Complete Guide to Risk-Free WordPress Plugin Updates

A WordPress is a carefully balanced ecosystem of plugins, design, content, and users. The tiniest change can break your site. 

When updates to your WordPress site enter the equation, all hell can break loose.

Much as we love plugins for their extended functionality, each WordPress plugin update comes with its own set of internal debates. 

On one hand, it’s a risky change to our site files. On the other hand, it often brings vulnerability patches and better functionality. 

Better features or less risk? Is there a way to solve both problems?

Yes, there is.

TL;DR: First, always backup your site before making any changes. Then, use UpdateLens. UpdateLens is BlogVault’s intelligent risk assessment tool for WordPress plugin updates—the closest thing you can get to a crystal ball.

Understanding WordPress plugin updates

WordPress plugins help you customize the experience of building a site. Their developers constantly make their plugins better and include more features. These changes are bundled into updates—which is a great thing.

And yet, we’re still scared of them. 

Not updating WordPress plugins means you’re missing out on features, vulnerability patches and performance improvements. 

After all, who here has had a site crash because a WordPress plugin update went awry? 

💁‍♂️ Everyone. Even us, the WordPress backups people. How do you think we know the importance of reliable, restorable backups? Personal experience.

Step 1: Pre-plugin update checklist

Now that we know that plugin updates in WordPress are non-negotiable—as though there was any doubt—let’s talk about how to do them well. 

This is a list of precautions to take when staring a major update in the face. 

Alright, you are now set up for success. These guidelines mitigate a great deal of the risk of plugin updates. You can now move confidently to the next step.

Step 2: Update WordPress plugin safely

There are numerous ways to update WordPress plugins. Not all of them are safe or advisable. Nevertheless, we will talk about all of them, in good time. 

📝 This first method is what we recommend. We can guarantee that by using our tried-and-tested WordPress plugin update method, your site will come out unscathed at the end.

1. Install and activate the BlogVault plugin: You can find the plugin in your WordPress plugin directory. Once you’re done activating the plugin, you’ll be directed to create an account.
2. Connect your site: Once you hit Submit, you’ll have to grant BlogVault permission to connect to your site. This will automatically sync your site, creating the first backup. 
3. Check the UpdateLens score: For each of the plugins that has an available update, you’ll see a score. Anything above 75 is generally safe to update directly on your site. For anything else, we strongly recommend Sandbox updates.  Click on the score to get a detailed breakdown of the score.
4. Start the update process: You’ll see 3 options to update the WordPress plugin. We’re going with Sandbox updates because it is the best for risky updates. 
5. Select Sandbox updates: Wait for BlogVault to do its magic.
6. Act on the report: Is there a variance? Was there an issue? If there is a smallest difference, check the update on the staging site. If not, go ahead and apply the update to your live site.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully updated your plugin. 

Other ways to update plugins on your site

There are 4 methods to go about updating a plugin. The easiest of them all is to update a plugin using the wp-admin dashboard. 

🚨 If you choose not to use sandbox updates, take a backup first. Alternatively, use a staging site to test out updates first before applying them directly to your live site. 

Option A: Updating a plugin using the wp-admin Updates page 

1. Select the plugins you’d like to update: On your staging site’s wp-admin panel, hover over Plugins in the menu on the left. Click Installed Plugin and you’ll be taken to a page with all the plugins you’ve installed so far. The out-of-date ones will also let you know that there’s an update available. You can now select the plugin to update.
2. Update all the plugins: Once you’ve selected the plugin you want to update, click the drop-down menu at the top that says Bulk Action. Now select Update and Apply. 

This method should ideally work. But, in the off chance that it doesn’t, we’re also going to discuss three manual methods of uploading the updated plugin file to your site. 

Option B: Update plugin with a zip file

If you’ve ever uploaded a plugin manually or updated a theme via a zip file, this process is almost identical.

1. Download the zip file: You will typically need to use this method if the plugin developer doesn’t have the plugin listed on the repository. You can download the file from the plugin’s official site. It will typically download as a zip file to your local system.  
2. Install the updated version: At the top of the page, click Add New and on the next page, click Upload Plugin. Click  Choose File and select the zip file you had just downloaded. Click Install Now and Activate. Click Replace Current with Uploaded.

