How to Update WordPress without Losing All Your Data
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) used for websites today. A lot of people have chosen to use WordPress for their blog or website because of its simplicity and flexibility which provides a great user experience.
However, if you are using WordPress without taking the necessary precautions, you’re likely to lose all your data when you update the software. In this article, we will discuss how to update WordPress without losing any data, so you can rest assured that your precious content will not be lost despite any changes made to the software. Let’s get started.
Create A Backup
The first and foremost thing you should do before updating WordPress is to create a backup. This is especially important if you are updating the software on a live website. Even if you take all the necessary precautions and ensure that nothing is lost, it’s still a good idea to create a backup just to be on the safe side. It is also advisable to create a backup of your database even if you have installed a third-party plugin that uses it – this way, you can ensure that your data is not lost even if the plugin is updated by the developer and the plugin breaks down. It is also essential to create a backup of your website’s files, especially if you are using a plugin that makes extensive changes to the files automatically (this is usually the case with caching plugins).
Back Up Your Website’s Data
Once you have created your backup, it’s time to update your WordPress. If you are updating WordPress on a live website, be sure to move all the posts, pages, and media items to your backup copy before proceeding with the update. If for any reason, you decide not to update your WordPress on the live website, you can always go back and restore your previous version of the site easily. This way you will not lose any content.
Rerun The Updating Script
Once you have updated your WordPress and restored your previous version, it’s time to rerun the updating script. This step is important because it will help ensure that all the changes applied by the update are successfully applied to your WordPress installation. If you decide to skip this step or run it manually, it’s still possible to update WordPress without losing any data – but it’s not advisable to do this. A good practice would be to rerun the updating script after every major update to WordPress to ensure that all the changes applied by the update are successfully implemented.
Disable All Plugins
After you have updated your WordPress installation and rerun the updating script, it’s time to disable all the plugins. It is a good idea to disable all the plugins before you delete them – this will help ensure that you do not accidentally delete something vital. Once you have disabled all the plugins, delete them from your WordPress. You can go back at any time and enable the plugins you need for functionality on your site. You can also create new plugins to enhance your blog’s functionality as you see fit.
Delete Your WordPress Blog
Now that you have updated your WordPress installation and rerun the updating script, it’s time to delete your blog. When you delete your WordPress blog, you cannot recover its content easily. However, you can always start a new blog from scratch using the same domain and template as your old blog. The only difference is that your new blog will not have any content until you add it manually – so make sure you have a backup of your database before you delete your old blog. This way, you will not lose any content even if you delete your blog accidentally and cannot recover it.
Check For Errors
As a last step, it is important to check for errors. When you update WordPress, there is a chance that something will go wrong – even if you take all the necessary precautions and follow the instructions exactly. Checking for errors is vital to ensure that you do not end up with corrupted data or a non-functioning WordPress installation. To do this, login to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the “Plugins” menu – from here, you can access the “Installed Plugins” section. As you can see in the screenshot below, there are multiple entries in this list – delete all the plugins except the WordPress ones.
From here, you can click on the “Debug Log” tab to view the errors shown in a table. When you check for errors, it is important to note that there are two kinds: “Warning errors” and “Critical errors”. A lot of these errors are not harmful and can be safely ignored – but it is still good practice to address the critical errors as soon as possible. Critical errors usually indicate that something is wrong with your WordPress installation or your backup copy. In the screenshot below, you can see that there are two critical errors shown – the first one is related to a missing table in your database, while the second one is related to an incorrect file permission set globally for all the upload directories.
In this case, you must correct the errors as soon as possible to avoid any data loss. If you are unsure of how to fix these errors, contact a professional. This checklist will assist you in updating WordPress safely and easily without losing any data – continue through to the final step.