How to Update WordPress Plugins: 5 Quick Methods

Why Plugin Updates in WordPress Can Make or Break Your Site

Plugin updates in WordPress are one of the most important — and most overlooked — parts of running a healthy website. Here is a quick overview of the five ways to update your plugins:

1. Dashboard updates – Go to Dashboard > Updates and click “Update Plugins” (fastest for most users)
2. Automatic updates – Enable per-plugin auto-updates or use Easy Updates Manager
3. FTP / File Manager – Download the new version, delete the old folder, upload the new one
4. WP-CLI – Run wp plugin update --all from the command line
5. Custom / self-hosted plugins – Use Plugin Update Checker with a JSON metadata file or GitHub integration

The numbers are hard to ignore. According to security research, 86% of hacked WordPress sites were running outdated core software, plugins, or themes. Yet many site owners delay updates — often because they worry about breaking customizations or disrupting a site that’s currently working.

That tension is real. A plugin update can patch a critical security hole one minute and crash your checkout page the next. Knowing how and when to update — and in what order — is what separates a well-maintained site from a liability.

As we move through mid-2026, the stakes are rising. WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong” just launched, WooCommerce released two updates in quick succession, and WordPress.org introduced a new 24-hour cooldown on auto-updates to guard against supply chain attacks. There has never been a better time to get your update process right.

I’m Kevin Gallagher, founder of wpONcall, and I’ve spent over a decade managing plugin updates for WordPress sites across hundreds of client websites. In the sections below, I’ll walk you through every method — from one-click dashboard updates to custom self-hosted plugins — so you can update with confidence.

Plugin updates wordpress vocab to learn:

• how to manually update a wordpress plugin
• how to revert plugin update in wordpress
• how to stop auto update plugins in wordpress

The Critical Importance of Plugin Updates WordPress Security

Living dangerously is for Vegas, not for your WordPress website maintenance. When you run an open-source content management system like WordPress, you gain incredible flexibility, but you also inherit a public blueprint. Because the code is open source, security researchers and malicious actors alike can study the source code of core files, themes, and plugins to find vulnerabilities.

When a plugin developer discovers a security hole, they write a patch and release an update. If you do not install that update, you leave a wide-open door for hackers. 86% of hacked WordPress sites are compromised due to an outdated WordPress install, plugin, or theme.

Vulnerabilities are not just theoretical problems. Consider the security fix released for Yoast SEO Premium 27.6.1: additional security measures for redirect handling. In that specific case, an authenticated user with edit posts capabilities could potentially inject unexpected configurations into a site’s .htaccess file. Under specific conditions, this could crash the site or even lead to remote code execution. Because Yoast addressed this quickly, users who applied the update immediately protected their sites, while those who delayed remained vulnerable to internal exploits.

Similarly, major platform shifts require immediate updates to maintain compatibility. The release of WordPress 7.0 Is Here: Everything You Need to Know introduced a brand-new shared AI integration layer, major changes to the Site Editor, and updated admin styling. Over 50% of all WordPress sites upgraded to version 7.0 within just two weeks of its release. This massive adoption meant that any plugin not quickly updated to support version 7.0 risked throwing PHP errors, breaking admin layouts, or failing silently.

When you manage your WP Plugin Update schedule, you are not just chasing new features; you are actively defending your digital storefront. Neglecting your Plugin Updates WordPress routine directly invites database injections, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, and complete site takeovers.

Essential Pre-Update Checklist: Backups and Staging

Before you click a single “Update Now” button, you need a safety net. Updating plugins on a live, high-traffic site without a backup is like skydiving without checking your pack.

To keep your site safe, follow this three-step pre-update checklist:

1. Generate a Complete, Offsite Backup

A proper backup must contain both your WordPress database and your entire file system (including the wp-content folder where your uploads, themes, and plugins live). Do not store these backups on your hosting server. If your server goes down or gets hacked, your backups go with it. Use an isolated, offsite storage location such as Amazon S3, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

2. Set Up a Staging Environment

A staging site is a complete clone of your live website running on a private, hidden URL. It allows you to test updates safely. If a plugin update conflicts with your theme or another plugin, the staging site will break, but your live customers will never notice. Once you verify that everything functions perfectly on staging, you can confidently apply the updates to your live site.

