How to Properly Update WordPress Plugins (Step-by-Step Guide)

Wondering how to update your WordPress plugins the right way?

Many WordPress users know it‘s important to keep plugins up-to-date. But they struggle with the process, encounter issues, and make mistakes that jeopardize their site.

Sound like you? Don‘t worry – we‘ve got your back!

In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk you through how to properly update WordPress plugins step-by-step. You‘ll learn the risks of outdated plugins, how to safely update them individually or in bulk, how to troubleshoot common problems, and some handy tips to streamline the process.

Whether you‘re a WordPress beginner or a seasoned pro, this guide will give you the knowledge and confidence to keep your plugins current. Let‘s jump in!

Why Updating WordPress Plugins is Crucial

First, let‘s look at why keeping your WordPress plugins up-to-date is so vital.

WordPress plugins are incredibly powerful. They allow you to add all sorts of features and functionality to your website. But they‘re also the biggest source of vulnerability.

According to a study by Patchstack, 64.06% of all security bugs in WordPress come from third-party components like plugins and themes. The report also found that 52.10% of WordPress plugins have at least one security vulnerability.

These vulnerabilities leave the doors wide open to hackers, who exploit outdated plugins to:

• Inject malware and spam content
• Steal sensitive data and customer info
• Deface websites
• Launch DDoS attacks
• Take sites completely offline

Scary, right? But the risks go beyond security…

Outdated plugins can also cause:

• Slow loading speed and performance problems
• Compatibility issues with WordPress core and other plugins/themes
• Broken features and functionality
• Inability to access new features and improvements

Furthermore, many plugins (especially free ones) are abandoned by their developers. So if you don‘t update, you‘ll miss out on critical bug fixes and enhancements.

The bottom line is this: keeping plugins updated is absolutely essential for your site‘s security, performance, and functionality.

How to Update WordPress Plugins (Step-by-Step)

Now that you understand the importance, let‘s dive into how to actually update your plugins the right way.

With WordPress, you have a few options to update plugins – automatic updates, manual updates, and bulk updates. We‘ll go through each one step-by-step.

Option 1: Manually Update Individual Plugins

Updating plugins individually is the safest approach, as it isolates each one and makes it easy to identify problems. Here‘s how to do it:

1. Before updating any plugin, back up your entire WordPress site. You can use a free plugin like UpdraftPlus or your hosting provider‘s backup tool.

2. Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.

3. Look for plugins with a pending update (they‘ll say "There is a new version available" and have a link to view the changelog).

4. Review the changelog to understand what changes are included in the update and check if it‘s compatible with your WordPress version.

5. If it‘s a security update, install it right away. Otherwise, wait 7-14 days after initial release to let the developer identify and fix any bugs.

6. When ready to update, click the "update now" link. WordPress will download the update and install it automatically.

7. After the update finishes, visit your site‘s front-end and test the plugin‘s functionality. Make sure everything works correctly.

8. If you notice any issues, roll back the plugin to its previous version (see the troubleshooting section below for instructions).

9. If all looks good, congratulate yourself – you‘ve successfully updated your plugin!

Follow these steps for each individual plugin you need to update. While more time-consuming than bulk updates, the risk of breaking your site is much lower.

Option 2: Update Multiple Plugins in Bulk

If you have several plugins with available updates, you can bulk update them to save time. Here‘s how:

1. First, make a complete backup of your site (just in case).

2. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard → Updates.

3. Scroll down to the "Plugins" section. Select the plugins you want to update.

4. Choose "Update" from the "Bulk Actions" dropdown, then click "Apply".

5. WordPress will update all selected plugins. Don‘t navigate away from this page until it finishes.

6. After updates are complete, thoroughly test your site to make sure everything still works.

Bulk updating saves time, but it can be harder to pinpoint which plugin caused issues if something breaks. So only bulk update if you‘re confident the updates won‘t cause problems.

Option 3: Enable Automatic Plugin Updates

WordPress also has a built-in feature to enable automatic updates for plugins. When enabled, WordPress will download and install new versions as soon as they‘re released.

However, auto-updates can be risky because they don‘t give you a chance to review the changes or wait for bug fixes. So only enable auto-updates for trusted plugins that you know won‘t break your site.

To enable auto-updates for a plugin:

1. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins

2. Click the "Enable auto-updates" link below the plugin you want to auto-update.

3. When a new version is released, WordPress will update that plugin automatically (along with everything else set to auto-update).

You can also enable auto-updates in bulk using a plugin like Easy Updates Manager.

Which Plugins Should You Closely Monitor for Updates?

With so many plugins, it‘s easy to get overwhelmed and fall behind on updates. Knowing which plugins to prioritize is key.

As a general rule, keep a close eye on updates for:

• Security plugins (firewall, malware scanner, etc.)
• Plugins that interact with visitor data (forms, email marketing, etc.)
• E-commerce and membership plugins
• SEO plugins
• Plugins that add core features/functionality you rely on

These types of plugins tend to be targets for hackers and usually have more frequent updates.

It‘s also smart to prioritize plugins from reputable developers with consistent update histories. If a plugin hasn‘t been updated in 2+ years, that‘s a red flag it may be abandoned.

