Upgrading Wordpress Websites
How to upgrade your wordpress website
Upgrading your wordpress website is probably one of the most important things to do as a website owner. If you read our blog and see how many times I talk about security and updating your website, you will know this off the top of your head. At our last Working Together Day – we talked a lot about DIY websites and DIY website design. One of the difficult things to know when your are a DIY designer is just how to do certain things properly. One of those things to know – inside and out – is how to backup your website. So here we go…..
This is for any Users of Wordpress 2.7 or higher
Step by step guide to upgrading your website
Step 1: Make sure that you have the right tools
You will need the following tools…..
A. FileZilla download this and use it as your FTP client. Make sure to choose the button on the right called “Download Filezilla Client”
- make sure to expand the folder and install the software.
- Open the software and add your FTP details as a new account
- Make sure to use the IP address (e.g. 192.169.1.2) that was given to you
- Use the port number 21
- Remember usernames and passwords are case-sensitive
B. Look for all your usernames and passwords!
if you already tried to do step 1 – then you probably already realised this….You will need all of the following (your website guy should have given these to you already – if not GET THEM!)
- ftp IP address
- ftp username and password
- database address
- database username and password
- wordpress username, password, and login address (e.g. youdomain.com/wp-admin)
Step 2: Look to see if you have an upgrade folder/directory
The best way to upgrade is to use the internal automated functions. This is done through the wordpress admin – you have to login to the back of your website to access it.
Open Filezilla and connect to your domain. Once you see the folders navigate down until you see the folder named (yourdomain.com or .ie). Once you find this open it and open WP-Content folder. Once you are inside you should see a folder/directory called upgrade. If you see it jump to the next step – Otherwise, right click and click on “create directory”. Name the new directory uploads.
Step 3: The right folder/Directory permissions
Make sure that your upgrade folder has the right permissions. You can check what it has by right clicking on the directory and going to permissions. It should be 755 or 777 – if it is something different then change it. Next check both the WP-Content folder and the Plugins folder – both of their file permissions should be the same.
Try making all three of these directories 755 permissions first – if you have problems uploading change them to 777 permissions and then change them back after the installation/upgrade.
Step 4: Add a backup plugin
This is a bit of a personal choice but I would suggest the following plugin wp-db-backup. This one will do the trick but make sure that you read and follow the instructions to the letter. Read everything first.
- When you go to upload it – do this by going to the backend of your website and clicking on the plugins link on the left navigation bar. Then click on the “Add New” – then you can search for the plugin and install it by using your FTP username and password details.
Remember if you are getting errors when trying to install the plugin try changing the wp-content, plugins, and upgrade folders to 777 permissions as we discussed above.
Technically – before you install this plugin you should probably ask your website designer to backup the site for you – just in case.
Step 5: Activate the plugin and backup your website
This should be pretty straight forward so I wont say more here.
Step 6: Backup your Files
Go back to Filezilla and connect to your website files. Go to the root folder (the folder called yourdomain.com) and select all the files and copy them down to your computer/hard drive.
- This might take 5 min or more depending on how big your website is.
Step 7: Now it’s time to upgrade.
First things first – If you are sure that everything was backup successfully then go now to the back end of your website and click on the “Plugins” button. Make sure to deactivate all your plugins.
Then click the “Tools” button and select “Upgrade”. You will need your username and password for the ftp. Go ahead and click upgrade.
Remember if you are getting errors when trying to do the upgrade try changing the wp-content, plugins, and upgrade folders to 777 permissions as we discussed above.
Step 8: Upgrade you plugins
Once the upgrade has been successful now go the the plugins area and upgrade each of the plugins one-by-one. Make sure to check that the website is functioning properly after each plugin is upgraded and activated. If you notice a problem then immediately deactivate the problem and investigate what the issues might be either with your website designer or the plugins authors.
Step 9: Change all your folders back to 755 permissions