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Updates

It is important to keep WordPress, themes and plugins up to date. New versions can contain bug fixes, compatibility updates (for new versions of WordPress and browsers) and security hardening — in addition to improvements and new features. As with all software, it is considered a best practice to keep everything up to date.

Automatic Updates

WordPress will by default automatically update itself when a security or significant bug fix is released. These are called “minor” releases. They are for maintenance and rarely introduce new features or major changes. You will receive an email whenever this occurs. Note that this may be disabled for your website or by your web host and in that case you will need to do a one-click update, which is still quick and easy…

One-click Updates

Updates for themes, plugins and major versions of WordPress require a click on your part. Available updates appear in DashboardUpdates. You can use a plugin like Companion Auto Update to apply updates automatically or to email you when updates are ready to apply. This is handy when you don’t log into your WordPress site on a regular basis.

Update One Click

Content and Settings

WordPress, theme and plugin updates should not affect content or settings. Only the files that these things are made up of should change. Content and settings are stored in the database, which is separate. You can make a backup of your site to be extra safe.

If you are a developer and have modified theme or plugin files directly, you will lose those changes during an update. Use a child theme to protect theme modifications instead. For plugin modifications, extend the original plugin’s features with your own plugin. Similarly, you should store Translations in wp-content/languages/themes (or plugins), not in the actual theme or plugin, so they are preserved during updates.

Theme Updates

You can see what an update includes by viewing the theme’s changelog. Go to Specific Themes, click on your theme, then view the changelog. There will also be a link to view changes from your WordPress dashboard when a new theme update presents itself as available.

License Key

One-click theme updates are available when your license key is active. Please see License Keys for full details.

Troubleshooting

When updating, if you see “certificate subject name ‘*.sucuri.net’ does not match”, your web hosting provider is using outdated software and should update it.

Here are some things to check if a theme update is not showing as available in Dashboard > Updates when you know there has been a new version of the theme released.

  • Check that your License Key is active in Appearance > Theme License. If it’s not, click Activate. If it does not activate, read Inactive License Reasons.
  • If it is active but updates do not show, click Deactivate then Activate to reset things locally (if it doesn’t re-activate, read Inactive License Reasons).
  • Go to Dashboard > Updates and click the button to check for new updates. If the update does not show, go to AppearanceThemes to see if an update notice shows there. It can sometimes take several hours for new updates to appear.

Manual Updates

Simply reinstall the theme to replace the current version.

  1. Download the theme from Downloads in your Account.
  2. Log into your WordPress admin area.
  3. Go to Appearance > Themes.
  4. Go to Install Themes > Upload to replace the current version.

Plugin Updates

Directory Plugins

Plugins hosted in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory (such as our Church Content plugin) will automatically show a notice in your admin area when an update is available to be installed. No license key is necessary to enable one-click updates since these plugins are publicly available.

Plugins that you purchase from us (such as Church Content Pro) require a license key to enable one-click updates in your WordPress admin area. Please see License Keys for full details.

Troubleshooting

When updating, if you see “certificate subject name ‘*.sucuri.net’ does not match”, your web hosting provider is using outdated software and should update it.

Here are some things to check if a paid plugin’s update is not showing as available in Dashboard > Updates when you know there has been a new version of the plugin released.

  • Check that your License Key is active in Settings > Church Content > Licenses. If it’s not, click Activate. If it does not activate, read Inactive License Reasons.
  • If it is active but updates do not show, click Deactivate then Activate to reset things locally (if it doesn’t re-activate, read Inactive License Reasons).
  • Go to Dashboard > Updates and click the button to check for new updates. If the update does not show, go to Plugins to see if an update notice shows there. It can sometimes take several hours for new updates to appear.

Manual Updates

Simply reinstall the plugin to replace the current version.

  1. Log into your WordPress admin area and go to Plugins.
  2. Follow the steps in Plugin Installation to replace the current version.

Common Questions

More Information