If you’re using WordPress, sooner or later you’re going to log in to your site and see this horrifying message: “WordPress 2.X is available! Please update now.”
You might have a flashback to previous disasters with software upgrades (does the blue screen of death ring a bell?) and decide that your site is working just fine thank you very much, and you don’t need to upgrade.
That would be a mistake. I’m not saying you should upgrade the minute a new version of WordPress is released; I usually wait a few days to make sure all the obvious bugs are worked out before I upgrade my installations (one good way to do this is to read what others are saying or complaining about on the the WordPress forums).
But why, if your site is working properly, is it necessary to upgrade WordPress? What about security? Are you concerned about that?
Older versions of WordPress have known security issues. With each upgrade, the folks at WordPress address these problems. But the evil hackers of the world are hoping that you won’t upgrade WordPress, that you’ll keep using the same version you’ve been using for the last 18 months so they can access your blog and install malware.
Now tell me which is scarier:
- The thought of upgrading WordPress?
- The thought that someone can hack into your site?
Really, I sympathize because I always feel a little pang of fear before I upgrade any software. But WordPress makes it easy to upgrade with the automatic upgrade (just press the button and go!). Or you can upgrade manually, if you prefer; instructions can be found here.
However you choose to upgrade WordPress, don’t forget the most important rule of upgrading: make a backup copy of your database and your WordPress files before you upgrade. Don’t skip this step. That way, if anything goes wrong with your upgrade, you’ll be able to restore your site.
About Regina Fried