A while back on Twitter, @RWPhoto pondered why he should update his blog from running WordPress 2.8 to version 2.8.1. It’s a great question. As we setup our own social media infrastructure such as a WordPress blog, what needs to be done to maintain that infrastructure? For a self-hosted blog, there are a couple things to consider.
Minor Updates
For a minor update (such as the .1 update mentioned above), take a quick look at the reason for the update. There should be release notes or an explanation in the announcement of the new version which explains why the update is made. If it’s a security update (which is the case for the current version of WordPress, 2.8.3), then generally one should update quickly. Malicious individuals have taken advantage of blog security issues in the past to do things such as insert spam links into blog posts or RSS feeds. In addition to polluting your website with inappropriate links and material, Google and other search engines will drop websites from their index if it appears the site has been cracked and is hosting such links.
What if it’s not a security update? Perhaps the update only contains updates for some bugs in the system. With a bugfix update, there’s generally no hurry to upgrade. If your site isn’t affected by one of the bugs, you might not need to update at all.
A minor update generally won’t “break” any plugins or themes. Since the minor updates usually only contain security fixes or minor bugs which weren’t caught in widespread testing, it’s fairly rare than a minor update will prevent a plugin from functioning or cause a theme to display incorrectly.
Major Upgrades
When should one upgrade to the lastest major release? There is usually a new major version of WordPress (for example, from 2.7 to 2.8) three or four times per year. The major releases generally include substantial new functionality and bugfixes. With a major release, I recommend doing the upgrade (to take advantage of new functionality) but there shouldn’t be pressure to get it done in a hurry.
Because major upgrades often contain changes to existing features, there is a greater chance that a plugin or theme might be incompatible with the new version of WordPress. Most plugin and theme developers will test their software with new versions, but it is a good practice to check compatibility if you want to upgrade right away.
The Upgrade Process
Once you decide to update/upgrade, what should be done to ensure a smooth transition? The process is easier than it used to be, but there are still a couple things to do to ensure success. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at steps to safely upgrade WordPress.
