
Keeping your WordPress theme updated is essential for your website’s health. Updates often include new features, fix bugs, and patch security issues that can protect your site from hackers. Updating your theme ensures your site runs smoothly, stays secure, and delivers a great user experience.
However, updating a theme can sometimes lead you to lose customizations like design tweaks or special code changes. If you’ve edited theme files directly, the changes may disappear after an update. This can leave your website looking broken or missing important features.
In this tutorial we show you how to update WordPress theme without losing customizations. By following these steps, you’ll protect your work, keep your site secure, and enjoy the benefits of the latest updates – all without the stress.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Always back up your website before updating your theme to avoid losing important data.
- Use a child theme to preserve your customizations during updates.
- Make the process quick and easy – update your theme using the WordPress admin dashboard.
- For manual updates, use an FTP client or cPanel File Manager to replace theme files safely.
- If you’re using a free theme from a WordPress repository, you can also use WP-CLI to update your theme.
- Enable automatic updates for hassle-free theme maintenance.
- If an update causes issues, restore your site from a backup or use a rollback plugin.
- After updating, check your site for errors, clear your cache, and test on different devices.
- Regular updates keep your website secure, compatible, and updated with the latest features.
Table of Contents
Importance of Updating WordPress Theme
Updating your WordPress theme is not just about getting the latest look; it’s about keeping your website safe and running smoothly. Here’s why it matters:
Security
Security is one of the most important reasons for updating your WordPress theme. Outdated themes can leave your site vulnerable to attacks because they may have weaknesses that hackers can exploit. Since WordPress themes are often open source, anyone, including those who intend to harm, can study their code to find and manipulate vulnerabilities.
For example, in 2021, Patchstack found that over 50 WordPress themes had serious security flaws. These flaws exposed users to risks such as Remote Code Execution (RCE), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and SQL injections. While these issues may sound technical, they warn us that attackers can misuse our sites or gain unauthorized access.
Fortunately, when you update WordPress theme, you avoid such problems and strengthen your site’s defenses. Additionally, it’s wise to use themes from trusted sources, like the WordPress.org theme repository, where themes are reviewed for quality and security. Always choose themes compatible with the latest WordPress version and with good reviews.
Bug Fixes & New Features
No software is perfect, and themes are no exception. Older theme versions may have bugs that cause small errors or even break parts of your site. Updates fix these bugs and often add new features or improve existing ones. For example, an update may introduce new blocks, block patterns, or design options that let you customize your site easily.
With these built-in features, you can achieve your desired look and functionality without relying on too many third-party plugins or custom CSS. This not only saves time but also keeps your site lightweight and fast. Updates also allow you to make your site visually appealing and user-friendly without additional costs or effort.
Compatibility
WordPress core, the software that powers your website, is updated twice or thrice a year. These updates improve performance, add features, and fix bugs. However, if your theme isn’t updated to match the latest WordPress version, it could cause compatibility issues.
For instance, an outdated theme can slow down your site, create bugs, or even break key features. This can lead to a poor user experience or downtime, which may harm your site’s reputation and search engine rankings.
Updating your theme ensures it works smoothly with WordPress core, plugins, and other tools you use. Regular updates also help your site perform at its best, keeping visitors and search engines happy.
Improved Speed & Performance
Themes are often optimized during updates to make websites load faster and perform better. Slow websites can frustrate visitors and hurt your search engine rankings. By keeping your theme updated, you take advantage of these performance improvements, providing a better experience for your users while boosting your site’s SEO.
So, updating your WordPress themes is like giving your site a regular tune-up. It keeps everything secure, functional, and ready to handle the latest technology. Always check for updates and make them a part of your regular website maintenance routine.
Theme Update: What Stays & What Goes
When you update WordPress theme, it’s essential to know that some customizations stay safe during updates, while others can be lost. Understanding which changes are preserved and which may disappear helps you plan better and avoid surprises.
Customizations That Stay Safe
Some customizations are stored in your website’s database or handled independently from the theme. These are safe during a theme update:
For example, the adjustments you make through the WordPress theme customizer, like changing fonts, colors, layouts, header images, or adding custom CSS, are stored in the database. This means they won’t be affected when you update your theme. The theme customizer is designed to keep your site looking the way you configured it, even after an update.

