Wordpress updates - risks?

BarneyMc

I got a website created in Wordpress earlier this year and I manage it now. There are a number of updates available:

1 x Worpress update to version 3.6
1 x theme update
12 x plugin updates

Is it advisable to select all and update them all in one rattle or should I do them 1 by 1 and check after each one for any adverse going ons?

Kenny Logins

I always do a complete backup before updating. I have had plugins break on me.

The paranoid approach:

Back it up.

Check that you have a good backup.

Deactivate all plugins.

Upgrade Wordpress.

Upgrade all plugins.

Reactivate the plugins one at a time, verifying that your site behaves correctly after bringing each online.

You could go try updating the core and plugins at once, but if it goes pear-shaped, it may be traicky to troubleshoot.

BarneyMc

Excuse my ignorance Kenny but is this what were're talking about? http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups

Kenny Logins

BarneyMc wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance Kenny but is this what were're talking about? http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups

No. A complete backup through your host's control panel, database and files.

mneylon

There's also a risk if you don't upgrade ..

While some upgrades of plugins, themes etc., are for new functionality, the reality is that a LOT of them include bug fixes and security fixes

If you don't upgrade you could be leaving your site open to attack .. ..

KonFusion

maccored

sometimes auto updates mess up and the site stays in maintenance mode. then you have to go to the folder wordpress is installed in, and look for the invisible .maintenance file, and delete it. That one caused to me reinstall WP on more than one occasion.

Domain

I only ever had one issue with wordpress updates, no real damage was done but to be on the safe side a backup is always advisable. You hosting provider can also give you information on this.

BarneyMc

Deleted User wrote: »

The paranoid approach:

Back it up.

Check that you have a good backup.

Deactivate all plugins.

Upgrade Wordpress.

Upgrade all plugins.

Reactivate the plugins one at a time, verifying that your site behaves correctly after bringing each online.

You could go try updating the core and plugins at once, but if it goes pear-shaped, it may be traicky to troubleshoot.

Got to the Upgrade Wordpress part and it kept saying it couldn't copy files. I spent ages trying to change directory permissions but had no luck. Then got on to my host and they said they don't support the latest version of Wordpress! They said they're currently migrating and it could be 8 weeks before my account is migrated! :rolleyes:

D Hayes

BarneyMc wrote: »

Got to the Upgrade Wordpress part and it kept saying it couldn't copy files. I spent ages trying to change directory permissions but had no luck. Then got on to my host and they said they don't support the latest version of Wordpress! They said they're currently migrating and it could be 8 weeks before my account is migrated! :rolleyes:

I would move to another hosting company. Crazy excuse.

BarneyMc

Yes, I've considered it - I'm sure you can guess which company it is?
I've just paid for a year's hosting though so might need to sit tight.

yoyo

BarneyMc wrote: »

Yes, I've considered it - I'm sure you can guess which company it is?
I've just paid for a year's hosting though so might need to sit tight.

I think I know the company your talking about, possibly an Irish provider beginning with the letter D..? . I had a site with them and only had MySQL4/PHP4 enabled. They did move me to another server when I asked to be upgraded, I'm no longer with this company

Nick

BarneyMc

yoyo wrote: »

I think I know the company your talking about, possibly an Irish provider beginning with the letter D..? . I had a site with them and only had MySQL4/PHP4 enabled. They did move me to another server when I asked to be upgraded, I'm no longer with this company

Nick

Bingo! I might asked them to upgrade me, thanks!

hatchmedia

I (stupidly) upgraded to 3.6 on the day it came out and it conflicted with the WP layer sliders I had on my websites. A fix wasn't brought out for a couple of days so I was left with blank images till then

BarneyMc

I went through all of the steps suggested above and all went well (or so I thought) on the Wordpress and plugin updates.

However, when I open my Wordpress dashboard I can see all the options on the left hand side but when I click on the options, e.g. Posts, Media, Pages, etc. I get a blank screen.

The only one that seems to work is 'Settings' and 'Tools'. Is there something I need to do here following an update or does it take some time to reset?

D Hayes

It should update instantly.

Do you have FTP access? If so, you can (briefly) turn Debug to On in the wp-config.php file.

In the wp-config.php file, change this from

define('WP_DEBUG', false);

to

define('WP_DEBUG', true);

More info here.

This will display error messages on those blank pages. It will help you figure out what is wrong.

If you need help, drop me a PM. I work daily with Wordpress sites.

Trojan

The first thing I'd do in this kind of scenario is upload a fresh copy of latest WordPress files (via FTP). That'll overwrite any corrupted files in wp-includes which could be an issue.

BarneyMc

Trojan wrote: »

The first thing I'd do in this kind of scenario is upload a fresh copy of latest WordPress files (via FTP). That'll overwrite any corrupted files in wp-includes which could be an issue.

Buysellswap very kindly helped me debug. All help much appreciated guys and gals!

BarneyMc

One thing I've noticed since the update is a really annoying text line in a few places on my site (left hand side and bottom of page). It says "Share and Enjoy" and has a small image that doesn't display properly. Can anyone help me get rid of it? Thanks!