TL;DR
- You can do it yourself. If you do, Webmaster For Hire recommends updating once a month, with a fresh backup first.
- Plan for more than the Update button. You’ll need a backup, a check of the site afterward, and a way to fix whatever breaks.
- If you manage it yourself, you own the risk. If your site gets hacked, the cleanup is on you, and your host may take the site offline until it’s fixed.
- Already on one of our plans? Leave the updates to us. We run them every month.
What Webmaster For Hire Recommends
- Comfortable with WordPress and have the time? Run your updates once a month and back up first, every time.
- Not technical, but want to do it yourself? Test your updates on a staging site (a private copy of your website) first, so nothing breaks on your real site. See What Is a Staging Site, and Do I Need One?
- No time, or no interest? Hand updates to someone who does this every month. That’s exactly what our support plans are for.
- Already a client? Don’t run updates yourself. We run them once a month. Updates that show up after our run wait until the next month.
- Thinking about moving hosts and handling updates and security yourself? You can. Just know that the security is on you, and if your site gets hacked, your host may take it offline until it’s cleaned up.
What Running Updates Actually Involves
This is what our team does every month, so you can see what you’d be taking on:
- Back up the site. Both the database (where your content and settings are stored) and the files.
- Check compatibility. Make sure your theme will work with the new versions.
- Run the updates. Major WordPress releases get done by hand.
- Check the site. Look for anything the update broke.
- Fix or restore. If something broke, fix it right away, or restore the backup and try again.
For how often to run all this, see How Often Should I Update WordPress and My Plugins?
What Happens When an Update Goes Wrong
Updates break sites sometimes, and nobody can predict which site will have the problem. Deprecated plugins (ones that are no longer supported by their developers) are a common cause.
- Check your visitors first. Is the site down for the public, or only acting up in the admin area (the back end where you log in)?
- Look for the critical error email. If your site shows “There has been a critical error on this website,” WordPress also emails your site’s admin address. That email has a recovery mode link (a special login that pauses the broken plugin so you can get in). Visitors still see the error until it’s fixed, and the link expires, so use it quickly (Common WordPress errors).
- Restore if you can’t fix it fast. We always work with a safety net. See How Should I Back Up My WordPress Website?
Questions to Ask Before You Hire Someone
Whether you hire a webmaster, an agency, or lean on your host, get straight answers to these:
- How often do you run updates? (We recommend once a month.)
- Do you back up before every update?
- How fast do you patch a serious security hole? (We patch within 24 hours of being notified.)
- What happens if an update breaks my site, and is fixing it included?
- Whose account holds my premium plugin licenses? (It should be yours. See Do Premium WordPress Plugins Need to Be Renewed Every Year?)
:: Common Questions ::
Can My Hosting Company Handle Updates?
Some hosts run updates automatically, sometimes including brand-new major WordPress versions. When a host tried to push a version that new onto a client’s site, our answer was simple: it’s too new. Automatic updates also don’t check your site afterward. Ask your host exactly what they update and who looks at your site when they’re done.
I See Updates Waiting in My Dashboard. Should I Click Update?
If you don’t have a webmaster, yes, on your monthly update day, after a backup. If you’re on one of our plans, leave them. We’ll run them during our monthly update.
Ready to Hand Off Your Updates?
Compare the plans on our WordPress Support Services page. Our plans include daily backups, monthly updates, security monitoring, and 24-hour repair and restore if you’re hacked. Or request a consultation to talk about what your site needs.
