Test before you update to WordPress 4.6

Thursday, 25 August 2016 | Posted in: Articles | 3min read

Test before you update to WordPress 4.6

Making sure your WordPress website is updated to the latest version of the platform seems pretty logical, right? While our answer for most circumstances is yes, there is a caveat to consider. Introducing updates without testing them prior to deployment can have an adverse and unforeseen effect on your sites plugins and themes, resulting in hours of lost work and a live site that doesn’t perform how it’s supposed to.

Much of the risk in updating your WordPress version to 4.6 can be alleviated by following best practices techniques and taking the appropriate precautionary measures. This involves the testing of plugins, themes, and site functions using WordPress 4.6 on a staging environment, prior to final deployment. Remember, a few hours of testing can save you many hours, or even days of website down time, frustration and wasted development cost later.

Need a safe pair of hands to assist with your upgrade? We are here to help.

As part of our WordPress Update Service we stage your current WordPress website on our development server environment, and test your plugins, themes, and sites using WordPress 4.6. Once our WordPress engineers are satisfied everything is working as intended, only then will we redeploy to your servers.

Using a staging environment means there is no interruptions while your website is being upgraded, and any incompatibilities can be identified and fixed before going live. The Digital Embassy offers WordPress Update Service from $790*^ excluding. GST.

Why should I update to WordPress 4.6?

We cover off some of the key highlights and advantages of the WordPress 4.6 in our our pre-release review. Some other advantages of updating to the latest version include:

4.6 offers upgrade patches to fix vulnerabilities identified from previous WordPress versions. The latest version also further improves the hardening of the overall security of your CMS, making the platform more robust and less susceptible to being hacked, or compromised.
By upgrading to WordPress 4.6, any bugs that have been identified in previous versions will be fixed. All up WordPress claim over 280 bugs have been fixed in WordPress 4.6.
Every major update, and even minor ones sees new features and functionality introduced. The current update to 4.6 features approximately 125 enhancements that improve functionality and user experience, providing benefits in workflow, security and speed. View our pre-release review to learn more

What version of WordPress am I currently using?

To check if your website is up to date simply log into your WordPress Dashboard where the version you are running is displayed.

You can also select “Updates” on the left hand side of the administration area. The message “You have the latest version of WordPress” should appear, if not it’s time to consider performing an update.

Can I update to the latest version of WordPress myself?

While our recommendation is to consult with WordPress experts such as The Digital Embassy to help perform your WordPress updates, should you wish to perform this yourself you can activate the 1-click upgrade feature from within your website’s Administration area. It’s important to remember however that by doing this the system will not automatically detect any incompatibilities or faults you may experience.

Ready to have your website updated safe and sound? Get in touch with The Digital Embassy today to schedule your WordPress 4.6 update.

*Price excludes GST. Services subject to The Digital Embassy’s Terms of Service

The Digital Embassy™ is an Australian web design, app development and digital marketing agency creating value through digital transformation. For over 20 years our business has extensive experience working with government, corporate and private enterprise assisting them in meeting their growth challenges and supporting their adoptions of, and dependency on web technologies. We employ local industry technology certified personnel to help businesses meet the changing needs of digital users and consumers. We work as your strategic digital partner to develop strategies, build and maintain assets that support drive organisational change and revenue growth.