Improved Security
Security is the #1 reason to stay updated. WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, which makes it a massive target for hackers and attackers.
- Over 70 billion automated attacks hit WordPress sites each month looking for vulnerabilities.
- An estimated 3 million WordPress sites get hacked each year.
With each new release, the WordPress development team fixes security issues that have been reported and patched. If you don‘t update, your site will be exposed to any flaws that have been addressed in newer versions.
Just one compromised plugin or theme can lead to your whole site being hacked.
Some common threats that outdated WordPress versions face include:
- Code injection attacks
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- Denial of service attacks
- Phishing and malware distribution
- Spam distribution
- Data theft
By updating WordPress core, plugins, and themes, you ensure you have the latest security enhancements protecting your site.
New Features
In addition to critical security fixes, major WordPress releases also introduce new features and enhancements. Staying updated allows you to take advantage of the latest functionality.
Here are some examples of useful new features that have been added in recent versions:
- WordPress 5.0: New block editor (Gutenberg) for improved editing experience
- WordPress 5.1: Site Health Checks for debugging and troubleshooting
- WordPress 5.2: New widgets editor for easier customization
- WordPress 5.3: Automatic background updates for plugins and themes
- WordPress 5.4: New privacy tools for GDPR compliance
- WordPress 5.5: Lazy loading for images to improve performance
If your site is running an older version, you are missing out on all the innovations and improvements with each release. Staying updated ensures you can leverage the latest capabilities.
Better Performance
The WordPress development team continuously works to improve performance and efficiency. Each new version includes enhancements that help WordPress run faster and use server resources more optimally.
A few examples of performance boosting improvements:
- Faster queries and database operations (20-30% faster in some cases)
- JavaScript and CSS optimizations
- Enhanced caching capabilities
- Lazy loading for images and embeds (up to 50% faster load times)
- Improved handling of images and media
Keeping your site updated ensures you benefit from speed and optimization enhancements with each release. This directly improves your site‘s loading times and SEO.
Bug Fixes
Despite extensive testing before release, bugs inevitably slip through. WordPress quickly rolls out minor point updates to address bugs reported in major releases. If you don‘t install these updates, you‘ll keep facing issues that have already been patched.
Some examples of bugs that have been addressed in recent minor updates:
- Fixed fatal PHP errors on certain admin pages
- Resolved PHP warnings and notices
- Corrected broken functionality in core features like galleries
- Patched issues with oEmbeds and other embeds
- Fixed problems with full site editing and Gutenberg
Skipping minor updates means you‘ll keep facing bugs that have already been squashed. Installing the latest versions ensures a smooth, bug-free experience.
Better Compatibility
Plugin and theme developers try to update their products to maintain compatibility with new WordPress versions. Using severely outdated WordPress can cause conflicts and breakages.
For example, plugins may stop working properly or themes might display incorrectly on newer WordPress versions. Keeping your site updated provides the best opportunity for full compatibility with other software.
Easier Support
When you use outdated versions of WordPress, plugins, or themes, getting technical support becomes much more difficult. Support teams always assume users are running the latest software.
If you‘re not updated, they will tell you to update before helping diagnose your issues. Often times, updating WordPress or a plugin can entirely fix the problem. You‘ll save yourself lots of headaches by staying updated.
Avoid Deprecated Functionality
As technology changes, the WordPress team sometimes deprecates features that are outdated, insecure, or no longer best practice. This means the features still work but are phased out and removed eventually.
If you update WordPress, you can avoid building your site on deprecated functionality that will disappear in the future. Staying updated future-proofs your site.
In summary, here are 8 key benefits of using the latest WordPress version:
- Improved security
- Access to new features
- Better performance
- Bug fixes
- Enhanced compatibility
- Easier support
- Avoid deprecated functionality
- Overall better experience
How to Update WordPress
Now that you know why it‘s important to update, let‘s go over how to actually keep your WordPress site updated.
Manually Updating
The easiest way to update is manually from your WordPress admin dashboard:
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
- Go to Dashboard > Updates
- Click "Update Now" next to any available core updates
- Click "Update Plugins" or "Update Themes" to update plugins and themes
I recommend getting in the habit of checking and installing any available updates at least once a week. This ensures you stay up-to-date.
Email Notifications
To take the manual process a step further, you can enable email notifications when updates become available. This reminder prompts you to login and update.
A handy plugin like WP Updates Notifier can send you emails whenever core, plugin, or theme updates are available. Simply install the plugin and configure the notification settings.
Automatic Background Updates
For full automation, you can enable automatic background updates in WordPress. This automatically installs updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes without any action needed from you.
To enable auto-updates:
- Install and activate the Easy Updates Manager plugin
- Go to Dashboard > Update Options
- Check the boxes to enable automatic updates as desired
Alternatively, you can add this code to wp-config.php:
define(‘WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE‘, true);
add_filter( ‘auto_update_plugin‘, ‘__return_true‘ );
add_filter( ‘auto_update_theme‘, ‘__return_true‘ ); This enables auto-updates for core, plugins, and themes. Make sure to backup your site first!
Managed WordPress Hosting
Another solid option is using a managed WordPress host. The best managed hosts like WP Engine automatically update WordPress sites seamlessly in the background.
Updating Plugins and Themes
In addition to the WordPress core, you also need to keep your plugins and themes updated:
- Use the plugins page to update all plugins in bulk with one click
- For themes, manually install any updates released by the theme developer
- Many premium themes include built-in update capabilities as well
Carefully read any release notes from developers announcing updates. Occasionally substantial changes are made that you should be aware of.
Safely Updating WordPress
While it‘s crucial to update WordPress, you should take some safety precautions:
- Backups: Always backup your site before updating in case you need to rollback.
- Staging: Test major updates on a staging copy of your site first.
- Schedule carefully: Don‘t update right before big launches or traffic events.
- Monitoring: Watch your site closely after updating to catch any potential issues.
- Read announcements: Understand what changed in each update before installing.
Following these tips will smooth out the update process and minimize downtime or issues.
FAQs About Updating WordPress
Should I update to the latest WordPress version?
Absolutely – you should always update to the latest version as soon as possible. Each new version includes important security fixes, new features, speed enhancements, and bug patches. Staying on old versions is dangerous.
Is updating WordPress safe?
Updating WordPress is typically safe if you take proper precautions: backup your site, test major updates in staging first, carefully schedule updates, closely monitor your site after updating, and read developer’s update notes. This minimizes any potential downside risk.
What happens if I don‘t update WordPress?
If you don‘t update WordPress, your site will be totally exposed to any security vulnerabilities that have been patched in newer versions. And you‘ll miss out on all the new features, performance boosts, and bug fixes in each release. An outdated site is at major risk.
Could updating WordPress break my site?
It‘s very rare that a core WordPress update would directly break your site. However, occasionally plugin/theme conflicts arise. That‘s why it‘s crucial you backup your site first and test major updates in staging before updating production. This allows you to catch any potential compatibility issues.
What‘s the easiest way to update WordPress?
The easiest way is to login to your WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard > Updates, and click the "Update Now" buttons to update WordPress core, plugins, and themes. You can also enable automatic background updates for a completely hands-off approach.
Conclusion
Keeping your WordPress site updated is one of the most important things you can do for security, performance, and overall experience. Each new version packs in crucial fixes, features, and improvements.
While updating does come with a small risk of compatibility issues, you can minimize this by following the safety tips outlined in this guide. The benefits far outweigh the potential downsides.
Now you have a complete game plan on how to properly keep your WordPress site updated. Just be sure to check and install new releases as they become available. Your site will be better off for it.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