Your WordPress widgets and menus, like sidebar items or navigation links, are not tied to the theme files. They are saved separately, so you don’t have to worry about them disappearing when the theme is updated. Once the update is complete, your widgets and menus will remain exactly where you placed them.

Additionally, many themes include companion plugins that provide extra features, such as sliders or portfolios. Any settings or customizations you make through these plugins are usually safe because plugins are separate from the theme itself. This ensures your added functionality remains intact after an update.
Also, if you use page builder plugins like Elementor, the layouts and designs you’ve created will stay unaffected. Page builders save their changes independently of the theme, so you can safely update your theme without worrying about losing your designs.

Any features or tools added via plugins, like contact forms, analytics, or popup creators, are also independent of your theme. They continue to work seamlessly even after you update WordPress theme.
Customizations You Can Lose
In addition to the customizations we’ve mentioned that remain unaffected during a theme update, there are certain changes directly tied to the theme files that you can lose. These are at risk of being overwritten when you update your theme:
For instance, if you’ve made changes directly to the theme’s files, like functions.php or style.css, these will be lost during an update. The theme’s new version replaces all the original files, which means any edits you made will no longer exist.

The core theme files like header.php, footer.php, and index.php are also overwritten during updates. If you’ve modified these files to change layouts or add functionality, those changes will not carry over.

Your custom code added using WordPress hooks or filters may also be lost if the update changes those parts of the theme. For example, if you added a custom hook to display extra information, you may need to reapply it after the update.
Knowing which customizations are safe and which might be lost during a theme update helps you take the right precautions – we discuss these below.
Precautions Before Updating Your Theme
Before you update WordPress theme, it’s important to take a few safety measures to ensure your WordPress site stays safe and works properly. Let’s go over three simple steps to prepare.
Back up Your Website
Always create a full backup of your website before making changes. This includes your theme files, database, and content. This backup helps restore everything to its previous state if anything goes wrong during the update. To help you, we’ve already written a blog on how to create a full and partial backup. You can refer to the tutorial here:
– How to Export A WordPress Site: A Step-By-Step Guide
If you’re a Hosted.com user, you may use the following guide to create a backup of your WordPress website:
– Use Hosted.com to Export WordPress Site
Create a Child Theme
When you update a theme, WordPress replaces all theme files with the latest version. So, any custom edits you make to the theme files, like modifying the CSS, PHP, or template files, will be overwritten and lost. However, a child theme stores your customizations separately, so updates to the parent theme won’t affect them.
So, it’s important to create a child theme before you update WordPress theme. Once done with that, do the following:
- If you’ve added custom CSS directly to the parent theme, move it to the child theme’s style.css file.
- If you’ve edited template files (like header.php or footer.php), copy those files into the child theme folder. This ensures the changes remain untouched after the parent theme update.
- If you’ve added custom functions to the parent theme’s functions.php, move them to the child theme’s functions.php file. To avoid errors, take care not to duplicate existing functions.
After moving your customizations from the parent to the child theme, switch to the child theme and preview your WordPress website. Check if everything looks and works as expected.
If something is broken, ensure all necessary customizations have been correctly copied to the child theme. Then, before proceeding with the parent theme update, back up your full website, including the database and files.
Important:
Check the parent theme’s changelog for details about the update. Look for any changes to files you’ve customized so you know if your modifications will conflict with the update.
Set up a Staging Environment
Instead of updating your theme directly on your live website, you can use a staging environment. This is like a test site where you can safely apply the update and check for errors. Many hosting providers offer one-click staging sites, or you can use plugins like WP Staging. However, Hosted.com users can refer to the following article to learn how to set up a staging environment quickly:
– How To Setup A WordPress Staging Site
After following these steps, you will be confident about how to update WordPress theme, knowing your WordPress site is protected.
Best Time to Run Updates
Choosing the right time to run updates is important to avoid downtime and disruptions for your visitors. Ideally, updates should be scheduled when your WordPress website experiences the lowest traffic. This ensures minimal impact on the visitor experience.
Keep in mind that low-traffic times may not align with your schedule. For instance, if you have an international audience, your site could see spikes in traffic while you’re offline. Tools like Google Analytics can help you pinpoint when your site gets the fewest visitors, allowing you to plan updates accordingly.

