How To Disable Plugin Updates On A WordPress Site?

We’ve all spent countless hours meticulously designing and configuring a website. However, we’ve also seen all that work undone by an automatic WordPress update. Not only is it frustrating, but your site is also experiencing downtime.

So, we’ve all adapted. We do our research. We take precautions. 

Always test updates on staging sites and take a backup in advance. 

An unplanned update sends everything into chaos. Maybe this time it was because of an overzealous client. Doubly frustrating. 

Disabling plugin updates from showing up on your admin panel is a solution. But we do not recommend it. However, we will begrudgingly show you how to do so. 

TL;DR: Disabling plugin updates will also mean that your management plugin will not recognize those plugins as having updates. This makes it harder to manage them. The safer option is to maintain regular backups to quickly revert to if things go awry. 

Why are WordPress plugin updates important?

Updates for plugins, themes and even WordPress show up on the Updates section of your site dashboard, as well as on the Plugins and Themes sections. The reason that there are so many ways to be notified about updates is because they are really that important to the wellbeing of your site. 

Instead of completely disabling plugin updates, consider these safer and more effective methods to maintain your plugins and minimize human error:

• When you disable auto-updates, you can manually update plugins at a time that suits you, after thoroughly testing them on a staging site. However, during some manual updates, WordPress asks for FTP credentials to proceed, especially if your site’s file permissions aren’t set up correctly. In such cases, using an FTP client is necessary to complete the update. This approach keeps your plugins up-to-date while mitigating the risk of immediate disruptions.
• Our biggest recommendation is to take comprehensive backups as your safety net. Even if something goes wrong during an update, you can quickly restore your site to its previous state without significant downtime or loss of data. We recommend using a reliable backup plugin like BlogVault. Just install the plugin and it will automatically take backups every day. 

While the idea of disabling plugin updates to avoid unexpected issues may sound appealing, we strongly advise against it. Regular updates are crucial for maintaining your WordPress site’s security, stability, and functionality. Ignoring these updates can open the door to numerous vulnerabilities including instances where a WordPress plugin update failed can leave your site exposed to threats.

How to disable plugin updates on WordPress?

By default, WordPress automatically checks for updates for all installed plugins and themes via its built-in update system. It connects with the WordPress.org repository twice daily to check for new versions. At that point, you’d ideally build a staging site and test the update on it. 

However, you may sometimes want to disable the plugin updates. In that case, you deactivate the WordPress mechanism that checks for and displays available updates for your plugins. This means the notifications that appear on your plugin management page will be suppressed, leaving you without prompts to update.

If that is what you’re looking for, here are two ways to do it:

Option 1: Use code to disable plugin updates

This process involves adding a simple line of code to your wp-config.php file. The define(‘DISALLOW_FILE_MODS’, true); constant disables plugin updates as well as theme updates, installing new themes or plugins, and editing theme or plugin files from the admin area. This essentially locks down the file modification capabilities of your WordPress site. 

1. Install an FTP client like Cyberduck and use it to connect to your site  with your FTP credentials—FTP username, password, and public IP address.

2. Navigate to the root folder, often called public_html or www, and download the wp-config.php file. 

3. Open it on a text editor, and find the line of code:

That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */

4. Above the line, add the following code:

define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS', true);

5. Save the file,and upload the modified file. You may need to overwrite the existing file.

6. Now refresh your admin panel window and check if the updates are visible.

Option 2: Use a plugin to disable plugin update

The best way to reduce the chance of a plugin update crashing your site is to regularly backup your site. However, if you’re looking for an alternative to manually editing the wp-config.php file, you can use a plugin to achieve the same result. The Disable All WordPress Updates plugin is specifically designed to turn off all update notifications and restrict automatic updates for your WordPress site. 

1. Once you’ve installed and activated it, the plugin now automatically disables all WordPress update notifications, including updates for the WordPress core, themes, and plugins. You will not see any update prompts in your WordPress admin dashboard.

Warning: Disabling plugin updates also prevents site management tools from showing that updates are available. 

We added the test site to BlogVault, which checks and notifies users for updates. After disabling plugin updates, when we checked the updates section on the BlogVault, the plugins and themes no longer showed up as having updates. We saw similar behaviour with other management plugins like ManageWP and MainWP. This means that you will have to manually check for updates by comparing versions on the repository with the one that is installed. Apart from being time-consuming and cumbersome, it is also an insecure practice. 

Should you disable plugin updates?

Disabling plugin updates on your WordPress site comes with a range of implications that can significantly affect site security, performance, and functionality. Before you decide to do so, it’s crucial to weigh the benefits against the potential risks and have a clear fallback strategy. 

Security risks

Regular updates often include security patches that fix known vulnerabilities. Disabling plugin updates means these crucial updates won’t be applied, making your site an easier target for hackers and malware.

Compatibility issues

As WordPress core and other plugins receive updates, they may become incompatible with outdated plugins on your site. This can lead to site errors, broken functionalities, or even site crashes.

Administrative overhead

You will need to manually check for updates and apply them yourself. This requires vigilance and time, increasing the administrative burden on whoever manages the site.

By taking full control of updates, you are responsible for ensuring that everything remains current and functional, which can be a heavy burden, especially if you manage multiple sites.

Performance and user experience

Plugin updates often come with new features and performance improvements. By not updating, you miss out on these enhancements, which could affect site speed, user experience, and overall functionality.

How to safely update plugins?

