How to Update a WordPress Theme

There are numerous reasons why you might want or need to update a WordPress theme. The number one reason is that there are security updates that will protect your site from malicious hacking.

Hacking is one of the biggest problems for small businesses. About 60% of small businesses are targeted every year and are hacked. Most of the time these hacks don’t achieve anything. If there is no customer information, no payment information held on your website, there is little danger of a breach. The most that website hackers can do is to take down your website.

If you have a backup, then you can simply just re-enter this. However, it is annoying. Though some hosts, like Cloudways will do a backup.

Another reason to process updates is to fix errors within the code. Themes are tested when they’re released, but the complex nature of themes and plugins means that there are times when a plugin and theme will clash.

This often means that there are errors on a website. This can look unsightly and it can cause significant problems for your audience and your sales. When an update is released, it might fix some of these errors and you can look more professional again.

In addition, coding fixes might help the website to run faster. Sometimes changes aren’t noticeable but are there because the coding is too bulky that it is slowing down the website.

Finally, you might need to update a WordPress theme to ensure that all the features and functions on the theme are current. Some features are removed and others are added as the theme is updated. You might get some good benefits from these.

It is easy to update a WordPress theme. As soon as you access the WordPress dashboard there should be a notification for the update in the top bar. You click on this and then you are taken to the update screen. Select your theme and click on the ‘Update’ button.

Or you can go to the ‘Themes’ option within the dashboard and select the current theme. Then click on the button that says ‘Update Now’.

It is really as simple as that.