How to Update WordPress Safely Without Breaking Your Website

WordPress is one of the most popular and easy-to-use CMS platform in the world. Over 40% of websites build on wordpress, but the shocking news is mostly users dont know how to maintain it? Once your website is built and running on WordPress, your next important step is to update WordPress Safely and maintain it regularly.

Updating WordPress helps your WordPress website stay secure, fast, and full of new features. If you don’t take care of your site, it can become slow, face hacking risks, or stop working properly.

Many website owners are nervous about updating it because one wrong step can take an entire site offline. The good news is that updating WordPress safely doesn’t have to be risky. 

We have found different ways to update WordPress safely without breaking your website, so you can enjoy all the latest WordPress improvements while keeping your site stable, secure, and fully functional.

Why Updating WordPress Safely Matters

WordPress powers over 40% of all websites in the world. That means it’s a constant target for hackers, malware, and bots. Each new update is designed not only to introduce new features but also to fix safety issues, improve speed, and patch security holes.

Updating safely ensures that your website remains secure, compliant with the latest technology standards, and compatible with plugins and themes. Improper updates, on the other hand, can cause serious issues such as:

• Theme conflicts: When a theme isn’t updated to match the new core version.
• Plugin errors: Outdated plugins can stop working or break your layout.
• Downtime: An update failure might crash your site temporarily or permanently.

When done correctly, WordPress updates make your site faster, safer, and more stable helping you deliver a smoother experience for visitors while maintaining strong SEO performance.

What Happens If You Don’t Update WordPress

Ignoring WordPress updates might be risky, it can silently destroy your site performance and reputation over time. You can also miss out on new features. 

Here’s why:

1. Security Threats: Most WordPress updates fix Safety issues. When you delay updates, hackers can exploit known weaknesses in old versions to inject malware or spam links.
   
   
2. Compatibility Problems: Developers continuously update plugins and themes. When your core WordPress version is outdated, newer plugins may not work properly.
   
   
3. Reduced Performance: Old versions of WordPress lack optimization improvements that speed up websites and improve mobile experience.
   
   
4. SEO Impact: Google ranks secure and well-performing websites higher. Outdated software can cause slow loading times and lower trust signals.
   
   
5. Data Loss Risks: Without updates, your website may be at risk of corruption, broken features, or even total data loss after a cyberattack.

Simply Suggestion: keeping WordPress up to date protects your investment, audience trust, and long-term growth.

What to Do Before an Update

Before you start updating WordPress, preparation is your shield. Most site crashes happen because users skip one or more preparation steps. Here’s your checklist before you begin:

1. Backup your full website (files and database).
2. Create a staging site to test updates first.
3. Verify compatibility of themes and plugins.
4. Turn off caching, firewall, and security plugins.
5. Inform your team or clients before the update to avoid disruption.

Let’s go through each step in detail.

Backup Your WordPress Website Before Updating

Backing up your site is the most important step in updating WordPress safely. A backup ensures that if anything goes wrong, you can restore your website exactly as it was.

You’ll need to back up:

• WordPress files: These include core files, plugins, themes, and media uploads.
• Database: Contains your content, user data, settings, and posts.

You can use reliable backup plugins such as UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, or BlogVault. These tools can automatically store your backups in external locations like Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon S3.

Once done, test your backup by restoring it to a staging environment.

Create a Staging Site to Test Updates

A staging site is a private sandbox for your website, a safe testing environment where you can try updates without affecting the live version.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Option 1: Use your hosting provider. Hosts like WP Engine, Kinsta, and SiteGround provide one-click staging environments.
• Option 2: Use a plugin like WP Staging or Duplicator. These tools clone your live website into a subdomain (like staging.yoursite.com).

After creating your staging site:

• Run the updates for WordPress, themes, and plugins.
• Browse every major page and test all interactive elements such as contact forms, eCommerce carts, and pop-ups.
• If you find issues, fix them in the staging environment before repeating the same steps on your live website.

Doing this testing step carefully is to make your WordPress management safe and professional.

Check Theme and Plugin Compatibility

Before updating WordPress, always make sure your plugins and theme are compatible with the new version.

To check compatibility:

• Go to your WordPress Dashboard → Plugins.
• Click View Details under each plugin to see its compatibility information.
• Visit the plugin official WordPress.org page and check “Tested up to” version.
• Review the changelog and developer notes for any known conflicts.

If a plugin hasn’t been updated in over a year or has poor reviews after recent updates, replace it with a more reliable alternative.

Update custom or premium ones carefully. If you’ve made code customizations, create a child theme before updating so that your edits aren’t overwritten.

Turn Off Caching and Security Plugins

Plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, Sucuri, or Wordfence can interfere with the update process by caching outdated files or blocking update requests.

Before you begin:

• Deactivate all caching and firewall plugins.
• Clear your site and browser cache.
• Pause CDN caching (e.g., Cloudflare) temporarily.

Once the update is complete and verified, re-enable these plugins to maintain your website performance and protection.

How to Update WordPress (Step-by-Step)

If it’s your first time to update WordPress, don’t worry! We will show you different methods, depending on your technical skill. So you can update it manually or automatically.  Let’s go through each safe option.

Step 1: Update WordPress through the WP Admin Dashboard

This is the easiest and safest option for most users.

1. Log in to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Dashboard → Updates.
3. Click Update Now under WordPress Core.
4. Wait for the update to finish — don’t close the browser.