Once you identify the optimal time, schedule your updates during these off-peak hours. Testing in a staging environment can be done at your convenience, but updating your live site should be timed to cause the least disruption.
How to Update WordPress Theme Manually
There are 4 ways to update WordPress themes manually; however, using the WordPress Admin Dashboard is the easiest. Let’s start with that and then discuss the other methods.
Use WordPress Admin Dashboard
Login to your WordPress admin account. Go to Dashboard → Updates. This will show you all the available updates for your WordPress site, including themes, plugins, and WordPress core.
Scroll down to Themes. If your theme has an update, you’ll see it listed here. Check the box next to the theme you want to update. After selecting your theme, click Update Themes to let WordPress download and install the latest version.

Alternatively, you can navigate to Appearance → Themes. If an update is available for your active theme (or any installed theme), a notification banner will be on the theme’s thumbnail.
Click Update Now on the theme’s thumbnail. WordPress will automatically download and then install the latest version of the theme.

Once the update process is complete, visit your website to ensure everything is working properly and looks as expected.
Update WordPress Theme via FTP
Sometimes, updating your WordPress theme using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is necessary, especially if updating from the WordPress dashboard doesn’t work. In this case, follow the simple steps to update your theme using an FTP client.
First, download the newest version of your theme. You can usually find this on the theme developer’s website or your marketplace account, like ThemeForest or WordPress.org. For this tutorial example, we download the Astra theme from WordPress.org. This will download a ZIP file.

For this tutorial example, we download the Astra theme from WordPress.org. This will download a ZIP file.
Right-click on your downloaded folder and choose Extract All to get the theme files.

Now, open your FTP client (we use FileZilla). This allows you to access your WordPress website’s files. Download and install it if you don’t already have it. Then, log in with your FTP credentials (you can get these from your hosting provider).

TIP: If you’re using FileZilla for the first time, you can refer to our article, How to Configure a Site in FileZilla, to help you configure your site in FileZilla.
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Once connected, navigate to the following directory:
public_html/wp-content/themes
This is where all your theme files are stored.

Find the folder for the theme you want to update. Before replacing it, right-click on your theme folder and click Download to download a copy of the old folder to your computer as a backup.

Next, on the left panel (Local site), find the theme folder you previously extracted. Right-click on it and choose Upload. This will upload the latest theme files to your web server and will ultimately update WordPress theme.

Your FTP client will now ask if you want to overwrite the files. Click Overwrite to replace the old files with the updated ones. You can optionally check Always use this action and Apply to current queue only checkboxes to avoid choosing Overwrite individually for each file. Then, click OK.

Once the upload is done, visit your website to ensure everything looks and works as it should. If something is incorrect, you can restore the backup you created earlier.
Use the Hosted.com File Manager
Updating your WordPress theme using the Hosted.com File Manager is a fast and efficient way to replace theme files directly on your server. If your hosting provider also uses cPanel, you can use the File Manager tool to update WordPress theme without any external tools like FTP. Let’s walk through the simple steps to get started.
Login to the Hosted.com cPanel. Head to the Files block and click File Manager to access your WordPress website’s files.

In File Manager, go to the following directory:
public_html/wp-content/themes
Next, create a backup of your current theme. It’s essential to have a copy that you can use if something unexpected happens when you update WordPress theme. To do this, right-click on your active theme folder and click Compress.

On the Compress pop-up screen, select Compression Type and click Compress Files.

Then, right-click on the compressed file and click Download to have it locally on your computer.

Now, download the latest version of your theme from its source and save it as a ZIP file on your computer. Then, in the themes folder, click Upload at the top of File Manager. Select the downloaded theme’s ZIP file on your local computer and wait for the upload to complete.

Once the ZIP file is uploaded, return to the themes folder. Select the uploaded file, then click Extract in the toolbar.

A popup window will appear. Ensure you extract in themes, then click Extract Files. This will unzip the theme files and replace the old version.

