How to Update to WordPress 3.3.2
April 20, 2012: 3.3.2 The latest stable release of WordPress (Version 3.3.2) is available now and is a security update for all previous versions.
Three external libraries included in WordPress received security updates:
=> Plupload (version 1.5.4), which WordPress uses for uploading media.
=> SWFUpload, which WordPress previously used for uploading media, and may still be in use by plugins.
=> SWFObject, which WordPress previously used to embed Flash content, and may still be in use by plugins and themes.
As always, when updating WordPress, themes or plugins, it doesn’t hurt to get in the habit of following the simple steps below…
Step-by-step instructions to help you safely and easily update to the most recent version of WordPress.
- Save a copy of all your WordPress files, pages and posts to your hard drive. You do this by clicking on the Tools icon in the left sidebar and then Export. On the next screen click on Download Export File. You might want to create a new Folder on your hard drive where you keep all you Web site files. Name it WP Backup so you know to save all backup files for WP there (and you’ll know where to find them if you need them). It is a good idea to back up this file once a month anyway regardless if an update is needed.
- Backup your WordPress database. There is a nifty plugin that makes this process a no brainer, WP-DBManager. This plugin is also a must have for repairing and optimizing your database (which you should be doing minimally monthly to keep things running smoothly).
- Do a quick double-check with your framework/theme developer to see if there are an issues with their themes and the most recent WordPress update. The last thing you want to do is update WordPress to find out after the fact it breaks your theme…
- To be safe, deactivate all plugins before upgrading.
[ It is a good idea to Review my article: WordPress How To: Do the Mother of All Backups ]
Once you get the above tasks accomplished, follow the links in the nag bar (it’s called a nag because that yellow bar will be up there nagging you until you take care of the important issue noted) and update your site to the latest version of WordPress.
Then, don’t forget to reactivate and update your plugins. You’ll see with each WordPress update that plugin developers also update their plugins which you can also do with one click. You’ll see the now familiar yellow nag bar under the plugin name in the plugins area with a link to “upgrade automatically.”
If you find after an update that something is not working as it was, go through the systematic process of deactivating your plugins one at a time until you find the culprit. If the developer has not updated his/her plugin to work with the lasted update, find another plugin whose developer is on top of these things.
Updating should not be ignored or put off. When you keep up with WordPress, have a Premium Theme and Plugin updates, you are not only keeping up with technology, but you ensure your site is secure and functioning error free.
At your service,
Your WordPress Consultant
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Some great advice – I had, for the first time ever, a problem updating wordpress using the auto update feature. The key to my problem seemed to be plugin based – I deleted all those that weren’t being used and deactivated the rest and then the update worked without a problem!
Hey, Simon:
Glad things worked out for you! By just following these simple steps the majority of hiccups can be avoided and/or solved. The thing is to also check that all your plugins have been tested to work on 3.0. This can be easily determined by visiting the WordPress plugin archive.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Judith,
Thanks for your article. Please can you confirm that if I deactivate all the plug ins that all setup with be restored for plugins once I activate them after the upgrade or will I need to setup each plug in again from scratch?
Thank you.
Hey, Greg:
Deactivate all plugins before upgrading and then reactivate after. All plugin settings should remain in tact so having to setup each plugin again is not a concern. The only time this may be an issue is if you have a plugin conflict. If after updating, things are not working, deactivate all plugins again then activate each one by one checking your site as you go until you find the problem child. HTH!
The last time I updated wordpress, 2.9.x to 2.9.y (don’t remember the exact version), my website crashed and I had to rebuild it from scratch. Hence, my apprehension in updating to 3.0.2. I am not a website designer nor do I want to be. I am responsible for updating our church website and had to learn all the WP stuff after the site crashed. I’m kinda learning as I go. Thanks for the tips when upgrading. I think I’m going to wait for a couple weeks before upgrading to 3.0.2 to see if there are any bugs.
