Doing WordPress updates safely

Not updating is risky, and updating blindly is too. A simple routine removes both risks.

Backup first

Files and database, and check that it actually exists before you click. An automatic backup whose date you do not know is not a backup.

One thing at a time

Update plugins one by one and look at the site in between. Updating everything at once means you will not know what broke.

On a copy first

For big updates — core, a central plugin, the shop — test on a staging environment. For small security fixes that is disproportionate.

Check what matters

Not just the home page. Forms, checkout, login and automatic emails are what break in practice.

Do not wait too long

Three versions behind makes every update riskier than the last. A fixed rhythm is safer than one big operation a year.