Cory Miller

Upgrading WordPress with a Plugin

I just upgraded (manually) this site to test out the new 2.5 version of WordPress. I’m totally in love with the new interface! (Here’s more detailed account of all the great new features in 2.5 here) It’s elegant and such an upgrade for usability.

Anyway, one of the new features with 2.5 is it includes links to the plugin repository in the Dashboard and I just found a great plugin called WordPress Automatic Upgrade.

It automates the upgrading process …. and I tried it out on a 2.3.3 version blog and it worked great. All I did was upload the plugin, activate it and start the process.

Upgrading can be scary the first time you do it (not with the plugin) … but if you’re really scared, go ahead and manually export and backup your blog before doing so (even though this plugin does it for you).

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11 responses to “Upgrading WordPress with a Plugin”

  1. Nathan Rice Avatar
    Nathan Rice

    I upgraded (manually) from my laptop during one of the Saturday sessions. you were sitting right beside me 🙂 But yes, it can be intimidating the first time though.

    But it’s so worth it this time. 2.5 is off the chain.

    Reply
  2. Cory Miller Avatar
    Cory Miller

    Nathan, yeah, totally crazy to be at a conference where they release the software and literally seconds later have it updated! That was cool.

    I recall vaguely the first time I did an upgrade and it was scary … that’s what I’m referring to. Even without the plugin, it’s super, super easy.

    Rock on, WP! And good to finally meet you in person, bro!

    Reply
  3. Micah Fries Avatar
    Micah Fries

    Cory-

    Thanks for the heads up. This really is an impressive plugin. For all the wordpress amateurs that I know, this is going to be a lifesaver.

    Reply
  4. Todd Morris Avatar
    Todd Morris

    Hi Cory,

    I used this plugin yesterday to upgrade one of my blogs … went very smooth. Makes me feel much more comfortable upgrading all my blogs. Thanks for sharing.

    Todd

    Reply
  5. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    Cory,

    Thanks so much for this post! I just found another plugin that does the same. Your thoughts?
    http://www.zirona.com/software/wordpress-instant-upgrade/

    From some initial research, some of these plugins can do some weird things like mess with permissions or write files to unwanted directories.

    I’ve never upgraded WP before, and am quite intimidated (currently in 2.0.2 on Yahoo! Hosting), are there any general or version-specific cautions I should know about before attempting this? I guess I’m just wondering, how safe is this?

    Reply
  6. Cory Miller Avatar
    Cory Miller

    Peter, not sure …. I go with one and if it works that’s what I suggest. It just saves time. Any reason you don’t want to go with the one above? I’ve had a number of people tell me they used it and it worked great.

    Reply
  7. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    Cory,

    I have no aversion to the one you recommend above, in fact I will likely use it, I was just wondering if it would be subject to some of the same problems listed (in the comments) here: http://weblogtoolscollection.com/pluginblog/2007/07/17/wordpress-automatic-upgrade-plugin/

    I guess I’m just being paranoid. Thanks!

    Reply
  8. Cory Miller Avatar
    Cory Miller

    Peter, understand the paranoia … especially the first time I upgraded (way, way back). I would always do a backup of your blog before doing any kind of upgrade.

    Reply
  9. Peter Avatar
    Peter

    Cory, besides copying all the WP files, and doing a database backup, is there anything else I need to backup? How do I restore the database if need be?

    Reply

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