Jeff Bue
Newark, Texas
Hey, Jeff
You probably were updating to 3.0 when you had that bad experience. 3.0 was a major upgrade that required a whole bunch of changes from theme and plugin developers as well. Most likely your theme was not 3.0…
Updates such as the latest are no big deal. They are addressing new bugs and security issues that have come to light since 3.0′s release.
I’ve updated a ton of sites without a single issue — so upgrade without worry! ;-)
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi. After I update wp from 2.9 to3.0.3 I can,t install or update any pluggin, any ideas?
Hey, Mary:
It could be several reasons… Is your theme 3.0 compatible? 2.9 to 3.0.x update contained many changes that theme and plugin developers had to also update for.
Deactivate all your plugins and activate them back one by one until you see which is the culprit causing things to choke. To see if is your theme, try switching to the new default 2010 theme — if you site works, then you know it is a theme.
HTH!
Hi Judith
Came over via your comment on Elegant Themes – I like to see which ET theme people are using – love this one.
Nice site and good advice on updating WordPress, and in particular taking a backup of site and database.
Can’t backup too often.
If you get a minute check out my ET theme and let me know what you think.
Hey, Keith:
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words! I love Elegant Themes’ designs and am always excited when Nick and his crew introduce something new. It is really uncanny how his themes always seem to meet my needs.
I am surprised how many sites I work on without any backup system in place! So that’s the first thing I do before I touch a thing. Thanks again!
Will check out your site too! ;-)
Hi Judith
If you want to register a vote for ET, take a look at…
http://wpcandy.com/announces/theme-madness-2011-round-4-voting
Cast your vote for ET.
If we don’t vote – they won’t win.
Catalyst theme seems to be way ahead at the moment.
Hey, Keith:
Voted 2 days ago! ;-) Also voted for StudioPress as I’ve used those themes since Brian’s Revolution days!
Judith
I can’t believe what you’ve just said, because I voted for ET and… Studiopress.
I’ve just bought the Genesis Pro Plus version – seems like a fantastic deal.
All those themes and all future themes.
One client site and I’ve got my money back.
Spooky!
Kindred spirits across the pond? ;-)
Thank you so much for this useful website! I was wondering if you could help me:
I am trying to update my WordPress, however, I don’t have that little “nag” bar. I probably closed it or something a while back, either way, I tried going to Tools>upgrade, but my site says that I have the latest version of WordPress. However, I only have WordPress 2.9.2 so I don’t think this is right. What should I do?
Hey, Juliana:
Hmmm… are you *sure* you are not updated? I’ve never run into a the nag bar going away unless you did upgrade at some point.
=> Look in the lower right hand corner when in your dashboard and see what version is reflected there. That shows what version you really are on.
=> If you are in fact on 2.9.2 you may have to do a manual upgrade: http://codex.wordpress.org/Updating_WordPress#Manual_Update
=> Check to make sure your theme is 3.0 compatible before you do anything and follow the backup instructions above!
HTH and thank you for your kind words about my site! ;-)
Ya, I did, and the version in the bottom says 2.9.2. Ok, I guess I’m going to have to struggle through a manual update. Thanks for the help!
Ah! ok, now I went to my cpanel and upgraded using fantastico de luxe. It said it worked, and when I went to my dashboard, the nag bar came up. However, when I clicked upgrade, this message appeared:
Could not create directory: /home/julianab/public_html/wp-content/upgrade/wordpress-3.tmp/wordpress/wp-includes
What does that mean?
Hey, Juliana:
That’s a question you need to take up with your hosting company. Could be the appropriate directory permissions are not in place and only they know the server side well enough to help you out….
Thanks a lot for this post! I’ve been really leery about upgrading since the last time I tried it (3.0)it messed up my whole site.
Now I’m forced to because I’ve switched to Thesis, which requires at least 3.0 to work. Did everything you suggested, and so far, so good!
Hey, Rachel:
Glad to be of service! Now that you have your confidence firmly in place, you can update to 3.2 which came out over the 4th of July! ;-)
Hi Judith
Yes it’s that time again… WordPress update time. LOL
Looking forward to increases in speed – have you noticed any difference in page load times?
