Updating Wordpress

[the goat]

I am currently running version 2.5 on my wordpress sites. Now that 2.6 is available I want to update but I have heard stories of customized sites having trouble with upgrades.

I have done a bit of code manipulation to them so my plan is to back up all the current files on my hard drive and then upgrade. This way I can easily revert the sites back if need be.

I figured I would ask a few questions first though:

1. Is it worth it to upgrade? I mean if the site is working fine and has the features I want, what is the point?

2. Is there any way to tell in advance if the customizations I have done will affect the site after an update, is there a list of changes published anywhere?

[vangogh]

You don't have to upgrade with each new version. Sometimes there are security updates that you should make sure to update. Often it's only a file or three and if you search "WordPress version# security update" or similar usually someone has a list of the files to upgrade. Sometimes the WordPress site itself will have a list.

Sooner or later you'll probably want to upgrade, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I don't know if there's a good way to tell in advance what an upgrade may or may not break. I have a development server set up on my laptop so I can upgrade there and see if something breaks before upgrading on the live server.

In general things shouldn't break unless you've hacked the core WordPress files. If your changes are to your theme or to some plugins there shouldn't be an issue since those files aren't going to be replaced. Plugins will be more likely to stop working after an upgrade. Sometimes you may want to wait a couple of weeks to let others report on what isn't working anymore. You can check the sites of the plugins you have installed to see if anyone has reported problems.

What code have you manipulated? Is it just your theme or did you manipulate files outside of the themes and plugins folder?

[the goat]

I have only done cosmetic code changes in the theme editor so I guess I am good there. I am sort of a plug in junkie though. I really don't feel the need to update it for any new features, I just wasn't sure how much of a security risk it is to run older versions.

Thanks for the info!

[vangogh]

If you only changed the theme you shouldn't have to worry. Those files aren't getting updated, though there's always a chance something in a theme might not work. It shouldn't affect the cosmetic changes.

Odds are the plugins will work fine, but every so often you need the developer to update their version.

By the way one of the easiest ways to upgrade WordPress is by using the Automatic Upgrade plugin. It will pretty much do the entire upgrade for you with a few clicks on your end.

It will temporarily disable your blog and put up a notice that the blog is being upgraded, it deactivates your plugins, installs all the files, and checks the database to see if it needs to be updated. Then it turns everything back on.

The one thing I've noticed though is that it sometimes doesn't reactivate your plugins and you may need to turn them back on yourself.

Overall the whole process is about 5 minutes to upgrade. Very easy and painless.

[the goat]

Wow great plug in, thanks for the link. Everything went nice and smooth.

[vangogh]

It's really nice isn't it. Probably one of the best plugins for WordPress.

[KristineS]

Definitely a good plug in. It allows me to upgrade my blogs myself instead of shouting for you, Vangogh.

[vangogh]

I knew you'd like the plugin Kristine. It makes upgrading to the latest version so easy

[KristineS]

It really does. Best plug in I've found so far.

[Marcomguy]

I had seen that automatic update plugin a couple of weeks ago, but I got scared off by all the comments from people who'd had bad experiences with it.

I know I shouldn't be, since everyone here is raving about the plugin, and the Wordpress comments are probably disproportionately weighted by all the dissatisfied customers who decided to vent.

So far, I don't see any need to update, so I'm staying put.