After extracting the files, access your website to ensure the theme looks and works well.
How to Update WordPress Theme Automatically
Automatic updates are ideal if you’re using a theme without direct customizations. This method is perfect for beginners or busy site owners who want to keep their websites updated, protected, and compatible with the latest WordPress version without manual effort. It ensures your WordPress site receives important security patches, bug fixes, and new features as soon as they’re released.
However, if you’ve made custom changes to the theme files, automatic updates can overwrite them. In such cases, use a child theme or back up your site before proceeding to protect your customizations.
Before proceeding further, we recommend enabling automatic theme updates only if you are confident your theme is from a trusted source. Once you’re sure, go through the following steps:
Go to WordPress Admin Dashboard → Appearance → Themes. Hover over the theme you want to update automatically and click Theme Details.

Now, click Enable auto-updates. Once enabled, WordPress will handle all future updates for this theme.

If you’re a Hosted.com user, go to cPanel → Popular Applications → WordPress and click WordPress Manager.

Click on the v arrow next to your domain name and choose Enabled for Auto Upgrade WordPress Themes. This will ensure your theme is automatically updated every 24 hours for this WordPress installation.

How to Undo Theme Update
So far, we’ve covered the importance of updating your theme, the customizations you can or cannot preserve, the precautions to take before updating, and the steps to update WordPress theme manually and automatically. But what if you must revert to a previous version of your theme? Why is it necessary?
Sometimes, a theme update may not work as expected. It could cause design changes or even break your website. If this happens, don’t panic – you can easily return to the previous version of your theme. Here are 2 simple ways to do this:
Restore from Backup
If you created a website backup before updating your theme, you can use this to restore your WordPress website to the earlier version. Most hosting providers offer one-click restore options in their control panel. Alternatively, if you’re using a backup plugin like UpdraftPlus, follow the plugin’s on-screen instructions to restore your files and database. Once restored, your website will look and function as it did before the update.
What to do After Updating
After updating your WordPress theme, ensure everything on your site works correctly. Start by carefully checking your website for any errors or broken elements. Look at your homepage, blog posts, and other key pages to see if anything looks out of place or isn’t functioning as it should.
Next, clear your WordPress cache. If you use a WordPress caching plugin like W3 Total Cache, clear the cache from the plugin settings. Don’t forget to clear your browser cache too. This step ensures you see your WordPress site’s most recent version, not an older cached version.
Then, verify that your site’s functionality is unchanged. Check if your menus are working, your widgets are displaying correctly, and any customizations you’ve made are still in place. Pay special attention to features like forms, sliders, and links to ensure everything works smoothly.
Finally, test your site on different devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This will help you confirm your theme looks good and works well across all screen sizes. If you take these steps after updating your theme, your website will be ready for visitors without surprises.
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FAQs
How often should I update WordPress theme?
You should upgrade your theme whenever a new version is released. Check your WordPress dashboard regularly for updates or enable automatic updates if you don’t want to do it manually. Keeping your theme updated ensures your site stays secure and runs smoothly.
Can I test a theme update before applying it to my live site?
Yes! Use a staging environment to test updates. A staging site is your live website’s copy where you can safely apply new updates and check for problems. Many hosting providers offer one-click staging tools, or you can use the WP Staging plugin to create one.
Can I update multiple themes at the same time?
Yes, you can! In the WordPress dashboard, go to Dashboard → Updates, check all the themes that need updating, and click Update Themes. This batch update feature saves time and keeps everything current.
Should I deactivate plugins before updating my theme?
It’s not always necessary, but deactivating plugins can prevent conflicts during updating. Once the update is complete, reactivate the plugins and check your site for any issues.
How do I find out what’s included in a theme update?
Most theme updates include a changelog, which details the changes made in the new version. You can usually find the changelog on the theme developer’s website or in the WordPress dashboard before you apply the update.
Other Related Tutorials & Blogs:
– How to Install WordPress Themes: A Beginner’s Guide
– How To Delete A Theme In WordPress: 4 Ways And Tips
– How To Create A WordPress Child Theme
– How to Choose a WordPress Theme: A Beginner’s Guide
– How to Create an FTP Account A Step-by-Step Guide