Thanks for the upgrade primer.
Keith
Hey, Kevin:
I haven’t had a chance to test any speed improvement — yet. This site is on a CDN but I have about 20 other sites I’ll be updating and hoping to see the improvements 3.2 will offer. Is WordPress cool or what!? ;-) Thanks for stopping by!
No problem Judith
20 other sites!
Are you kidding me?
Presumably client sites.
Hey, Keith:
The 20 sites are mine… :-0 The good part is they allow me to test new things, see what works — what doesn’t. The bad part is I’m out of bandwidth — I am in the process of deciding what has to give because I can’t do it all — well I can — but not well.
Hi Judith,
I’ve been spending all day trying to fix my site instead of getting work done. I can’t figure out why there is a big white space smack in the middle of my blog?
I’ve tried deactivating ALL plugins and delete widgets and nothing has helped. Any ideas?
Hey, Heather:
Were you on 2.X before upgrading? If so, check to make sure your theme is 3.X compatible. I would look at your header graphic. I can see it is 1014 and that may be just a tad too big and pushing everything out. Try minimizing that to no larger than 970 pixels in width and see if that does the trick.
Cheers for the step-by-step guide. I’ve only just started using WP properly & it was good to shown how to get the backups done too. Your suggested DB backup tool wanted some php functions enabled that I couldn’t work out so I used another. Other than that followed to the letter. Thanks, its nice to have a useful muse about the web..
Hey, Niall:
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words! Glad to be “At Your Service…” ;-) If you need a good host, I use and recommend HostGator – never had a single issue with running WordPress or any of the plugins I recommend — and their support rocks! Have fun discovering WordPress!
I am now using wp version 3.2.1.But i want to update this version to 3.3.
But i have not getting any option to update current verion in admin site.
There is update menu where i have got to update 3.2.1.
How can i update current version?
Please help !!!!!!!
Hi Judy,
Stumbled your site today, great information. Thank you!
I’m struggling with taking the leap from WP version 3.2.1 to 3.3 for fear of my custom theme not being compatible. Is there a way to tell before upgrading?
I paid a designer 2 years ago to redesign my site and currently 3.2.1 is running fine.
Thanks!
Hello, Sangram…
The only reason I would think that you don’t have the update link at the top of the screen is that you do not have Admin permissions to do so. Make sure you are logging in as an Admin to see if the link is there. HTH!
Hey, Kelly:
Thanks for stopping by and your kind words! 3.2.1 to 3.3 didn’t break any themes that I am aware of. To be sure what I recommend you do is go back to your designer and ask them if it is safe to upgrade and/or if there are any issues you need to be aware of.
While it is cool to have a custom theme made for you, you are then tied to that developer for any possible issues, bugs or future WordPress updates that require your theme be updated as well. This is one of the primary reasons why I advise my clients to stick with the Premium theme developers who are on top of this kind of stuff. All the shops I recommend and work with will post in their forums or their blog that the coast is clear when WordPress updates or what tweaks or files need to be modified if in fact there are issues you need to address.
HTH! ;-)
Would be good if you had mentioned that WordPress 3.3.1 needed PHP 5.2.4 or higher so people could check that before doing lengthy backup procedures…
I backed everything up… then used Softaculous to update my wordpress installation… problem was that AFTER it updated WordPress, THEN it told me that my “server is running PHP version 4.4.9 but WordPress 3.3.1 requires at least 5.2.4″ (although in my cpanel it says that the PHP version is 5.2.14).
So now I have to figure out how to do restore back to my previous version… which I have never done before.
Hey, Susan:
WP PHP requirements actually changed with v3.2 — which I did mention in that update. PHP Version 5.2.14 is a newer version than 5.2.4. Each version after the 5.2 is a newer version. 5.2.3 is newer than 5.2.2 for example and 5.2.4 is newer than 5.2.3., etc. So….. 5.2.14 is a much never version of PHP than the 5.2.4 required.
Something doesn’t make sense here… Why would use use Softacuoius to update when WP offers you a one click update in your Dashboard? No reason to add another cook to the stew!
