4 Simple Steps for Upgrading Old WordPress Sites
At this year’s WordCamp UK conference which took place in the seaside city of Portsmouth, software developer Kieran O’Shea took us through some useful tips for upgrading from older versions of WordPress. Kieran’s presentation is embedded below.
We took these key points from the session;
1. Check for hosting compatibility
Newer versions of WordPress require support for newer versions of PHP and MySQL so you should check the minimum requirements before even downloading a new version of WordPress. If you are unsure whether you meet the requirements you can simply use the template e-mail to ask your hosting provider.
2. Check for plugin compatibility
If you’re running an old version of WordPress, chances are you also have some old plugins knocking around. Check out the WordPress Upgrade Preflight Check plugin to see whether your plugins will work with WP 3.2.
3. Modified default themes
New default themes, such as the addition of Twenty Eleven can cause problems because they rely on new features that your set up may not be compatible with. Before upgrading you should activate the Classic WordPress theme that was bundled with versions 1.2.x and prior.
4. Upgrade manually
It’s all to easy to simply hit the “upgrade automatically” button and watch WordPress perform it’s magic. However, on older versions that can prove problematic, especially with the requirements of more recent versions. Upgrading manually shouldn’t be daunting though and WordPress provide step-by-step instructions on the process.
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All done!
That should be it – you should have successfully upgraded your old WordPress installation to the latest version. Take care in re-activating your plugins and themes and seek the advice of their developers if you come across any issues.
Photo credit: Collin Anderson