Do you know how to update WordPress? You probably do, because it’s incredibly easy. But, what if there was an easier way to update one of the world’s most popular publishing platforms? Well good news, there is! We’re going to show you how.
WordPress out of the box is already easy to update. A few clicks, and you’re done. With our one click installer Softaculous, you can automate this entirely. First, we need to connect your WordPress website to our installer. Don’t worry, this is easy too! For those who have installed WordPress through our one click installer, be sure to skip to the section Setup Automatic WordPress Updates.
Import WordPress Into Softaculous
Start by logging into cPanel. Here, you’re going to look for an icon called Softaculous Apps Installer. Click this to enter Softaculous.
On the next page, you’re going to look for the WordPress logo. The WordPress logo will be displayed as a large “W” contained in a selection box. Normally, this will be the first option. Click this box to be taken to the next page where you will start to import your website.
On the next page, find and click on Import.
Navigating here was the hard part. Now comes the easy part!
- Choose the protocol your website uses. This can be http://, https://, http://www, or https://www.
- Choose the website domain you’re connecting to Softaculous.
- Click Import and you’re done!
You will see a success page after your WordPress website has been imported.
Setup Automatic WordPress Updates
Navigate to the installations page for your installed WordPress websites. In the following section, you will be presented with tools that will allow you to manage your website. Each row is unique to the website you’ll be managing.
- Under Admin, you will be able to login directly into WordPress.
- Under Options, you will have a suite of tools that allow you to clone, edit settings, backup, and remove your website.
For this demonstration, click on the pencil icon to be taken to the complete settings of your website. This is where everything happens, and where you’ll make some of your biggest changes. It will look like the image below.
On this page, you will now be able to enable automatic updates. Take a look at the following options and their checkboxes. Check any of the following options that you would like Softaculous to maintain for you.
Auto Upgrade will allow you to automatically update WordPress within minor versions, or major versions. For reference, a minor version change occurs when the WordPress version number changes from 4.1 to 4.2. A major version change occurs when the WordPress version number changes from 4.5 to 5.1.
If you have any custom plugins or themes, it is suggested to choose to only enable minor version upgrades until they have been tested with the next major version of WordPress.
Auto Upgrade WordPress Plugins will allow you to upgrade any plugins that you have installed directly within WordPress. Custom plugins do not apply here, and will need to be upgraded manually or by a developer.
Auto Upgrade WordPress Themes, similar to Plugins, will allow you to upgrade any themes that you have installed directly through WordPress. Just as with custom plugins, if you have any custom themes, these will need to be upgraded manually or by a developer. Child themes of course will still auto upgrade.
If you wish to receive email notices when upgrades occur, uncheck the box Disable Update Notifications Emails. If you would like to be on the safe side while Softaculous handles your upgrades, be sure to also enable backup options to add a little more redundancy in case anything needs to roll back.
When you’re done configuring your settings, click Save Installation Details, and you’re done! Softaculous will handle your WordPress upgrades for you.
You may have been provided a link to this article by one of our technical support team members. If this guide has helped you, we’d love to hear about it! Comment below, and share your feedback.
GlowHost provides Shared Web Hosting services starting at $4.95/mo. If you’re looking for an easier way to manage your WordPress website, sign up today and let our team help migrate and set up everything for you! We’ll even configure automatic updates described in this article; so you don’t have to worry about lingering security issues.