So, in case you missed it, Wordpress released version 6.0 in May, 2022. This release comes more than THREE YEARS after the last major release, to 5.0. And we couldn’t be more excited.

BUT… 

That doesn’t mean we’re going through and updating all our clients’ sites just yet. And if you’re managing your own WordPress upgrades, we recommend you wait as well.

Here’s why. Plugin and Theme developers often need to update their code in order to comply with standards set by the new version of WordPress.

Here’s when. Before you upgrade your core version of WordPress, ensure your website theme and your Critical Plugins are compatible with the version you’re planning to upgrade to.

Here’s how. After your theme and critical plugins profess to be compatible with your WordPress version of choice, you’ll want to confirm that nothing breaks. The best way to do this is to push a copy of the full site to a dev instance in its current state, then perform the upgrade on your dev instance. Click through the site to ensure it’s function. After your site passes this test in Dev, you *should* be safe to upgrade in Prod. And if something breaks, roll back to your pre-upgrade version and dig deeper into what went wrong. 

Want tips on how to test your site prior to launch? Watch our series Top 10 (Preventable!) Mistakes People Make When Launching a Website and How To Avoid Them.