3. Follow the Correct Update Sequence

When you have a long list of pending updates, do not just update everything at once. There is a logical sequence that minimizes compatibility issues:

• Group 1: Safe, Common Plugins first. Start with widely used, utility-focused plugins (like Yoast SEO, security scanners, or duplicate post utilities). These are highly tested and rarely break core layouts.
• Group 2: Complex Plugins and E-commerce extensions. If you run a store, update WooCommerce and its direct payment or shipping extensions next. For instance, the WooCommerce 10.8 Release: What’s Included – WooCommerce required careful coordination because it included four automatic database updates upon installation. Always ensure your license keys are active before performing these updates.
• Group 3: Themes. Update your active theme after your plugins are updated. This is critical because many themes contain custom WooCommerce templates. If you update the theme first, those templates might conflict with older plugin versions.
• Group 4: WordPress Core last. Once your plugins and themes are completely up to date and confirmed stable, run your WordPress core update. Plugins and themes are built to be backwards-compatible with older core versions, making this the safest way to finalize your WordPress Update Management workflow.

5 Quick Methods to Execute a WP Plugin Update

Different situations call for different tools. A simple blog might only need dashboard updates, while a complex enterprise site or a custom application requires developer-level tools.

Method	Best For	Technical Level	Risk Level
1. One-Click Dashboard	Standard free plugins on simple sites	Beginner	Low (if backed up)
2. Automatic Configuration	Set-and-forget maintenance for trusted plugins	Beginner	Medium (can break site overnight)
3. FTP / File Manager	Premium plugins, custom builds, or broken dashboards	Intermediate	Low
4. WP-CLI	Developers, agency bulk updates, command-line fans	Advanced	Low
5. Custom Update Checker	Self-hosted or private plugins hosted on GitHub/GitLab	Advanced	Low

Method 1: One-Click Dashboard Updates

The absolute simplest way to handle updates is directly through your WordPress admin area.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Look at the left-hand menu. If updates are available, you will see a red notification circle next to Dashboard > Updates.
3. Click on Updates to view the main update screen.
4. Scroll down to the Plugins section. Here, you can select individual plugins or check the “Select All” box.
5. Click Update Plugins.

WordPress will put your site into temporary maintenance mode, download the updated zip files, unpack them, replace the old directories, and bring your site back online. This method is perfect for daily check-ins, but if you want to learn more about manual safety nets, read our guide on How to Manually Update a WordPress Plugin the Right Way.

Method 2: Automatic Plugin Updates WordPress Configuration

If you do not have time to log in every day to check for updates, you can let WordPress handle them automatically.

By default, WordPress allows you to toggle automatic updates on a plugin-by-plugin basis. On your Plugins > Installed Plugins screen, you will see an “Automatic Updates” column on the far right. Clicking Enable auto-updates for a specific plugin tells WordPress to check for and apply updates for that tool every 12 hours.

For more advanced control, you can use the Easy Updates Manager – WordPress plugin. This plugin provides a centralized dashboard where you can:

• Globally enable or disable all updates (core, plugin, theme, and translation).
• Set granular rules (e.g., auto-update security plugins but force manual updates on WooCommerce).
• Configure custom notification emails to alert you when updates occur.
• Access detailed logs showing exactly which user or system triggered an update and when.

While auto-updates save time, they can occasionally cause unexpected downtime. If you find your site breaking overnight, you should learn How to Stop Auto Update Plugins in WordPress and implement a more hands-on approach to WordPress Update Automation. For a deeper dive into the developer side of things, check out The Lazy Developer’s Guide to Automatic WordPress Plugin Updates.

Method 3: Manual Updates via FTP or File Manager

Sometimes, a premium plugin cannot be updated through the dashboard because its license key expired, or a failed update has locked you out of your admin dashboard entirely. In these cases, you must perform a manual update using an FTP client (like FileZilla) or your hosting provider’s cPanel File Manager.

