Update WordPress, plugins and themes with a recovery plan

Updates are part of website maintenance. The problem is treating “update everything” as the whole process. A defined intervention includes preparation, updating and checking the result.

Before: know what will change

List WordPress, theme, plugin and PHP versions. Read requirements and release notes, especially for payment, booking and page-builder components. Check necessary licences and who maintains any custom integrations.

Prepare a recoverable copy of both files and database. A button labelled “backup” does not establish that restoration works. Our backup guide helps define what to verify.

During: make changes traceable

For a business-critical website, use a test copy with protected data. Ensure it cannot email customers, charge payments or become indexed. Its PHP version and relevant components should represent the live environment.

Update in stages and record changes. If something fails, the record helps associate it with a particular update. The order can depend on version requirements: no universal sequence replaces each component’s instructions.

Afterwards: test the business functions

• Open service pages and navigation on a phone.
• Submit a form and confirm the email arrives.
• Test search, authentication and bookings where relevant.
• For a store, test cart, shipping, tax and payment in an appropriate test environment.
• Review new errors and check images and menus.

Illustrative example: a visual update looks correct, but the booking button no longer opens. Checking only the homepage misses the failure.

Agree what recurring maintenance covers

Define who monitors releases, how security fixes are prioritised, which tests are included and what happens when components are incompatible. Automatic updates can be part of the policy, but do not replace monitoring and recovery.

The official update documentation is the technical starting point. At Feitura you can request a one-off intervention and suggest the hours you expect. If you do not know, leave the estimate for assessment. Third-party licences are separate from our work.

Need help with this case?

Feitura support starts from €10 per hour of work. Suggest your hours or choose “I cannot estimate”. You can also propose a different budget; we agree the scope and price before starting. Request an assessment or explore website maintenance.