Today WordPress version 5.0 has been released as a major release update. WordPress 5.0 has a code name “Bebo”.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to update your wordpress installation from any previous version to the 5.0. First of all we will see how to do this automatically, and then we will also discuss how to do it manually in case you get any error while trying to upgrade your wordpress installation by automatic method.
To update your wordpress installation to 5.0, follow these steps.
Backup your current WordPress site
This is a very important step. However if you have a recent backup of your WordPress site then you can skip this one too.
How to backup your wordpress blog before update:
To backup your wordpress installation before updating it, follow these steps:
- Open the file manager of your hosting panel and zip + download all the files in your site folder. Download the zipped file to your hard disk if you want.
- Go to phpmyadmin and export your wordpress database. Save it to your computer too.
Let me know if you want any help in the backup process.
Now as we’re done with the important recommended step of backup, we can proceed to the wordpress update as follows.
Update WordPress to 5.0 Automatically
Login to your wordpress admin panel (wp-admin) to go to the wordpress backend admin dashboard. On the top of the dashboard, you will see a notification from WordPress, asking you to update to the latest WordPress 5.0 version.
The notification says:
“WordPress 5.0 is available! Please update now.”
Clicking on the “Please update now” link will take you to the update page of your wordpress dashboard.
The next page will also ask you to backup your database and files first.
WordPress Updates
Important: before updating, please back up your database and files. For help with updates, visit the Updating WordPress Codex page.
Last checked on December 7, 2018 at 6:35 am. Check Again
An updated version of WordPress is available.
- You can update to WordPress 5.0 automatically:
While your site is being updated, it will be in maintenance mode. As soon as your updates are complete, your site will return to normal.
Clicking on the Update Now button will initiate the update process. Make sure that you don’t interrupt the process while it’s updating.
Upon completion of the update process, you will see the splash screen for WordPress 5.0, highlighting it’s new features.
Welcome to WordPress 5.0
Thank you for updating to the latest version! WordPress 5.0 introduces a robust new content creation experience.
If you see this page, then it means that the wordpress have been updated to the latest version successfully.
If you faced any issue or got any error, please let me know in the comments.
How to Update WordPress to 5.0 Manually
If for any reason, the automatic update process failed, you can update manually using these simple steps too.
- First of all, download the latest wordpress 5.0 files from wordpress.org official website.
- Again, make sure you have latest backup of your site before updating WordPress manually. Also download it on your computer (not just keep it on server).
- Copy the files from downloaded wordpress latest installation to your server, except wp-content directory.
It’s important not to upload the wp-content directory, as it will overwrite your current directory.
If you’re not sure what you’re doing then hire a professional to do this for you. I can help you update your WordPress too, please let me know through comments or contact page if you need my help.