Chris Koerner gives a presentation on how he learned to stop worrying and love updating WordPress. At first, he was nervous about giving the presentation because recent articles suggested updating was no longer a problem. However, after reading comments pointing out ongoing issues, he decided to move forward with it. The presentation covers why updating is important for reasons like getting paid for maintenance, avoiding future problems, and being part of the security solution. It also provides tips on how to update like using development environments, child themes, backups, testing updates, and getting clients onboard. Koerner emphasizes the importance of ongoing updates for the health of the WordPress ecosystem.

1. How I Learned to Stop Worrying
and Love the Update Button
Chris Koerner
@ckoerner
I’m Chris Koerner one of the organizers of WordCamp and co-organizer of the St. Louis
WordPress Community
I use WordPress to help local non-profits and small business build a strong web presence.

2. How I Learned to Stop Worrying
and Love the Update Button
Chris Koerner
@ckoerner
I’m Chris Koerner one of the organizers of WordCamp and co-organizer of the St. Louis
WordPress Community
I use WordPress to help local non-profits and small business build a strong web presence.

3. wptavern.com
Before we begin I should tell you how nervous I was putting this together.
At the beginning of this moth WP Tavern put up a great article talking about how the adoption
of more recent version of WordPress has improved.

4. Welp, there goes my WordCamp
presentation! ;) wptavern.com/wordpress-
vers…
Chris Koerner
8:23 PM - 2 Mar 2015
@ckoerner
I was like, well, there goes my presentation. No need to worry, everyone is updating
WordPress like it’s cool.
I was about to just give up.

5. I was like, well, there goes my presentation. No need to worry, everyone is updating
WordPress like it’s cool.
I was about to just give up.

6. wptavern.com
Then they posted another article, the same day about auto updates in WordPress

7. So then I was like, Ok. well. There was a lot of contention in that comment thread.

8. Ok, nevermind. The WordCamp talk is back
on.
Chris Koerner
wptavern.com/its-time-for-w...
8:23 PM - 2 Mar 2015
@ckoerner
So then I was like, Ok. well. There was a lot of contention in that comment thread.

9. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
So, in the span of a day I went from (click)
to this (click)

10. ┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)
So, in the span of a day I went from (click)
to this (click)

11. Introduction
Introduction
I was inspired when Matt called it out in his keynote this past October

12. “Version fragmentation is a big challenge
for WordPress, only a quarter of users are
currently on the latest release.”
He shared stats on the percentage of installs
BAM - 3 slides in and I already name dropped Mullenweg. Yeah. I am so embarrassed.

13. “Version fragmentation is a big challenge
for WordPress, only a quarter of users are
currently on the latest release.”
Matt Mullenweg, CEO Automattic
He shared stats on the percentage of installs
BAM - 3 slides in and I already name dropped Mullenweg. Yeah. I am so embarrassed.

14. “Version fragmentation is a big challenge
for WordPress, only a quarter of users are
currently on the latest release.”
Matt Mullenweg, CEO Automattic
He shared stats on the percentage of installs
BAM - 3 slides in and I already name dropped Mullenweg. Yeah. I am so embarrassed.

15. “Version fragmentation is a big challenge
for WordPress, only a quarter of users are
currently on the latest release.”
Matt Mullenweg, CEO Automattic
He shared stats on the percentage of installs
BAM - 3 slides in and I already name dropped Mullenweg. Yeah. I am so embarrassed.

16. https://wordpress.org/about/stats/
Recent updates to how stats show that the break down is a little better, but not great.

17. 2012
That’s a marked improvement from just a few years ago
That pink at 50% is very 3.0 - the 3 releases behind the most available
http://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/plugin-backwards-compatibility/

18. Why?
Ok, I’ll cut to the chase. Why should you update your (and your clients) WordPress sites?

19. Get Paid
This is something you can charge clients for. It’s called maintenance! Build in a retainer. Make
it a monthly or yearly thing.
I’ll keep your site updated to help protect it from vulnerabilities and to keep it up-to-date with
the latest version of the software. Here’s what goes into doing all that. It’s X extra and I highly
encourage it.
Ff they say no and come to you 6 months later asking for a change or update - add in the cost
to update the site before you work on it!

20. iThemes wrote about how to do this a year ago.
https://ithemes.com/2014/02/06/selling-wordpress-maintenance/
Who Needs WordPress Maintenance?
Who doesn’t need it?

21. Avoid Future Headaches
With a show of hands, how many times have you revisited code for a client? Revisited a site
you built, that was functioning fine, but now you want/need to do something to it. Guess
what? Keeping on top of updates and slowing updating will cause less headaches.
adding a new plugin to an old install of WP?
updating a plugin?
updating WP?
AGH, if I had only keep on top of updates!?
sour milk?