3. Activate the plugin: Once it’s installed, click Activate plugin. 

Option C: Update WordPress plugins via an FTP client

One could argue that updating via a zip file is a manual process, but to really get into the guts of a site to manually update a plugin is a different ballgame.

1. Download the file: You can download it from the plugins library or the plugin’s official site. It will typically download as a zip file to your local system. 
2. Connect to your server: Open your FTP client and connect to your server with your FTP username, password, and public IP. All of these are details that can be found with your host. We use Cyberduck to do this. 

3. Rename your old plugin folder: Go to your root folder public_html. Look for the wp-content folder and open it. Rename the older plugin’s folder by right clicking and clicking Rename. This will deactivate your plugin. Rename it to something identifiable. 
4. Download the folder: This step acts as insurance in case something goes wrong and you need to upload the older version of the plugin again. 
5. Upload the updated plugin’s folder: You can simply drag and drop or click File in the menu at the top and click Upload. The upload might take a few minutes. 

Option D: Manually upgrade WordPress plugin via WP-CLI

1. Install WP-CLI: To install WP-CLI, your computer will have to have php. Ours didn’t, so we had to first install command-line tools on our MacBook, to be able to install a package manager, which then enabled us to set up PHP, and then install WP-CLI. 
2. Execute the command: The next step is to open Terminal and execute the following command:

wp plugin update plugin-slug

Replace plugin slug with the plugin slug of the plugin you’d like to update. This is usually the name of the plugin’s folder in your files.  Here’s an example of what we mean:

wp plugin update all-in-one-seo

Once you’re done, you’re good to go. 

Note: This is an alternative to the method using the WordPress admin panel. So, if the plugin you’re trying to update can’t update automatically, you still need to update a plugin using an FTP client using the steps in the previous section.

Option E: Automatically update WordPress plugins

The safest way to auto-update WordPress plugins on your site is through the BlogVault dashboard. You can customize when, and which plugins to auto-update. It’s also incredibly

1. Click Schedule besides Auto Update on your site’s BlogVault dashboard

3. Add a name for the schedule

3. Make sure it is Weekly
4. Click All Plugins besides the Plugins checkbox
5. Check all the ones that aren’t mission-critical to your site and click Save
6. Make sure that Take Backup Before Update is checked
7. Click Create

This enables auto-updates for certain plugins and makes sure a backup is taken before an update. Thus keeping your site no matter what.

Step 3: Double check the update

Once the updates are done, we recommend you check the following things: 

• Are any pages crashing?
• Has the layout for any of the pages changed?
• Does it open correctly on different types of devices?
• Are all your buttons working fine?

None of these should happen after a sandbox update. If you decided to opt for another method, now is the time to restore a backup. 

Updating WordPress plugins across multiple versions

Ideally, you should always keep your plugins regularly updated. 

But, if you’ve taken over a site from another developer or are revitalizing an older project, you might discover you need to move from an older plugin version to the latest one.

The safest, though laborious, way to update your plugin is to go step-by-step through each major version. After updating each version, review your site thoroughly. Often, you can locate older versions of the plugin through its official repository or support.

Why update your plugin incrementally?

Imagine trying to update a page builder plugin, like Elementor, without backups. Feels like jumping off a cliff without a parachute? Now multiply that anxiety several times. 

Updating several versions at once is like jumping off cliffs stacked on top of cliffs—without a parachute. 

Updates can break your website. Jumping across multiple versions just increases the risk exponentially. 

Because of this, you need to be very careful. It might seem easy to jump from an old to a new version, but websites are complex. They have many themes and plugins, making it hard to know what will happen.

And if your site isn’t hacked yet, consider yourself fortunate. Outdated plugins often become entry points for malware and security breaches.

Troubleshooting a failed WordPress plugin update

Plugin updates fail on occasion. Such is the reality of a WordPress site.

Firstly, if you’ve created a staging site, you can breathe. Your actual site hasn’t crashed. It’s all good. You just need to restore your staging site and fix the issues. Let’s talk about the different errors and how you can fix them. 

504 Gateway Error: This error means there is an issue with your server getting information in time from another server. If this happens after a plugin update, it’s not necessarily a problem with the plugin but an issue with your site being unable to connect with the update server. You’ll have to connect with your hosting provider to get the error fixed. 

