Upgrading Wordpress to the Latest Version

Published by Stephen | Filed under Blogging, Instructions, Software, Upgrade, Wordpress

First things first. Back everything up!

Download your website from the server and back up your database. Wordpress very kindly offer comprehensive instructions on how to back up your database. If you follow the instructions to the letter you shouldn’t go wrong. If this is the first time you have ever backed up a database I suggest you double check each step.

The length of time required to upgrade will depend on the size of your website, your skill level and your connection speed. This site is currently about 15MB and the connection I am using is not super fast, so my estimate would come in at well under an hour.

Six Simple Instructions To Get You Started

1. Back up the database (if you are not sure how to do this, you can get detailed instructions here)
2. Download a copy of the website
3. Verify that all pages have downloaded by checking the folder manually
4. Deactivate all your plugins
5. Ensure that all four steps above have been completed
6. Download and extract the lastest version of Wordpress

This is where it can all get a bit messy.

Before I start the next phase I make a back up of the downloaded version of the site and store that in a folder called WEBSITE BACKUPS. I name the subfolder containing the website backed up after the domain and the date of back up – mydomain.com 9 April 2008. I will also zip this folder up in order to save space on the local machine. I now have three versions of the website I am backing up on my local machine and yet another version still on the server.

The next step is to KEEP the files from the old version of Wordpress that are required to ensure a smooth transition. The files YOU NEED TO KEEP (on your local machine) are as follows:

• wp-config.php
• wp-content (folder)
• wp-images (folder)
• wp-includes/languages (if used)
• .htaccess file
• custom content and plugins

Everything else can be deleted.

You should now have the latest version of Wordpress and the files you have to keep from the older version in a folder on your local machine. The next stage is to delete everything from the server and upload all of the files from the folder on the local machine to the server.

When the upload is complete an upgrade file needs to be run. If Wordpress is in the root directory of your site (as it is here), the file is located here : http://mydomain.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php

If Wordpress is installed in its own subdirectory called blog for example, the file to run would be located here : http://mydomain.com/blog/wp-admin/upgrade.php

If the upgrade has been a success you will be notified on screen and will then be able to activate all your plugins and themes.

NB I am watching my files upload as I am writing this. I am hoping the upgrade will be a success. I will not be writing anything else until the upload is complete – 3111KB left.

The good news is the upgrade was a success; the bad news is that if you experience a problem I can only advise that you either a) get over to the Wordpress site and look for a solution or b) restore the old version of your site.

If you follow the instructions carefully you should not have a problem upgrading. Wordpress is a very stable system, but remember BACK EVERYTHING UP BEFORE YOU START.