1. Download the latest version of the plugin as a .zip file from the developer’s official website.
2. Extract the .zip file on your local computer to get the uncompressed plugin folder.
3. Connect to your server using FTP or open your hosting File Manager.
4. Navigate to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
5. Locate the folder of the plugin you want to update. To be safe, rename the old folder on the server by adding -old to the end (e.g., yoast-seo-old). This acts as an instant backup.
6. Upload the new plugin folder from your computer into the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
7. Test your website. If everything works perfectly, you can safely delete the old -old folder from your server.

This manual replacement method bypasses the WordPress dashboard completely, making it an essential skill for troubleshooting. To ensure you do not miss a step, review our complete breakdown on How to Manually Update a WordPress Plugin the Right Way.

Method 4: Bulk Updates via WP-CLI

For developers and advanced users managing multiple sites, updating plugins via a web browser is incredibly slow. WP-CLI (WordPress Command Line Interface) allows you to manage your entire site using simple text commands.

To update all plugins on your site at once, connect to your server via SSH, navigate to your public HTML directory, and run:

If you only want to update a single plugin, specify its slug:

WP-CLI is incredibly powerful because it bypasses web-based PHP execution limits and autoload issues. For example, during the WooCommerce 10.8.1: Dot Release Releases – The WooCommerce Developer Blog, some site owners running web-based updates encountered class autoload race conditions that caused fatal PHP errors. Using WP-CLI to perform the upgrade bypassed these web-server-related load order conflicts entirely, allowing for a clean, error-free update.

Method 5: Managing Custom and Self-Hosted Plugin Updates WordPress

If you develop your own custom plugins or manage private plugins for clients that are not hosted on the public WordPress.org repository, they will not receive automatic update notices out of the box.

To solve this, developers use a popular PHP library called Plugin Update Checker (PUC). Created by Yahnis Elsts, this library allows your self-hosted plugins to check for updates using a simple JSON metadata file hosted on any public server, or by integrating directly with GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket releases.

To implement this, you include the Plugin Update Checker library in your custom plugin and initialize it outside of any standard hooks (so that WordPress update management tools can always see it):

The JSON file on your server contains basic metadata:

When you release a new version, you simply upload the new zip file, update the version number in your JSON file, and every site running your plugin will instantly see an update notification in their WordPress dashboard.

This approach is heavily utilized by developers managing premium plugins. For example, the release of Advanced Custom Fields v6.8.1 introduced a brand new JavaScript datastore and added critical permission checks for database upgrades on multisite networks. By leveraging structured update checkers, developers ensure these vital security and feature upgrades are pushed seamlessly to users outside the standard repository.

How to Update WordPress Plugins Without Losing Customizations

One of the most common reasons site owners avoid updating plugins is the fear of losing custom code. If you hired a developer to modify your contact form, add a custom payment gateway, or change how your product pages look, they might have modified the plugin’s files directly.

Rule number one of WordPress development: Never edit a plugin’s core files.

If you modify files inside the /wp-content/plugins/your-plugin/ directory, those changes will be completely erased the next time you update the plugin. The update process deletes the entire old folder and replaces it with the new version.

To preserve your customizations during updates, use these standard WordPress extension methods:

1. Leverage WordPress Hooks (Actions and Filters)

WordPress uses an event-driven architecture. Instead of editing a plugin’s code to change its behavior, you use hooks:

• Actions allow you to insert custom code or HTML at specific points designated by the plugin.
• Filters allow you to intercept and modify data before it is saved to the database or displayed on the screen.

For example, if you want to modify WooCommerce checkout fields, you do not edit the WooCommerce plugin files. Instead, you write a filter and place it in your child theme’s functions.php file or a dedicated code snippet plugin.

2. Create a Custom Functionality Plugin

If you have custom PHP code that controls how your site behaves, do not put it in your theme’s functions.php file. If you switch themes, you will lose those features. Instead, create a simple, single-file “functionality plugin”:

Upload this to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory and activate it. It will run independently of any other theme or plugin updates, keeping your custom code perfectly safe.

3. Use a Code Snippets Plugin

If you do not want to manage custom files via FTP, you can install a plugin like “Code Snippets”. This tool provides an easy-to-use graphical interface inside your WordPress dashboard where you can add, organize, and selectively activate PHP, CSS, and JavaScript snippets. If a snippet causes an error, the plugin automatically disables it, preventing your site from crashing.

