Your WordPress dashboard shows your theme and plugins require updating. Great! You click on that “Update now” button.... and a few seconds later your WordPress site shows a blank page (technically known as the “White Screen of Death”). Or one day you check your emails and find out a message from a disappointed customer who cannot access your site because it is not working properly. Sure, you did nothing, didn’t you? You take a quick look and - PANIC :O - your WordPress website is all over the place, and everything looks broken indeed. What happened? Well, you can thank your hosting provider, who automatically updated your site... What is a “WordPress update” actually? And what do plugin and theme updates mean? What should you NOT do when an update is available? Lots of questions there, we know how you feel! Whether you’re a WordPress beginner, a seasoned developer or a website owner, this session will cover technical and non-technical aspects of WordPress updating - so that you don’t go making that same mistake again!

1. How to Prevent Big
Disasters When Updating
WordPress
@RMELOGLI
DUBLIN WORDPRESS MEETUP

2. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
“Update”
“A new release of WordPress
Core / WP Theme / WP Plugin
software that contains bug fixes,
enhancements, new features
and/or security hole patches”
~RM

3. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Kinds of Updates
● Bug fix: you’re using a version
with errors. Update ASAP
● Enhancement: making the
world better. Update soon
● New feature: more love from
developers. Update if needed
● Security patch: corrects a
weakness. Update ASAP

4. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Avalaible Updates
● Core WP
● Theme/s: look
● Plugins: functionalities
● Translations

5. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Minor vs Major Update
● Minor: 4.7.4 > 4.7.5
● Major: 4.7.5 > 4.8
● Major-EST!: 4.7.5 > 5.0

6. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Database vs File-only Update
● PHP, CSS, JS change
● and/or DB change! Pay
attention: files backup not
sufficient

7. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Vital vs Secondary Update
1) Ecommerce website:
WooCommerce Plugin
update - VITAL
2) Portfolio website:
Contact Form 7 Plugin
update - VITAL

8. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Vital vs Secondary Update
3) Ecommerce website:
Currency Switcher Plugin
update (relies on WooCommerce
Plugin) - VITAL
4) Portfolio website: Akismet
update - SECONDARY

9. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
“Visible” vs non-WP.org Update

10. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Why Update
● Avoid risk of “broken” website
● Reduce risk of being hacked
● Improve performance
● Remove conflicts (warning -
you might create new ones!)

11. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
When to Update
1. KNOW: Release Notes,
Newsletters, Plugin/Theme WP
dashboard notices, Social Media
2. THINK: Live or Dev?
3. THINK: How soon?
4. THINK: Update at off hours?
5. THINK: working Backup taken
6. OK then, go for it

12. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
When to Update - RELEASE NOTES

13. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
When to Update - NEWSLETTERS

14. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
When to Update - LIVE or DEV
Is the website LIVE? Does the
website generate TRAFFIC?
SALES?
Be 3,000 times more careful.

15. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
When to Update - How soon?
3.0.0 - 2017-04-04
3.0.1 - 2017-04-06
3.0.2 - 2017-04-12
3.0.3 - 2017-04-13
3.0.4 - 2017-04-20
3.0.5 - 2017-04-28

16. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
How to Update
● Automatic
● Semi-automatic (1-click)
● Manual

17. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Either way...
● Disable Automatic Updates
● Backup often, and once more
before updating
● NEVER update a LIVE site
without testing first
● NEVER update a LIVE site unless
you have access to FTP
● *Staging, Clone, Duplicator, etc.

18. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
Yes… time is money
● Major or Minor?
● Vital or Secondary?
● Security patch or
Enhancement?
● Live or Dev?
● Your Budget?

19. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
1 - Disable Automatic Updates
● define('AUTOMATIC_UPDATER
_DISABLED', true);
● define(
'WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE',
false );
...or contact your Hosting.

20. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
2 - Disable “update now” links :)
add_filter('gettext', 'bbloomer_translate_update_now_notifications');
function 'bbloomer_translate_update_now_notifications($translated) {
if ( is_admin() ) {
$translated = str_ireplace('There is a new version of %1$s available. <a href="%2$s"
%3$s>View version %4$s details</a> or <a href="%5$s" %6$s>update now</a>.', 'There is a new
version of %1$s available. <a href="%2$s" %3$s>View version %4$s details</a> and then go
testing the update on your staging site.', $translated);
}
return $translated;
}

21. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
2 - Disable “update now” links :)

22. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
● Staging: most underestimated
hosting feature. Worth €£$
● If not, change hosting!

23. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
Staging: “an independent clone of
your live website that can be easily
created to test plugins, themes, and
custom code. You can then copy the
staging site back to the live site at
any time after making
changes/updates”

24. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
One click staging

25. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
...30s later

26. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
...login

27. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
Now you can
even use the “1-
click” updates;
can even bulk
update; if it
breaks the site, 30
extra secs to
create new one!

28. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
If site does not
break, TEST
➢ Home OK?

29. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
If site does not
break, TEST
➢ Cart OK?

30. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
If site does not
break, TEST
➢ Checkout OK?

31. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
If site does not
break, TEST
➢ WP_DEBUG

32. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
If site does not
break, TEST
➢ WP_DEBUG

33. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
Case study: staging for
BusinessBloomer.com on
29/05/2017
➢ Theme update
(Storefront)
➢ Non-vital Plugin
updates
1. Storefront new CSS -
headings & backgrounds
messed up :)
2. I didn’t realize my checkout
snippets weren’t working
since Woo 3.0 :)
3. Spent 49mins 30s to fix all.
But live site not affected!

34. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
3 - Always test on Staging
TEST PASSED?
1. “Push” to live
2. or re-do same
updates on Live

35. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
4 - No Staging?
● If “changing hosting” is not a
suitable solution for you...
● CLONE website with Duplicator
plugin on subdomain

36. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
4 - No Staging?
● If “I don’t have enough time” or
“my budget is low” is your
problem…
○ FTP “trick”
○ or… you risk big: less risk
on minor updates, huge risk
on major ones

37. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
5 - FTP “trick”
1. Upload new
plugin version to
/plugins folder
(diff name e.g.
“____NEW”)

38. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
5 - FTP “trick”
2. Change
CURRENT plugin
name to e.g.
“____OLD”

39. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
5 - FTP “trick”
3. Remove
“NEW” from new
plugin name to
e.g. “____NEW”
This will
automatically
activate it :)

40. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
5 - FTP “trick”
4. TEST
Restore old
plugin if
necessary by
renaming it :)

41. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
5 - FTP “trick”
Might not work as expected if
the update modifies DB :)

42. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
6 - Order of Updating
● WP > Theme >Plugins
● Or Plugins > Theme > WP
● Or…?
Does it matter?

43. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
7 - Careful Updating
● Maybe you haven’t updated
WooCommerce since 2.5
● Straight update to 3.0.7?
● Or first step to 2.6, and then
3.0?
Does it matter?

44. WP Updates @RMELOGLI
WordPress Updates - Wrap up
● New version? Read release info
first
● Hold on a few days unless it’s a
security hole fix
● 70-80% problems caused by out
of date WP/plugins/themes

45. Thank you!
...and good luck with your
next update :)
@RMELOGLI
DUBLIN WORDPRESS MEETUP