{"id":16699,"date":"2018-08-21T12:15:45","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T17:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/blog\/?p=16699"},"modified":"2021-11-17T02:00:30","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T08:00:30","slug":"guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Step-by-Step Guide for WordPress Plugin Updates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16706\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates.jpg\" alt=\"Guide for WP Plugin Updates\" width=\"900\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates-350x156.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates-768x341.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/>The initial attraction to WordPress is not only the ease of installation and customization, but the ease and endless <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/blog\/best-wordpress-plugins-for-speed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">possibilities offered by plugins<\/a>. Traditionally, achieving the level of user-engagement and dynamic content designs required significant HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP coding knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>As you can imagine, this caused countless aspiring website owners to either develop a lackluster site, or abandon their dreams of website ownership altogether. Of course, all that changed when WordPress broke into the scene. From that day onward, the unique design and capabilities of modern websites was accessible to anyone with a computer and some patience!<\/p>\n<p>While there are many elements responsible for the proliferation of WordPress, topping this list is the functional brilliance of plugins. It seems there\u2019s a plugin for almost everything. From managing and curating content, to refining database and cacheing, if you have a need, there\u2019s probably a plugin designed for that use.<\/p>\n<p>As with every other element of your WordPress site, in order to keep your plugins running smoothly, and security strong, then you\u2019ll <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/blog\/wordpress-maintenance-tasks-for-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">need to periodically update<\/a> these application components. The majority of plugins allow for automatic updates, but it\u2019s never recommended to solely rely on this action.<\/p>\n<p>Like most everything else associated with WordPress, updating plugins is a straightforward process, even for those with no previous webmaster experience. To keep your website running smooth, follow this step-by-step guide.<\/p>\n<h2>Step One | Locating Released Updates<\/h2>\n<p>Plugin updates are released by their developer. Therefore, some plugins update more frequently than others.<\/p>\n<p>To locate available plugin updates, perform one of the following steps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Method #1 &#8211;<\/strong> Access your WordPress Dashboard and click \u201cUpdates\u201d on the menu sidebar. From here, review the available updates. If plugin updates are available, find them underneath the heading labeled, \u201cPlugins\u201d followed by selecting the box next to each plugin and then click the button labeled, \u201cUpdate Plugins\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Method #2 &#8211;<\/strong> Navigate to the main Plugin Directory by clicking \u201cPlugins\u201d on the main dashboard menu sidebar. From here, review all your plugins and look for plugins with a status bar underneath its name, which let\u2019s you know a new update is available. Click the \u201cUpdate Now\u201d link within the status bar. Alternatively, select the plugin menu tab titled, \u201cUpdate Available\u201d at the top of the Plugin Directory screen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why Update WordPress Plugins? What About Inactive Plugins?<\/h2>\n<p>There are many reasons why you should immediately update a plugin as soon as an update is released. Not only are updates released to keep the plugin operational, but these updates are often performed to maintain optimum security levels.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s obviously important that you keep your active plugins updated to ensure non-interrupted functionality, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/blog\/inactive-wordpress-plugins-affect-site-performance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">what about inactive plugins<\/a>? Should you worry about updating these non-used plugins?<\/p>\n<p>While inactive plugins aren\u2019t in use, failure to update them can result in a security threat. Even this isn\u2019t a major concern, with new and invasive hacking techniques, you should actively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/blog\/wordpress-security-tips-and-tricks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">maintain top security levels<\/a> throughout your site. This includes inactive plugins. As the old saying goes, it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The initial attraction to WordPress is not only the ease of installation and customization, but the ease and endless possibilities offered by plugins. Traditionally, achieving the level of user-engagement and dynamic content designs required significant HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP coding knowledge. As you can imagine, this caused countless aspiring website owners to either develop&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-url.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[75],"tags":[69,62,77,81,82,71,68],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.6 (Yoast SEO v19.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Step-by-Step Guide for WordPress Plugin Updates | Dotcom-Monitor Tools Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WordPress plugin updates is a straightforward process. To keep your website running smooth, follow this simple step-by-step guide.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Step-by-Step Guide for WordPress Plugin Updates\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WordPress plugin updates is a straightforward process. To keep your website running smooth, follow this simple step-by-step guide.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dotcom-Monitor Tools Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dotcommonitor\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-21T17:15:45+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-17T08:00:30+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dotcom_monitor\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@dotcom_monitor\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Schmitz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/\",\"name\":\"Dotcom-Monitor Tools Blog\",\"description\":\"Let&#039;s Make the Web a Faster Place.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Guide-for-WP-Plugin-Updates.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Guide for WP Plugin Updates\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/\",\"name\":\"Step-by-Step Guide for WordPress Plugin Updates | Dotcom-Monitor Tools Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/guide-for-wordpress-plugin-updates\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-21T17:15:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-17T08:00:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/#\/schema\/person\/84f55a21a34f808cb7cc381f7f580ebb\"},\"description\":\"WordPress plugin updates is a straightforward process. 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