Troubleshooting Common Plugin Update Issues

Even with the best preparation, updates can occasionally go wrong. Here are the three most common issues and how to resolve them:

1. The White Screen of Death (WSOD) or PHP Fatal Errors

If your site goes completely blank after an update, a PHP error is occurring behind the scenes.

• The Fix: Check your email. Modern WordPress installations will automatically email the site administrator with a “recovery mode” link and details about which plugin caused the fatal error. If you do not receive the email, connect to your server via FTP, navigate to /wp-content/plugins/, and rename the folder of the plugin you just updated. This instantly deactivates the plugin and restores your site’s access.

2. Stuck in Maintenance Mode

During an update, WordPress creates a temporary file named .maintenance in your site’s root directory. If the update process is interrupted (due to a slow server or a brief timeout), this file may not be deleted automatically, leaving your site showing a “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” message indefinitely.

• The Fix: Connect to your server via FTP, locate the .maintenance file in your main root folder (where your wp-config.php file lives), and delete it. Your site will instantly return to normal.

3. Database Update Lag or Autoload Errors

When updating highly complex plugins (like WooCommerce or Advanced Custom Fields), database updates are often queued to run in the background. If your site experiences high traffic during this time, it can cause database locks or autoload failures.

• The Fix: If you notice errors immediately after an update, check your plugin settings page to see if a manual database upgrade needs to be triggered. If a major release causes persistent issues, do not panic. You can easily roll back to a stable version. Read our guides on WordPress Plugin Update Gone Wrong? Here’s How to Roll It Back, Mastering WordPress Plugin Rollbacks: Revert Updates with Ease, and WordPress Plugin Rollback: How to Revert Plugin Update in WordPress Safely to learn how to restore order.

Frequently Asked Questions about Plugin Updates

Why is WordPress not showing available plugin updates?

If you know a plugin has a new version available but it is not showing up in your WordPress updates dashboard, the issue is often caused by security restrictions in your configuration files.

Open your wp-config.php file using FTP and search for these two constants:

If DISALLOW_FILE_MODS is set to true, WordPress completely disables all file modifications, which includes checking for and displaying available plugin and theme updates. To restore update visibility, either remove this line or change its value to false.

How do I roll back a plugin update if it breaks my site?

If an update breaks a critical feature on your site, you can revert to the previous version. You can do this manually by downloading the older version’s zip file from the “Advanced View” on the WordPress.org plugin repository, deleting the broken plugin folder via FTP, and uploading the old version.

Alternatively, you can use a rollback plugin like “WP Rollback”. This tool adds a “Rollback” link next to every plugin on your installed plugins page, allowing you to choose any historical version from a list and downgrade with a single click. For a detailed step-by-step walkthrough, check out our guide on How to Rollback Plugin Updates WordPress.

How does WordPress.org handle plugin updates and security reviews?

WordPress.org hosts over 78,000 plugins and themes, generating millions of daily updates. To protect users against sophisticated supply chain attacks — where malicious actors purchase trusted, highly-installed plugins to inject malware into subsequent updates — WordPress launched the Protect The Shire security initiative.

Under this program, WordPress.org utilizes advanced, AI-powered review tools (internally nicknamed “Gandalf”) to scan all incoming code commits. Additionally, they introduced a mandatory 24-hour cooldown period for plugin and theme updates before they are pushed to sites via automatic updates. This delay gives security researchers time to catch and report potential issues before an update is distributed to millions of sites.

Conclusion

Managing plugin updates in WordPress is a continuous balancing act. On one hand, keeping your plugins updated is your primary defense against hackers, data breaches, and platform incompatibility. On the other hand, applying updates without testing can lead to broken layouts, checkout errors, and unwanted downtime.

You do not have to handle this stress alone. At wpONcall, based in Santa Rosa, California, we specialize in comprehensive WordPress website security and support. We handle daily core, plugin, and theme updates, maintain secure offsite backups, and provide rapid resolution for any technical issue that comes up. Our team is dedicated to keeping your site protected, stable, and performing at its best.

If you are ready to hand off your website maintenance to the experts and focus on growing your business, check out our WordPress Maintenance and Support Services today. We will keep your site updated, secure, and running flawlessly.