22. Upgrading Across Multiple Versions
If you plan on upgrading across more than two major releases,
please consider upgrading incrementally to avoid potential conflicts
and minimize the risks of database damage. For example, if you
plan on upgrading from 2.5 to 4.1.1, upgrade to 2.7 first, followed by
2.9, then 3.1, and so on. Essentially, it's okay to skip one release,
but never skip TWO when upgrading.
Don’t get left behind!
It is going to be much easier to update small releases incrementally than trying to jump
through these hoops.
Keep up
http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrading_WordPress_-
_Extended_Instructions#Upgrading_Across_Multiple_Versions

23. Peace of Mind
Sleep better when you hear there’s a new update out for WordPress
is my site secure?
update more, troubleshoot less
happier clients, no scrambling to fix things.
One bad practice I see a lot of people make - make clients admins - however I know people
do it. Guess what. The can see those ‘update’ buttons all over the admin UI.
Guess what people love to do? Push buttons!
Who get’s blamed!? Who’s going to get the phone calls?

24. Be a Good Citizen
Be part of the solution. We should spend as much time talking about supporting and
maintenance of the sites we create as we do about ‘security’ and ‘seo’ and the best SASS
mix-ins.
You ever hear those reports that some new vulnerably has been discovered? I hate those.
They make WordPress look ‘scary’.
https://wordpress.org/news/category/security/

25. Updating PHP is
everyone’s responsibility
Side note, if your host is using ancient version of PHP (say 5.2) bug them about updating that
to a newer version.
Coen Jacobs a developer who worked on WooCommerce
http://coenjacobs.me/updating-php-everyones-responsibility/
http://www.wpupdatephp.com

26. Updating PHP is
everyone’s responsibility
Side note, if your host is using ancient version of PHP (say 5.2) bug them about updating that
to a newer version.
Coen Jacobs a developer who worked on WooCommerce
http://coenjacobs.me/updating-php-everyones-responsibility/
http://www.wpupdatephp.com

27. Go ahead. Take a look at that. Look at the date since your launched that site. How many
security-specific WordPress core-only updates have there been? How many security fixes are
in each? Some have 7 or more bundled fixes!
Think about your plugins, your themes!

28. How?
How do you keep WordPress up to date without going insane?

29. No More Cowboys
Dev environment
this ain’t the wild west
MAMP, https://bitnami.com
Get a development environment - local or remote
tools to migrate - https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/

30. Children are the Future
For FSMS, use a child theme! This is anecdotal, but I can’t count the number of times people
have told me they’ve been turned off from updating because they’re afraid to loose any
customizations.
This applies to themes

31. Back That Site Up
Make a solid backup.
both the database (your content and configuration) but your files as well!
test it.
lots of tools here - Backup Buddy is one - InfiniteWP

32. WordPress. Then Plugins
update wordpress first, then plugins
Check the codex article on updating WordPress

33. RTFM
Read the update notes - especially breaking changes!
changes to database schema - WooCommerce 2.0 kertuffle
I mentioned Coen Jacobs earlier, he also talked about 2.0 on his blog.
ACF - with the update to 5.0 Pro it really freaked out a lot of people. Why? Cause they didn’t
RTFM!
themes - especially if you're not using a child theme - but you wouldn’t do that would you!?
header.php might change - class or ids might have new names (your custom header.php or
style.css might need a tweak

34. WooCommerce 2.0 was a major update, a lot
changed. We changed some vital elements in
the template files, so that everybody using
custom templates in their theme had to
update these templates as well. While we
thought to be well prepared, there were many
users complaining about this. They either
didn’t realise they had to update their
templates, or simply didn’t know what to do.
What mattered to them is that they ended up
with a broken website after the update.
Coen Jacobs
To WooCommerce’s defense, this was a huge update to their plugin, a plugin that is much
more complicated on it’s own - a plugin with plugins.
His advice is incredibly helpful. If you’re a WP user, read the release notes, follow the blog and
updates of the developers who make core plugins you rely on.
Developers, you can never over-communicate a big backwards-compatibly breaking change!

35. Test
How do you test?
Great solution at wptest.io for test content and structure - all the fixings are there from
individual posts to archive pages and everything in between.
phpunit - https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/automated-testing/
selenium - firefox extension. You can record and playback interactions with your site
checklist - heck, go low tech. Create a list of all the features you have on your site. Update
your dev environment and run through them. What breaks?
Debug

36. Test
How do you test?
Great solution at wptest.io for test content and structure - all the fixings are there from
individual posts to archive pages and everything in between.
phpunit - https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/automated-testing/
selenium - firefox extension. You can record and playback interactions with your site
checklist - heck, go low tech. Create a list of all the features you have on your site. Update
your dev environment and run through them. What breaks?
Debug

37. Test
How do you test?
Great solution at wptest.io for test content and structure - all the fixings are there from
individual posts to archive pages and everything in between.
phpunit - https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/automated-testing/
selenium - firefox extension. You can record and playback interactions with your site
checklist - heck, go low tech. Create a list of all the features you have on your site. Update
your dev environment and run through them. What breaks?
Debug

