The WordPress blog system is one of the most customizable platforms and is very widely used by many bloggers. To ensure that your blogging experience is both stress free and rewarding, your WordPress script will require frequent upgrades to stay secure. This applies especially to security updates, as there are often fixes to emerge once development is already in process, as in the case of the latest WordPress 2.2.1 updates.
It is true that a failed upgrade can cost you time and money in the downtime to restore you settings, especially if you rely on your blog as a source of earnings as it can be very expensive. To avoid problems, you should do your homework before using the WordPress blog system. In other words, how you upgrade your blog platform without the loss of custom settings and potential visitors is essential.
1. Study the Official WordPress Upgrade Guide.
You should invest some of your time by reading and understanding all the outlined steps in the official WordPress upgrade guide. It is highly recommended that you should use follow all the basic steps that are clearly outlined for you in the Detailed Upgrade instructions. It is best to follow the steps without skipping any of them in sequence for the best results and your peace of mind.
2. Use Compatible Themes.
To function properly you should always check to be sure that your chosen theme is compatible with the new version. Visiting the plugins author website usually, gives you access to some type of feedback such as feedback forms and sometimes even forums. If you have no such luck as finding an available website for your plugin, you can always look in the style.css file in your theme. Every author will leave details in that file, which can often be more invaluable that what may be contained on the theme sites of wordpress.org. Sometimes there is also contact information on the author, making contact, asking questions, and getting support so much easier.
Keep in mind that every major revision of WordPress normally introduces new functions and that some of the old themes are unresponsive or are not designed to take full advantage of the new features such as the case with WordPress 2.2, which has introduced widgets into its core.
If your chosen theme is giving you problems, you may do well to replace it. The options are limitless, offering our the chance to enhance and refresh you websites look and feel while taking full advantage of all the new functions and features that are now available. Overall, it is the look and feel of your blog that creates the first impression. Many potential readers and clients may be put off by the impression of an outdated blog, no matter how good your content might be, so keep their interests high by updating and enhancing your blog from time to time.
3. Revisit every Installed Plugin Author Website for Updates.
You should take the time to revisit the author’s web page for every plugin you have installed, as most good programmers release regular updates to correspond with the new functionality of the core system. If you do find a newer version available, you should download it and have it ready for installation. You can do this, soon after the core system update and before you activate any specific plugin. Doing this will also offer you the opportunity to revisit the detailed description for the plugin and even find out new or more ways to creatively add it to your own blog.
If, however you do find a plugin that is incompatible but still supported, you should leave it deactivated and then check back with the author’s support page now and again for updates, or you could subscribe to their RSS feed to receive notifications of available new versions.
Do not bother yourself with any plugins that are unsupported, as they not only hold incompatibility issues but also they may hold possible security risks that are not documented. These types of plugins should be avoided entirely as you may very well find yourself contending with the hacking attempts by some shady lawbreaker.
4. Upgrade to the Newest Version of WordPress Blog System.
After you have reviewed all the details and outlined all the steps, you will make an upgrade your WordPress blog with a newer version, there is still one more issue to attend. If you are using wp-caching mechanism via wp-config.php file, be sure to disable it and delete all the files from the cache directory. Once this is done, you can begin the upgrade. You should take care to follow the official guide and the outlined steps.
Upgrading your WordPress takes planning and preparation, the process is easier when you know what you are looking at, as well as the steps you must take to get there. Having knowledge of these issues will help you create a trendier and secure blogging platform; also, you have the opportunity to re-evaluate the use of plugins and the chance to enhance your website with the latest developments in WordPress.