Troubleshooting Problematic Plugin Updates

As careful as you are, sometimes updating a plugin can still break your site. Maybe it crashes your site, causes an error, or just doesn‘t function correctly anymore.

Don‘t panic! Here‘s how to troubleshoot and fix problems with plugin updates:

1. Deactivate the plugin. In your WP dashboard, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and click "Deactivate" under the problem plugin.

2. If you can‘t access your dashboard, deactivate the plugin via FTP:

   • Connect to your site‘s server via FTP (or cPanel‘s file manager)
   • Navigate to the wp-content → plugins folder
   • Rename the folder of the problematic plugin (so WordPress can‘t find it)

3. If your site works after deactivating the plugin, you‘ve identified the culprit. Re-activate other recently updated plugins one-by-one to ensure they don‘t cause issues.

4. To restore the problem plugin to its previous version, install the free WP Rollback plugin. Then go to the Plugins page, click "Rollback", and select the previous version.

6. If rolling back doesn‘t resolve the issue, you may need to dig deeper. Check for a conflict with your theme or other plugins. Reach out to the plugin developer for support.

7. As a last resort, restore your full website backup to revert everything to its previous state.

Fixing plugin update issues can be frustrating, but following these steps will help you resolve them as quickly as possible.

Tips to Optimize the Plugin Update Process

We‘ve covered the basics of updating plugins properly. Now let‘s look at some ways to make the process faster, easier and less stressful.

Choose Quality Plugins from the Start

Prevention is the best medicine. The easiest way to minimize problematic plugin updates is to only install high-quality plugins from reputable sources.

Look for plugins that:

• Have good reviews and high ratings
• Are actively maintained with frequent updates
• Are compatible with the latest versions of WordPress
• Follow WordPress coding standards
• Come from developers with good support

Avoid nulled (pirated) plugins, as they often contain malware and aren‘t supported with updates.

Set up a Staging Site

If possible, set up a staging environment to test plugin updates before applying them to your live site. Some managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine and Flywheel offer one-click staging.

A staging site is an exact copy of your live site, but in a protected environment. You can safely update plugins on staging, test for issues, then deploy to your live site when ready.

Use Version Control

Version control lets you store incremental backups of your WordPress files, including plugins. That way, if a plugin update causes problems, you can easily roll back to a previous version.

To set up version control:

1. Install a WordPress version control plugin like VersionPress or WP Pusher
2. Connect it to a version control service (Git, Bitbucket, etc.)
3. The plugin will automatically track changes to your WordPress files
4. If you need to revert a plugin, you can do it with a few clicks using version control

Leverage Child Themes for Theme Editing

Many WordPress users encounter issues when updating a plugin because they‘ve directly edited plugin files. But if that plugin changes those files in an update, their customizations get overwritten!

Here‘s a smarter approach:

1. Always use a child theme to customize your theme‘s code
2. If you need to edit a plugin‘s code, first check if the plugin offers hooks or filters to make those changes.
3. If there‘s no hook/filter, copy the plugin file to your child theme, then make edits there. The changes will persist even when the plugin is updated.

Just remember: editing plugin and theme files can still cause compatibility issues when updating. Proceed carefully and keep backups.

Optimize Your Database After Updates

Major plugin updates can sometimes bloat your WordPress database with orphaned data, spam comments, post revisions, etc.

After completing updates, it‘s good practice to optimize your database. You can do this with a free plugin like WP-DBManager or WP-Optimize.

Optimizing your database cleans up overhead to keep your site fast and efficient.

The Consequences of Not Updating Plugins (A Warning)

We‘ve talked a lot about how to properly update plugins. But what happens if you don‘t update them at all?

The short answer is nothing good! Failing to update your plugins can wreak havoc on your WordPress site. Here‘s a comparison table of the risks:

As you can see, keeping plugins updated mitigates all these risks. But not updating leaves your site incredibly vulnerable.

The scariest part is what can happen if your site does get hacked due to an outdated plugin. Hackers can:

• Steal user data (including names, emails, passwords, and credit card info)
• Infect your visitors with malware
• Vandalize your content
• Tank your search engine rankings
• Hold your site for ransom

Cleaning up a hacked WordPress site is a massive headache. It can take days or weeks to fix, not to mention the damage to your traffic, revenue, and reputation.

So don‘t let this happen to you! However tedious it may seem, keeping your plugins up-to-date is crucial for your site‘s security and success.

Go Forth and Update Those Plugins!

Phew, that was a lot to cover! But you‘re now armed with the knowledge to properly update your WordPress plugins.

Remember, keeping plugins updated is key for your site‘s security, functionality and performance. Neglecting updates can result in disastrous consequences.

So make checking for and installing plugin updates a regular habit. Aim to check at least once a month (more often for critical plugins).

Follow the steps and tips outlined above to update plugins safely and efficiently:

• Always backup your site before updates
• Update plugins one at a time if possible
• Carefully review changelogs before updating
• Test updates thoroughly
• Roll back or troubleshoot if issues occur
• Consider using a staging site, version control, and child themes

By consistently keeping your plugins up-to-date, you‘ll have a faster, more secure WordPress website that delivers a better experience to your visitors.

Now go forth and fearlessly click those "update" buttons!