38. Test
How do you test?
Great solution at wptest.io for test content and structure - all the fixings are there from
individual posts to archive pages and everything in between.
phpunit - https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/automated-testing/
selenium - firefox extension. You can record and playback interactions with your site
checklist - heck, go low tech. Create a list of all the features you have on your site. Update
your dev environment and run through them. What breaks?
Debug

39. Test
How do you test?
Great solution at wptest.io for test content and structure - all the fixings are there from
individual posts to archive pages and everything in between.
phpunit - https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/automated-testing/
selenium - firefox extension. You can record and playback interactions with your site
checklist - heck, go low tech. Create a list of all the features you have on your site. Update
your dev environment and run through them. What breaks?
Debug

40. Sell It
Most importantly set things up at the get go with new clients.
Make keeping your WordPress sites part of just what you do.
Contact old clients and let them know of your new service.
Tell them you heard at a conference from this handsome and charming guy that you should
keep your site up to date.
Email them when you update the site successfully.
Brag about new features that you didn’t make - updates to visual editor - drag and drop
images, etc.
Remind them that you’re still there, that you’re going the extra mile
(which, really isn’t an actual mile)

41. Developers!
Developers, you can help! Encourage folks to update. Test your stuff on more than just the
latest WP release
Test your stuff - http://wptest.io
http://www.slideshare.net/ptahdunbar/automated-testing-in-wordpress-really

42. Give Feedback
Help wordpress plugin and theme authors
Using their plugins? - hit wp.org and let them know it works - it helps other folks looking
for plugs and wanting to know compatibility

43. When?
Now! Right now. I hope this has given you a few ideas on how to approach updates
Don’t get left behind. Only easier to start today.
April 22nd is the scheduled release for 4.2
http://wptavern.com/its-time-for-wordpress-to-automatically-update-themes-plugins-and-
core-by-default
apps auto update, Laptops, OSes, Browsers, why not your plugins and themes?

44. It’s Time For WordPress to
Automatically Update Themes,
Plugins, and Core by Default
We’re not read for auto updates just yet. This is that article I mentioned earlier from WP
Tavern. I’ve been reading WP Tavern for years, and I’ve never seen so many comment so
quickly. Over 100 the last time I looked.
That’s the eventual future. As Gary Pendergast mentioned in the comments,
“Will it happen? Of course. There are plenty of plugins and services that encourage it, Jetpack
Manage is the just the latest in a long line. But when we’re talking about auto-updating nearly
a quarter of the internet, we have to take it in baby steps. We need to be confident enough in
the update process, in core’s backwards compatibility, and in the failure handling that we’re
not going to break millions of sites.”

45. Where?
Find out more, check out these resources..
wordpress stats - plugins
adoption rates
Codex!
Meetups!
Start your own

46. • http://codex.wordpress.org/Configuring_Automatic_Background_Updates
• http://www.mayecreate.com/2013/04/why-you-should-update-wordpress/
• http://codex.wordpress.org/Updating_WordPress
• http://optimwise.com/why-update-wordpress-and-plugins/
• https://yoast.com/upgrade-wordpress/
• http://websynthesis.com/updating-wordpress/
• https://ithemes.com/2009/06/15/wp-qa-when-should-i-update-wordpress/
• http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/ultimate-guide-to-upgrade-
wordpress-for-beginners-infograph/
• http://wptavern.com/wpupdatephp-project-aims-to-help-wordpress-users-
get-on-newer-versions-of-php
• http://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/think-twice-before-you-upgrade-that-
wordpress-plugin/
• http://torquemag.io/lessons-can-learn-jetpack-helped-wordpress-succeed/
http://codex.wordpress.org/Configuring_Automatic_Background_Updates
http://www.mayecreate.com/2013/04/why-you-should-update-wordpress/
http://codex.wordpress.org/Updating_WordPress
http://optimwise.com/why-update-wordpress-and-plugins/
https://yoast.com/upgrade-wordpress/
http://websynthesis.com/updating-wordpress/
https://ithemes.com/2009/06/15/wp-qa-when-should-i-update-wordpress/
http://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/ultimate-guide-to-upgrade-wordpress-for-
beginners-infograph/
http://wptavern.com/wpupdatephp-project-aims-to-help-wordpress-users-get-on-newer-
versions-of-php

47. Why?
Get Paid
Avoid Headaches
Peace of Mind
Be a Good Citizen
Recap the Why

48. How?
Use a Development Environment
Child Themes
Backups
WordPress. Then Plugins
RTFM
Test
Sell
Developers
Give Feedback
Recap the How

49. Thank You
Chris Koerner
@ckoerner
Thank you all for your time. Look for a copy of my presentation on the WordCamp site
If we have time I’d love to chat for a few minutes or you can find me at the Speaker follow-up
tomorrow afternoon.