Once done:

• Refresh your site.
• Clear cache.
• Check your homepage, blog, and contact form to confirm everything works.

This built-in updater automatically installs new core files while keeping your content safe.

Step 2: Update WordPress Manually via FTP

If your dashboard update fails, you can update WordPress manually by following this method.

1. Go to wordpress.org/download and download the latest version.
2. Unzip the downloaded file on your computer.
3. Connect to your site using an FTP client like FileZilla.
4. Delete your old wp-admin and wp-includes folders.
5. Upload the new ones from your unzipped WordPress file folder.
6. Don’t delete wp-content or wp-config.php, these contain your themes, plugins, and settings.

When done, visit your dashboard. If prompted, click Update Database to complete the process.

This method gives you more control and is ideal for troubleshooting stuck updates.

Step 3: Update WordPress via WP-CLI (For Advanced Users)

If you’re comfortable using the command line, WP-CLI provides a quick and efficient way to update WordPress.

Run the following commands:

wp core update

wp plugin update –all

wp theme update –all

This method is preferred for advanced users or agencies managing multiple websites. It’s faster, avoids browser timeouts, and allows for batch updates.

Step 4: Safely Update WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins

The correct update sequence matters. Always follow this order:

1. Update WordPress Core.
2. Update Themes.
3. Update Plugins.

Updating your WordPress in the right order helps avoid plugin conflicts and keeps your site stable. 

After each update, test your website’s layout, loading speed, and all functions to confirm everything runs smoothly. To manage WordPress safely, avoid bulk updating your plugins and themes together.

Step 5: Enable Maintenance Mode During Updates

When you turn on maintenance mode, people can’t see your website while you’re updating it. They’ll just see a simple note saying, ‘We’re doing updates. Come back soon”.

Use WordPress plugins such as WP Maintenance Mode or SeedProd to activate maintenance mode. These plugins keep your site looking professional and clean while you update or fix things behind the scenes.

Step 6: Verify and Test Your Website After Update

Once updates are complete, testing is crucial to make sure everything is working properly.

• Visit your homepage and key landing pages.
• Test all forms, checkout pages, and contact features.
• Check responsive design on mobile and tablets.
• Use tools like Pingdom or GTmetrix to test speed and uptime.

If you notice any errors after updating WordPress, review your error logs or restore your site from a backup. A safely updated WordPress site should be faster, smoother, and free from broken pages or design issues.

How to Fix Common Issues After a WordPress Update

Even with preparation, some errors might appear. Here’s how to fix common post-update problems:

• White Screen of Death: Usually caused by plugin conflicts. Disable all plugins via FTP, then reactivate them one by one.
  
• Broken Layout: Reinstall or re-upload your theme. Clear browser cache and CDN cache afterward.
  
• Database Connection Error: Add this line to your wp-config.php to repair:
  define(‘WP_ALLOW_REPAIR’, true);
  Then visit /wp-admin/maint/repair.php.
  
• Update Loop or Timeout: Manually delete .maintenance file from your root folder using FTP.

If none of these work, restore your backup and retry updates one by one on your staging site first.

Manual vs Automatic WordPress Updates — Which Is Safer?

Choosing between manual and automatic WordPress updates depends on your website purpose and your level of technical knowledge. Pick the method that keeps your site safe and easy to manage.

Automatic Updates

• Great for small blogs or portfolio sites.
• Applies minor updates automatically.
• Reduces time and effort.
• Risk: Could cause plugin or theme conflicts without warning.

Manual Updates

• Gives full control and lets you test before applying.
• Ideal for business, LMS, and eCommerce websites.
• Safer for custom-coded themes.
• Takes longer but minimizes downtime risk.

Best Approach:
Use automatic updates for minor releases (like 6.5.1 → 6.5.2), and manual updates for major releases that might change structure or functionality.

Extra Advice: Keep Your WordPress Site Secure and Stable

Safe updating is part of ongoing maintenance. To keep your WordPress site running efficiently:

• Use only trusted plugins and remove unused ones.
• Regularly scan for malware using Sucuri or Wordfence.
• Keep your PHP version up to date for speed and security.
• Limit login attempts and enable two-factor authentication.
• Schedule automatic backups weekly or daily.
• Use performance monitoring tools to detect errors early.

For more hands-on tutorials on WordPress maintenance, visit WordPress maintenance Guide on Wpbeginner.

Conclusion

In this post, you have learned how to update WordPress safely without breaking your website. It is one of the most valuable skills any website owner can have. By backing up, staging, checking compatibility, and verifying updates, you can keep your site secure and running smoothly, no more sleepless nights after pressing “Update.”

Make safe updating a part of your regular maintenance routine. It’s the difference between running a stable, professional site and risking unexpected downtime.

With these steps, you can confidently update WordPress without fear and keep your online presence strong, secure, and ready for growth.

If you’re still unsure how to update or maintain your WordPress site, Book a Free Consultation Call with our WordPress expert. We’ll safely manage and optimize your website for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How often should I update WordPress?
Check for updates every two weeks, or enable email alerts from your hosting dashboard.

2. Can updates delete my content?
No, updates don’t delete content if you back up your files and database beforehand.

3. What happens if an update fails?
Restore your last backup, fix the issue in your staging environment, and retry.

4. Should I enable automatic updates?
Yes, for small sites. For complex or customized sites, manual updates are safer.

5. Can I roll back to a previous WordPress version?
Yes, use the WP Rollback plugin or your backup to restore a previous version.