How to Upgrade WordPress
Finally wrote down my notes on how to do a WordPress upgrade so I don’t have to ask Bart every single time: "what files should I make sure not to overwrite? "
" what do I have to make sure to back up?"
For the Official WordPress Instructions go to: codex.wordpress.org
Backup
Select backup plugin from wp-admin inside the dashboard
Run the backup
don’t click anything while running this backup!
Back up the whole wordpress directory
drag the entire wordpress directory over to your machine
Download new version of WP
Follow download links and expand WP on your computer
DON’T OVERWRITE THESE FILES!
Bart explained that these files and folders shouldn’t be updated or the themes, plugins and even some content will disappear:
.htaccess
wp-config
wp-content
delete EVERYTHING (that belongs to wordpress) apart from the three items mentioned before
NOTE: you may need to select "show hidden files" in order to see the .htaccess files, make sure you don’t write over that one!
Copy WordPress over to the server
On the left (my disk) I made sure that there was no .htaccess, wp-config.php or wp-content before dragging over. That’s a good way to do it – because if anything asks to overwrite I know I’ve made a mistake.
note: this snapshot was made while file transfer had already started, you can see some files have already moved.
Upgrade your installation
Visit your main WordPress admin page at /wp-admin. You may be asked to login again. If a database upgrade is necessary at this point, WordPress will detect it and give you a link to a URL like http://example.com/wordpress/wp-admin/upgrade.php. Follow that link and follow the instructions. This will update your database to be compatible with the latest code. If you fail to do this step, your blog might look funny.
Upgrade complete!
WordPress is now successfully updated. Check the site to be sure.
Plugins might want to be updated too
After my upgrade to 2.6, I found that my Plugins icon in the dashboard had a numbered (6) bubble which implied I needed to do something. Clicking on it revealed that 6 plugins had updates. I went through each one and clicked upgrade automatically.
Proof that plugins are updating
Each plugin for which I clicked upgrade automatically gave me this window, writing each line one at a time. Took just seconds to complete each one. One of mine (del.icio.us) didn’t upgrade successfully, but I didn’t really use it anyway so iIdeactivated.
[…] Mifi hack to keep it on Wifi even when plugged in from evdoinfo.com, Planets for iPhone by Evan from Q Continuum. In Dumb Question Corner we talk about how to get photos off your iPhone. Camtasia comes to the Mac from techsmith.com. In Chit Chat Across the Pond we talk about how you need to update Flash at http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/ if you upgrade to Snow Leopard. Then we walk through the steps Bart recommends for upgrading WordPress, and you SHOULD upgrade WordPress! See my tutorial at WordPress Upgrade Tutorial. […]