It says I have updates, but I’m nervous – it says things are going to break. Should I update WordPress, the themes, and plugins?

Short answer: YES. UPDATE!

Every time you log in to your site, check to see if there are any plugins, themes, or WordPress core updates. Updates are usually security related and most hacks are from not updating.

(If you’re on one of my WordPress website maintenance plans, don’t worry about this as I take care of updating and back ups for you. If you’re not and want to be, email me!)

How to Update

From anywhere in your website’s dashboard, if you see the circle with arrows and a number, that means there are updates available. Simply click it and it will bring you the update page:

Depending on what updates are available, you can update your theme(s), your plugins, and/or the WordPress core software. Just select each one and click update! Do each kind of update at one time (WordPress, then all the plugins, then all the themes) instead of trying to update everything at once. It should take less than a minute, depending on your host.

Will Something Break?

There’s a warning when you go to update a theme or WordPress that you should have a back up before doing so. And you TOTALLY should have backups of your site in place! For more on that, see my post about setting up back ups. Nothing should break as long as you’re regularly updating your site. It’s far more likely to have a security vulnerability if you don’t update your site than break.

Update away, my friends!