Genesis - How to update your website

It's so important to keep your themes, plugins, and WordPress software updated to their latest versions. The top two ways sites are hacked are insecure passwords and outdated, vulnerable software. It's good practice to check your site weekly to see if any updates are available.

Remember that you should always back up your site before performing any updates.  Click here for instructions on backing up your site for free.

Updating the Genesis Framework

Genesis releases updates periodically, 2 to 3 times per year. Updates usually include security enhancements and improvements to the framework.

To update the Genesis Framework, you should see a link at the top of your WordPress dashboard where you can update to the latest version. If you don't see a link to update, go to Genesis > Theme Settings in your dashboard. Under Updates, turn on "Check for Updates." After saving, the update link will appear.

If your site has updates available for both Genesis and WordPress, always update Genesis FIRST.

Updating the Genesis Framework will not overwrite any visible areas of your site, or overwrite changes you've made to your theme. 17th Avenue themes are child themes of Genesis, which allows you to update Genesis without losing changes!

Updating WordPress

WordPress releases updates several times per year. Updates usually include security patches, bug fixes, and improvements. Some WordPress updates are performed automatically on your site, but larger releases are not.

Generally, we recommend that you update WordPress as soon as an update becomes available. However for a large update (meaning a new starting version number, like going from 5.9 to 6.0) — it's a good idea to wait a few weeks before updating. Large updates are often buggy, and bug fixes are usually released within a week or two.

To update WordPress, hover over the Dashboard link at the top left your dashboard and click on Updates. If there is an update available, there will be a link where you can update WordPress.

Updating Plugins

Plugins are the trickiest to update since they are the most likely to cause problems on your site. Make sure that you have a backup of your site in case there are any issues.

Before you update a plugin, click the "View Version Details" link to see what changes were made to the plugin. Unless it specifically says it is a security update, we advise waiting until the update is at least a week old before going ahead and updating. This gives the plugin author time to fix any errors or bugs that arose with the update.

To update your plugins, hover over the Dashboard link at the top left your dashboard and click on Updates. Scroll down and you will see a list of plugin updates that are available. You can bulk select all of the plugins and update them all at once.