Site crashes: For example, Elementor updates crash sites so often, it is in their documentation. If you haven’t created a staging site, but have a backup, restore the last backup you have of your site. If you don’t have a backup, you have to disable the plugins using FTP. Make sure you use the right credentials if you’re using a staging site and these are the steps you need to follow: 

• Access your files: You’ll need either an FTP client or a cPanel to do this. Use your username, password, and public IP address to connect to your server. Then, open the public_html folder and then the wp-content folder. 
• Rename your plugin folders: Rename the folders of the plugins that you’ve updated. This will deactivate the plugins. This should give you back access to your WordPress admin panel. 
• Rollback the plugin: If you know exactly which plugin made your site crash, you can roll back the plugin using a partial restore of a BlogVault backup and activate the others. Another reason to invest in backups. 

Error related to file permissions: File permissions restrict access to files and directories for different users. We have an article talking about file permissions in great detail if you’d like to learn more. Essentially, the problem is that the user account that is trying to update the plugin doesn’t have the right permissions to do so. To correct the error, you have to set the file permissions of the wp-content folder to 755. 

Error related to directory: To fix an issue with the directory, create a temporary new directory by adding a piece of code to your wp-config.php file. Add the following code: 

define (‘WP_TEMP_DIR’, ABSPATH . ‘wp-content/’);

Next, save the file and reupload it to the root folder. If this doesn’t fix the issue, check the file permissions as seen above. 

Could not create a directory

If you’re unable to create a directory, there are two possible reasons for this: low disk storage space or you don’t have the right file permissions. Try out the steps above for troubleshooting.

Critical Error

This error is usually caused by php issues, reaching your memory limit or issues with your database connections. While it is a terrifying site, the error is also fixable.

Update failed Could not remove the old plugin

This is also caused by file permissions. You can use the steps in this section to fix the issue.

WordPress plugin update, failed maintenance mode

The transitions from maintenance mode to working WordPress plugin update failed maintenance mode etc; mode is usually a few seconds and you’d barely notice it. But, if you’re trying to update too many plugins at the same or have compatibility issues, you need to get out of maintenance mode.

Final thoughts

Choosing to update WordPress plugin can often be like choosing between a rock and a hard place. The best way to get out of that situation is to use a staging site. With BlogVault’s staging, creating a staging site, updating WordPress plugins and generally managing your site is incredibly easy. BlogVault is all you need to safely update any plugin. 

FAQs

How to update WordPress plugins without losing customization?

There are five steps to updating plugins safely:

1. Check the plugin’s UpdateLens score. 
2. Create a staging site.
3. Update the plugin on staging, and test there. 
4. Check your site for issues.
5. Go live

Why should you update plugins?

While updating a plugin can be scary and risky, there are a few key reasons why you should:

1. Every new update comes with a lot of new features and bug fixes. 
2. There is generally added security and better performance that comes with updating a plugin.
3. Developers often abandon older versions of a plugin. So, even if you have issues with it, there won’t be any support.

How to update WordPress plugins automatically?

You can enable automatic updates for each plugin, but we don’t recommend enabling it for all of them. Choose auto updates for a few non-critical ones where the likelihood of it crashing your site is lower. Alternatively, use BlogVault to create auto-update schedules, which back up your site automatically before running the schedule. 

Should you update WordPress plugins or core first?

If you’re doing a massive update of your site, we recommend doing the plugins update first and then the WordPress update. After that, you may be prompted to rollback or update the plugins depending on if you face any compatibility issues. 

How do I update a plugin in WordPress?

Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins, find the plugin you want to update, and click Update Now. Make sure to take a backup of your site before attempting the update, so you can revert to the old version if any issues arise. 

Does WordPress automatically update plugins?

Yes, WordPress can automatically update plugins if you enable auto-updates for individual plugins in the admin panel.

How do I undo a WordPress plugin update?

You can use a plugin that provides rollback features or manually reinstall an older version, if you have a backup.

What’s best practices for installing updates?

Always backup your site before updates and test changes on a staging site first.

How do you manage plugin updates without breaking functionality?

Update one plugin at a time, check functionality, and use a backup for quick restoration if needed.

If I do a plugin update and something goes wrong and don’t have a backup, what is a good solution?

Deactivate the problematic plugin, check for conflicts, and seek support from the plugin developer for help.