WordPress controls 14.7% of the world’s top websites and has a 60.8% market share in the CMS industry.
Keeping WordPress plugins up to date is critical for the WordPress site’s reliability and security. It also allows one to take advantage of any new features introduced by the WordPress plugins developers.
If the website was created using WordPress hosting, the user is presumably well aware of how easily the site may be damaged by even the smallest modifications to the files.
This makes visitors wary of the types of modifications that are made to the site and how they go about making them.
A WordPress plugins upgrade generates its own set of internal discussions. On the one hand, it’s a potentially dangerous alteration to the WordPress hosting site files that might cause the site to crash.
A WordPress plugin update, on the other hand, includes security fixes and improved functionality.
What Should One Think About Before Updating WordPress Plugins?
WordPress is a free and open content management system. This implies that third-party developers may create WordPress plugins to enable users to tailor their WordPress site-building experience.
These developers are continually striving to improve and expand the capabilities of their WordPress plugins, and these changes are referred to as “updates.”
Not upgrading WordPress plugins means missing out on a world of benefits, such as security patches and site performance enhancements.
How can WordPress Plugins be Safely Updated?
There are several ways to upgrade WordPress plugins, and we’ll go through five of them, beginning with the safest approach to updating a WordPress plugins.
1# WordPress plugins update from the WordPress dashboard
- Choose the WordPress plugins to be updated: Hover over Plugins in the menu on the left of the staging site’s wp-admin panel. When you click Installed Plugin, you’ll be directed to a page that lists all of the plugins one has installed so far. The out-of-date ones will also notify users that an upgrade is available. The WordPress plugins may now be updated by selecting them.
- Update all WordPress plugins: After selecting the plugin to be updated, choose the Bulk Action drop-down option at the top. Now, choose Update and Apply.
2# Update a WordPress plugin manually from a zip file
- Download the zip file: This procedure is usually required if the WordPress plugins developer’s plugin is not available in the repository. The file may be downloaded from the plugin’s official website. It will normally download to the local system as a zip file.
- Install the most recent version: Click Add New at the top of the page, then upload WordPress plugins on the following page. Select the zip file that was just downloaded by clicking Choose File. Install Now and Activate are the two options. Replace Current with Uploaded by clicking the Replace button.
- Activate the plugin: After installing it, click Activate plugin.
3# Using an FTP client, manually update WordPress plugins
- Get the file here: It is available for download through the WordPress plugins library or the plugin’s own website. It will normally download to the local system as a zip file.
- Connect to the server by doing the following: Connect to the server using the FTP login, password, and public IP address. All of these facts may be obtained from the host.
- Rename the previous WordPress plugins folder as follows: Navigate to the public html root folder. Locate and open the wp-content folder. Right-click and select Rename to rename the previous plugin’s folder. This will turn off the plugin. Rename it something memorable.
- Download the following folder: This step serves as insurance in the event that something goes wrong and one needs to re-upload the earlier version of the WordPress plugins.
- Upload the WordPress plugins updated folder: Simply drag and drop or choose File in the top menu and then Upload. It is possible that the upload will take a few minutes.
4# WP-CLI may be used to manually upgrade a WordPress plugin.
- Install WP-CLI: In order to install WP-CLI, the computer must have php installed.
- Execute the following command: The following step is to launch Terminal and run the following command: wp plugin update plugin-slug
Replace the WordPress plugins slug with the slug of the plugin to be updated. In most cases, this is the name of the plugin’s folder in your files.
Here’s an example: wp plugin update all-in-one-seo
5# WordPress Plugins Can Be Updated Automatically
The WordPress dashboard is the safest approach to auto-updating WordPress plugins on the site. One can choose when and which WordPress plugins should be updated automatically. It’s also really
- On the site’s dashboard, click Schedule instead of Auto Update.
- Give the schedule a name.
- Make certain it is done on a weekly basis.
- Besides the Plugins tick, click All Plugins.
- Check all of the ones that aren’t vital to your site and then click Save
- Check the box next to Take Backup Before Update.
- Click Create
This allows auto-updates for certain WordPress plugins and ensures that a backup is taken prior to an update. As a result, the site will remain operational regardless.
What are the Benefits of Upgrading WordPress Plugins?
While upgrading a plugin might be frightening and hazardous, there are a few compelling reasons to do so:
- Every update brings a slew of new features and problem fixes.
- Updating WordPress plugins often results in increased security and improved speed.
- Older versions of WordPress plugins are frequently abandoned by developers. So, even if there are complications, there will be no help.
Conclusion
Choosing whether to upgrade a WordPress plugins is akin to choosing between a rock and a hard place. Using a staging site is the best approach to get out of that scenario.
Creating a staging site, upgrading WordPress plugins, and managing the site in general is relatively simple with Exabytes WordPress hosting.
If one wants to get WordPress hosting for its business, Exabytes can help with its WordPress hosting services as low as RM139.99/mo.
For more information, contact us now.
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