Updating WordPress Plugins 101: How to Do It the Right Way
Written By: TaKenya
Published: December 21, 2023
Modified: October 28, 2026
The links in this post may be affiliate links. That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission. It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.
Updating WordPress plugins is one of those tasks that feels simple until it is not. You click update, and suddenly your contact form stops working or your homepage looks broken.
That single bad experience is enough to make a lot of business owners swear off WordPress altogether, or on a lighter scale, avoid updates altogether. Skipping updates creates an even bigger problem, because it leaves your site open to security threats, slower performance, and compatibility issues.
WordPress does not have to be complicated, and letting it sit unmaintained is not really an option once it is running your business website. The good news is that updating plugins well is a learnable skill, not a guessing game.
What WordPress Plugins Are and Why They Need Regular Updates
Plugins are the tools that extend what your WordPress website can do. Think of them as small software programs you install directly onto your site to add features without writing code.
A plugin might let you build a contact form, share posts to social media, speed up your site, or lock down your security settings.
There are thousands of plugins available, which means you have options for nearly any feature you can imagine. That flexibility is also why it matters which plugins you choose.
A plugin that has not been updated in over a year, or one with a poor reputation, can slow your site down, create security gaps, or conflict with your other plugins.
Once you have chosen reputable plugins, keeping them updated becomes part of normal site maintenance. You can install and activate a new plugin in just a few clicks, but updating it correctly over time is what actually protects your site.
Security
Plugin developers release updates to patch vulnerabilities as soon as they are discovered.
An outdated plugin is one of the easiest ways for a hacker to gain access to your site, steal data, or inject malicious code. Updating regularly closes those doors before they become a problem.
Performance and New Features
Updates also fix bugs and improve how a plugin runs.
Skipping them means missing out on speed improvements, fixes for known glitches, and any new features the developer adds along the way.
Compatibility With WordPress Core
WordPress itself updates regularly, and plugin developers have to keep pace so their tools continue to work with the latest version.
An outdated plugin can eventually stop working correctly, or break other parts of your site, simply because it has not caught up with a WordPress core update.
Understanding Major and Minor Plugin Updates
Not all plugin updates carry the same weight, and knowing the difference helps you decide how quickly to act.
Major updates usually bring significant changes such as new features, a redesigned interface, or a different way the plugin works behind the scenes. Because they introduce bigger changes, they carry more risk of bugs or conflicts that have not been caught yet.
Minor updates are smaller in scope. They typically fix bugs, improve performance, or patch a security issue, and they are usually safer to install.
The version number can give you a clue. A jump from 2.4 to 3.0 usually signals a major release, while 2.4.1 to 2.4.2 is usually minor, but not every developer follows that pattern, so the release notes are always the better source.
WordPress core works the same way. If you want that breakdown for WordPress itself, The Essential Guide to Updating WordPress covers how major and minor core updates work.
How to Tell When a Plugin Needs an Update
Checking for updates only takes a minute. When a plugin has an update available, a number in a small circle shows up next to the Plugins item in your dashboard menu, and that same number appears at the top of the screen next to Updates.
The Updates page gives you a full list of every plugin that needs an update.
Before installing anything, click to view the details or changelog for that update. This tells you what changed, whether a security issue was patched, and whether the update is worth installing right away or can wait.
If a premium plugin you paid for never seems to show an update, check that its license key is active. Most premium plugins only deliver updates, including security fixes, while the license is current.
How to Update WordPress Plugins the Right Way
Once you know an update is available and you have reviewed what it changes, follow these steps to update safely.
- Back up your website first. Before touching anything, create a full backup and make sure it is stored somewhere other than your website. If something goes wrong, this is what lets you restore your site in minutes instead of starting from scratch.
- Use a staging site for bigger updates when you can. A staging site is a private copy of your website where you can test updates without touching the live site. Many hosts include one, and it is worth using for major updates to plugins that run important parts of your site.
- Update one plugin at a time. Updating everything at once makes it hard to tell which plugin caused a problem if something breaks. Update, check your site, then move to the next one.
