How to update WordPress safely

Keep WordPress, themes and plugins up to date to keep your website fast and secure.

Updated September 27, 20261 min read

Updates fix security problems and bugs, so keeping WordPress current is one of the best ways to protect your website.

  1. Take a backup of your website first.
  2. Log in to your WordPress dashboard at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin. See how to log in to WordPress.
  3. Go to Dashboard › Updates.
  4. If a new version of WordPress is available, click the Update to version button.
  5. On the same page, tick the plugins and themes that have updates and click Update Plugins and Update Themes.
  6. Visit your website and check that everything looks and works as it should.

Minor WordPress security releases install automatically by default. You can turn on auto-updates for individual plugins and themes too. See managing plugins.

More in WordPress & Websites

Didn’t solve your problem?

Our team is here to help, any time, day or night.

Call (800) 245-6301Open a ticket