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Keeping a Wordpress installation up to date
NOTE: this procedure applies to techPolitics sites on the techPolitics server. This procedure might work for sites on other servers, but if you're in any doubt then please submit a support ticket
If your site is powered by Wordpress it's important to keep the installation up to date to make sure the security of your site is not compromised. You know if your Wordpress installation is due for an upgrade if you see this:
at the top of the screen after you login. We'll also mail clients to remind them when an update is due. Hold off clicking the 'Please update now' link for a moment - there are a couple of things to do before you can upgrade.
First you need to backup the data from the database that Wordpress uses to store all your posts and comments etc.
To do this, click 'Tools' in the left bar in Wordpress, and then 'Backup':
A screen like this will then appear:
At the very least you should backup the core tables, and choose whichever tables from the right column that you also want to backup. Those entitled 'wp_slim_stats' and 'wp_slim_countries' are tables of visitor statistics - not strictly necessary for backup. The more tables you select the longer your backup will take.
Next, scroll down the page a little and you see something like this:
Make sure 'Download to your computer' is selected, and then click 'Backup now!' A blue bar will advance across the screen telling you how your backup is doing, and when it's done you will be able to save the document to your computer. You don't need to do anything with this file except keep it safe for times when something goes wrong (see below).
Once your file is downloaded, you can click:
'Please update now', and then on the next screen click 'Upgrade automatically', and wait for the backup to complete.
Once that's done you might also upgrade your Wordpress plugins. This needs to be done if you see a small red number beside 'Plugins' in the left column in Wordpress, like this:
Click 'Plugins', and then beside each plugin that needs to be upgraded you will see something like this:
Click 'upgrade automatically' for each one.
NOTE: do not enable any plugins that are not currently enabled, or disable any that are enabled. This can cause your Wordpress site to lose functionality.
What happens if something goes wrong?
If your site does not display correctly after the upgrade then you will have to submit a support ticket here, and techPolitics will deal with your query. If the error was due to a techPolitics problem then the repair will be free of charge. If the repair was due to an upgrade that was incorrectly conducted by the user then there will be a one-off charge of €200 (+VAT) to restore your site.
How likely is it that something goes wrong?
We've upgraded Wordpress installations more than 100 times in the past and have known some minor glitches in a handful of cases. If your database is backed up beforehand then you can rest assured that everything will be recoverable in the unlikely circumstance that something does go wrong.
If your site is powered by Wordpress it's important to keep the installation up to date to make sure the security of your site is not compromised. You know if your Wordpress installation is due for an upgrade if you see this:
at the top of the screen after you login. We'll also mail clients to remind them when an update is due. Hold off clicking the 'Please update now' link for a moment - there are a couple of things to do before you can upgrade.
First you need to backup the data from the database that Wordpress uses to store all your posts and comments etc.
To do this, click 'Tools' in the left bar in Wordpress, and then 'Backup':
A screen like this will then appear:
At the very least you should backup the core tables, and choose whichever tables from the right column that you also want to backup. Those entitled 'wp_slim_stats' and 'wp_slim_countries' are tables of visitor statistics - not strictly necessary for backup. The more tables you select the longer your backup will take.
Next, scroll down the page a little and you see something like this:
Make sure 'Download to your computer' is selected, and then click 'Backup now!' A blue bar will advance across the screen telling you how your backup is doing, and when it's done you will be able to save the document to your computer. You don't need to do anything with this file except keep it safe for times when something goes wrong (see below).
Once your file is downloaded, you can click:
'Please update now', and then on the next screen click 'Upgrade automatically', and wait for the backup to complete.
Once that's done you might also upgrade your Wordpress plugins. This needs to be done if you see a small red number beside 'Plugins' in the left column in Wordpress, like this:
Click 'Plugins', and then beside each plugin that needs to be upgraded you will see something like this:
Click 'upgrade automatically' for each one.
NOTE: do not enable any plugins that are not currently enabled, or disable any that are enabled. This can cause your Wordpress site to lose functionality.
What happens if something goes wrong?
If your site does not display correctly after the upgrade then you will have to submit a support ticket here, and techPolitics will deal with your query. If the error was due to a techPolitics problem then the repair will be free of charge. If the repair was due to an upgrade that was incorrectly conducted by the user then there will be a one-off charge of €200 (+VAT) to restore your site.
How likely is it that something goes wrong?
We've upgraded Wordpress installations more than 100 times in the past and have known some minor glitches in a handful of cases. If your database is backed up beforehand then you can rest assured that everything will be recoverable in the unlikely circumstance that something does go wrong.
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