- Check your site after each update. Load a few key pages, test your forms, and click through any features tied to that plugin to confirm everything still works.
- Decide the order for your theme and WordPress core. For routine updates, I update plugins first, then the theme (here is how to update a Kadence theme specifically), then WordPress core. That order flips when a plugin update needs a newer version of WordPress, which WordPress will flag as incompatible, so update core first and then come back to that plugin.
- Clean up as you go. While you are in your plugins list, delete anything you are no longer using. Fewer plugins means a faster site and a smaller security footprint, and if you are not sure what you actually need, our WordPress Plugin Audit sorts the must-haves from the rest.
Before a major WordPress release, take a minute to check that your most important plugins list support for the new version. The Essential Guide to Updating WordPress walks through the core update itself.
Why You Should Wait a Few Days Before Updating (Usually)
Most plugin updates do not need to be installed the moment they are released. Waiting a few days, especially after a major update, is one of the simplest ways to avoid a bad update experience.
When you wait, a few things work in your favor. Other website owners install the update first and report any bugs or conflicts, so major issues usually surface quickly.
Developers also tend to follow a major update with a minor patch that fixes anything that slipped through. Waiting for that first patch gives you a more stable version to install, and the extra time gives you room to schedule a fresh backup.
The Schedule I Follow
On the sites I manage, I wait two weeks after a major release, or until the first minor patch has been out for three days, whichever comes first. For minor updates, I wait at least three days.
That schedule works for me, but it is not the only right answer. What matters is that you have a strategy that makes sense for your site and how you run it, instead of clicking update every time a notification pops up.
None of this applies if a plugin developer flags an active security exploit. In that case, skip the waiting period entirely and update right away.
Prioritizing Security Updates
Security updates are the one exception to the waiting rule.
If a plugin’s release notes mention a patched vulnerability, especially one that is already being exploited, update immediately rather than waiting it out.
For everyday security patches that are not tied to an active threat, you can still follow the same safe process: back up your site, update one plugin at a time, and test your site afterward. The only difference is that security updates jump to the front of the line ahead of feature updates.
Open security holes are one of the biggest risks of letting updates pile up. Here is what happens when WordPress website maintenance gets skipped.
How to Troubleshoot Plugin Conflicts After an Update
If your site looks or acts differently right after an update, do not panic. Plugin conflicts are common, and they are almost always fixable.
One thing already works in your favor. If a plugin update fails partway through installing, WordPress automatically puts the previous version back, but a conflict is different because the update installed just fine and still caused a problem.
Start by deactivating all your plugins, then reactivate them one at a time, starting with your most essential plugins for your site.
Check your site after each one, clearing your cache if needed. When the problem reappears, you have found the plugin causing the conflict.
If deactivating that plugin does not resolve things, try switching to a default WordPress theme temporarily. Some conflicts happen between a plugin and your theme rather than between two plugins.
If you are still stuck, roll the plugin back to its previous version using a tool like WP Rollback and wait for the developer to release a fix. The free version works with plugins from the WordPress.org directory, while premium plugins need WP Rollback Pro or a previous version from the developer.
And if all else fails, this is exactly what that backup from step one is for.
Plugin Update Best Practices Checklist
Use this as your quick reference before every update session.
- Back up your site before every update, and store the backup off your website
- Test major updates on a staging site when you can
- Update one plugin at a time
- Test your site after each update
- Prioritize security patches over feature updates
- Follow a waiting schedule for everything else
- Review release notes before installing
- Delete plugins you no longer use
- Keep your theme and WordPress core updated too
Want more on choosing the right plugins in the first place? Check out the best practices for using plugins to make sure your plugin list is working for you, not against you.
Following this process consistently is what keeps your website secure, fast, and free of unnecessary plugin drama.
If keeping up with plugin updates (and everything else that goes into website maintenance) is not how you want to spend your time, we can take it off your plate. If you are happy with your host, our WordPress Care Plan handles your updates, backups, and security.
If you would rather have hosting and maintenance in one place, Studio117 Managed Hosting covers both, and we will migrate your site for free.
