The Safest Way Of Upgrading All Wordpress Blogs

So early last month Wordpress Version 2.8 was launched and I immediately got the alert in my dashboard but I was scared to death of upgrading mine because I'd heard stories of Wordpress upgrades gone bad, to the extent that some bloggers even lost a year of hard work.

I googled a lot looking for the safest way of upgrading wordpress version 2.7.1 to version 2.8, only to find out later that there were basically only three ways of doing it.

The first one involved simply using core update from your blog's dashboard.

The second one involved the use of a plug-in that goes by the name Automatic Upgrade Plug-in.

The third and final one was via FTP and that was the route I took cos with the first and second options, the risk of damage or loss of the pre-existing database was very high.

So in our quest to upgrade wordpress, we are going to need 3 things

1. The New Version Of Wordpress which is Wordpress Version 2.8.
2. A database backup plug-in like Wordpress Database Backup.
3. A good FTP client like Filezilla.

DISCLAIMER This tutorial is provided as it is. I shall not be held responsible in any way should you encounter problems like loss of database and entire blog/website along the way. Use this at your own discretion. It worked EXCELLENTLY well for me and should do the same for you hopefully!

With the above in place let's proceed to upgrading our wordpress blogs without tears.

1. Install Wordpress Database Plug-in, activate it and go to  Tools in the sidebar then Backup. Under tables, select or deselect additional elements you want or don't want included in the back up. Scroll down to Backup Options select your preferred backup method and click Backup Now. Wait a little for the process to be completed then you're done!
2. After backing up your database, deactivate all your plug-ins.
3. Log into your server via FTP and backup to your computer, EVERYTHING in your wordpress installation folder and that's the folder that contains wp-content, wp-includes and wp-admin.
4. When you're done, DELETE the following files and folders ONLY!
   

   * wp-admin folder
   * wp-includes folder (if you have a languages folder inside, do not delete that)
   * wp-*.php (DON'T DELETE wp-config.php)
   * readme.html
   * xmlrpc.php
   * license.txt
   * index.php

5. DON'T DELETE the following files                                     * wp-config.php
   * wp-content folder
   * .htaccess file
   * robots.txt
6. Unzip the new Wordpress Version 2.8 package, which will leave you with one folder called "wordpress". Upload everything in it EXCEPT the wp-content folder into your old wordpress installation folder. The WP-CONTENTS folder contains your themes and plug-ins and as such must be left UNTOUCHED!
7. Once you're through with the whole uploading, go to http://yoursite.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php and click the upgrade button which will automatically upgrade your database.
8. Log into your dashboard, reactivate your plug-ins and you're good to go.

It took me close to 3 hours to complete this. No thanks to dialup connection. Those of you with broadband speed should be done in less than 5 minutes.

NOTE: Should everything not have gone as expected, simply delete everything in your wordpress folder and reupload the backup you made in Step 3 above.

Also if your database gets messed up, you can restore your database using this marvelous tutorial.

Finally do make sure all your plug-ins are compatible with Wordpress Version 2.8 or conflicts might arise.

Do let me know how it all went for you or if you've had a better experience using another method.

P.S: A Big Thank you to Yatoo of Veaca without whom I wouldn't have been able to upgrade my own wordpress blog! This tutorial is based on hers.

Bookmark & Share This Post: Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us | StumbleUpon | Reddit | Email | Print

Related Posts

1. Wordpress 2.8.1 Is Out. Upgrade Your Blogs Now!
2. How To Secure Wordpress Blogs With Plug-ins
3. This Just In: Wordpress 2.8.1 Is Obsolete!
4. How To Upgrade Your Wordpress Blog In 30 minutes
5. Yet Another Wordpress Security Release. (LOL)

Get Full Blogging and Make Money Online Tips Delivered Via E-mail or RSS Feed