Updating plugins is a critical part of maintaining your WordPress site’s security, functionality, and performance. We’ve talked about how we don’t recommend disable plugin updates. Here’s how to update plugins while minimizing risks and ensuring a smooth update process:

Step 1: Disable auto-updates

While auto-updates can be convenient, they can sometimes lead to compatibility issues or unexpected site breakage. We recommend that you disable auto-updates. This gives you full control over when and how updates are applied, allowing you to plan and test updates thoroughly before implementing them. 

Either you can do this manually for each plugin from your WordPress admin panel, or you can flick a switch in the site settings on BlogVault.

Step 2: Create a staging site

A staging site is a clone of your live site. It is a safe space where you can test updates and changes without impacting the live environment. Once you are sure that everything works as expected, you can push your updates to the live site.

You can use BlogVault to create a staging site in one click. Just head to the staging section of the dashboard and click Add Staging.

Step 3: Create backups

Regular backups are your safety net. Before making any changes, ensure you have a recent backup of your site that you can quickly restore if something goes wrong. Use a reliable backup plugin like BlogVault. 

Once you install the plugin, it will automatically take a full backup. From then on, it will take automatic incremental backups every day. This means that your server resources are not used up. BlogVault also has a one-click restore feature. This means that if anyone makes a mistake today, you can restore it to the last functional backup in minutes. 

Side note, BlogVault also has uptime monitoring. So, if an update causes your site to crash, you will be notified immediately. Coupled with the quick restore, your downtime is minimized. 

Step 4: Check the changelog

Before updating a plugin, review its changelog to understand what has changed since the last version. This will give you insight into new features, bug fixes, and potential compatibility issues.

Go to the plugin’s page in the WordPress repository or its official website and look for the Changelog or Release Notes section.

Step 5: Test updates on the staging site

Apply the plugin updates on your staging site first. You will need to login to your staging site’s wp-admin. For example, with BlogVault, you can click WP-ADMIN in the staging section of the BlogVault dashboard. 

Step 6: Test the functionality of the staging site

After updating the plugins, thoroughly test the functionality of your staging site. Ensure that all features, forms, and integrations work as expected.

Check the front-end functionality. Look at forms, navigation, content display, etc. Verify that the admin panel works correctly. Test any custom code or integrations you have in place. Look for any broken elements or unexpected errors.

Step 7: Push changes to the live site

Once you are confident that the updates work perfectly on your staging site, replicate the process on your live site. Start with a backup of the live site and then update the plugins as normal. 

Best practices for updating plugins

Maintaining your WordPress site’s functionality, security, and performance hinges on effective plugin management. Here are some best practices to ensure smooth and secure plugin updates.

1. Always create a backup of your site before applying any updates. This ensures you can quickly restore your site to its previous state if something goes wrong during the update process. Use backup plugins like BlogVault that can automate this process and take the load off of you.
2. Apply updates in a staging environment before implementing them on your live site. This allows you to verify compatibility and functionality without risking your live site’s performance. Use BlogVault to build a staging site in minutes. 
3. Manually check for updates at regular intervals. Even if auto-updates are disabled, staying on top of available updates ensures your site benefits from the latest security patches, bug fixes, and new features.
4. Before updating a plugin, review its changelog to understand what changes, fixes, or enhancements are included. This information helps you anticipate any potential impact on your site. Visit the plugin’s page in the WordPress repository or its official website to access the changelog.
5. It’s tempting to select a bunch of plugins and click Update. However, updating multiple plugins simultaneously can make it difficult to identify the source if there are any issues. Update one plugin at a time to isolate and troubleshoot problems more effectively.
6. After applying an update, closely monitor your site’s performance and functionality. Look out for any errors, slowdowns, or broken features, and address them promptly. If you’re seeing an issue, rollback the plugin and wait till the developers release a new update with the fixes. 

Final thoughts

While it might seem tempting to disable updates to prevent any accidental changes, this approach can lead to more significant risks down the line, such as security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues. The best way to handle accidental updates is not to disable them entirely but to have a reliable backup system like BlogVault in place. 

BlogVault is a comprehensive WordPress backup and security solution. It takes automatic backups without you needing to move a finger. It takes them every day, at a time that you can schedule. After the first complete backup, BlogVault takes incremental backups that don’t affect your server performance. Finally, all backups are stored on their own servers. BlogVault understands the stress and critical importance of backups and takes care of everything for you. 

FAQs

How to safely update a plugin?

To safely update a plugin, follow these steps:

1. Take a backup with BlogVault
2. Create a staging site with BlogVault
3. Check changelog
4. Check reviews of the updates
5. Test the update on the staging site
6. Test the site functionality
7. Troubleshoot on the staging site, if needed
8. Push the changes to a live site

How to disable auto-updates?

To disable auto-updates for plugins and themes:

1. Go to your site’s admin area (/wp-admin)
2. Click on Plugins on the left-hand sidebar
3. Beside each plugin click Disable auto-updates

Do this for every plugin you prefer to update manually.

For themes, you can follow a similar process in the Themes section of your WordPress dashboard.

Why can’t I disable plugin updates?

Disabling plugin updates altogether can lead to significant risks, including:

• Security vulnerabilities: Updates contain crucial security patches that protect your site from known vulnerabilities. Without them, you’re giving hackers an unlocked gate to access your site. 
• Compatibility issues: WordPress core is constantly updated and plugins and themes need to stay compatible with it. New updates come with improved compatibility. 
• Bug fixes: Regular updates also include bug fixes and new features that improve the overall performance and user experience of your site. Disabling updates means you miss out on these improvements.