Manually Upgrading WordPress

For sites that aren’t running on Genesis/Evolution

Backup Your Database & Files

Always backup content before beginning the manual update in case a revert is needed.

Check Plugins

When updating WordPress before your plugin authors have tested their plugins with the latest version of WordPress then you could run into trouble. Its recommend that you deactivate all plugins before upgrading WordPress then activating them after the upgrade has concluded. Please be aware of what you are using the plugin for and if its is necessary to keep, or can be replaced by a new existing method we use today.

Manual WordPress Update

1st step:

1. http://wordpress.org/download/ - Download the latest version of WordPress
2. Delete existing old /wp-includes and /wp-admin directories on your server. (Using FTP, File Manager or Shell SSH)
3. Upload the new /wp-includes and /wp-admin folders (directories) to your server. (Using FTP, File Manager or Shell SSH)
4. Open the /wp-content folder and upload the individual files from the new folder to existing /wp-content folder (Using FTP, File Manager or Shell SSH), overwriting existing files.

• Do NOT delete your existing /wp-content folder.
• Do NOT delete any files or folders in your existing /wp-content directory (except for the one being overwritten by new files).

1. Delete xml-rpc.php and all wp-\*\*\* files in the root folder except wp-config.php. Upload all remaining new individual files from the root directory (folder) of the new version to your existing WordPress root directory.

2nd Step:

Update WordPress by logging in to your dashboard and follow the update instructions.

3rd Step:

Update existing WordPress Plugins to latest version that are compatible with the newest WordPress Version or if time allocates replace with new methods we use today.

Final Step(may need to):

1. Clear your cookies
2. Delete or refresh your cache if your using a caching plugin like WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache
3. Re-activate your plugins if you deactivated them before upgrading WordPress