What you describe is a hosting problem if the cPanel reflects something different other than what is actually installed on your server. No way I can compensate for that. And if you are running 5.2.14 then you have either a theme or plugin compatibility issue.
If you backed-up everything your host should be able to restore your database with your backup. HTH!
Hi Judith, I came across your website after googling problems updating wordpress 3.3.1. I’ve backed everything up and deactivated my plugins but when I try to update WP, it just seems to “hang”. I’ve left it for several hours, tried different browsers and am now really stuck as to what to try next?
Manual update? I’m not very tech savvy so I’m scared about trying a manual update.
I’d appreciate any advice.
Thank you.
Hey, Diane:
Be sure you didn’t really update. On servers with resource/memory issues, sometimes it does update but the screen doesn’t change. You’ll know if you are running 3.3.1 by looking in the lower right hand corner of your dashboard (“Get” 3.3.1 means the update was not successful).
You’ll want to check with your hosting company — what you describe is usually a memory resource issue. Increasing the memory limit will usually solve this for you. Give them a buzz and let theme know what is going on and with their help (PHP settings and/or wp-config.php file tweaks) you should be able to use the WordPress update feature successfully.
With that said, on true WordPress hosts this is not an issue so it may be time to consider moving our site so you won’t have to worry about this in the future.
HTH!
How to Update to WordPress 3.3.1 | http://t.co/PvHW8Hdf
Hi,
The problem with this is that the import export is not working in 3.3.1 correctly.
My xml file does not contain posts, pages or users.
A major problem.
I am a long time user of WordPress and am doing it correctly.
Hey, Mike:
I have a *bunch* of sites that are on 3.3.1 and they are all exporting without issue — so it isn’t WordPress.
What is different about your site?
1. It could be that your XML file is extremely large — at a certain point the export Tool doesn’t work when that file gets too big. Talk to your host to see if they can work with you on that.
2. Deactivate all your plugins and try to export to eliminate a plugin conflict. If you can export then you know one of your plugins is the culprit.
3. Make sure your Theme is 3.3.1 compatible and that there are no known issues by contacting the developer of your theme.
HTH!
Hi
Great information on your site. I am new to WordPress, creating a new site for the family. I am using Mistylook theme and there is no Plugins in the left tool bar. Can you help me please, I was hoping I may be able to use some HTML script but no sure how too. Many thanks Ann
Hey, Ann:
Plugins have to be added after the fact and installed. I have an article about how to add Plugins: WordPress How to: Installing Plugins 101 that may help.
Basically, if you want to add independent code or script snippets you would do so within a TEXT widget (Appearance > Widgets). You would drag the TEXT widget from the left to a widget area on the right and then copy-n-paste the code you want to display within the Text widget.
HTH! ;-)
Too bad the plugin for the export/import does not work with the new version. We are trying to do something that is so simple. Take a wordpress blog from the .com site to our own wordpress blog on our servers. same software on both. I could see issues when you are trying to take it from another blogging platform but that is not the case. The import just gives a white screen.
Hey, Jay:
No plugin necessary to import or export. That is function of WP in the left sidebar Tools >. A white screen tells me your server may be having memory resource issues — did you check with your host?
This post is about backing up and updating — so I’m not clear why importing is necessary…
As I mention earlier in this thread, I have a *bunch* of sites that are on 3.3.1 and they are all exporting and importing without issue — so it isn’t WordPress.
What is different about your site?
1. It could be that your XML file is extremely large — at a certain point the export Tool doesn’t work when that file gets too big. Talk to your host to see if they can work with you on that. (Or your host is not WordPress friendly and experiencing memory resource issues.)
2. Deactivate all your plugins and try to export to eliminate a plugin conflict. If you can export then you know one of your plugins is the culprit.
3. Make sure your Theme is 3.3.1 compatible and that there are no known issues by contacting the developer of your theme.
HTH!
How to Update to WordPress 3.2.1 | WordPress Consultant … http://t.co/YHa5sXrV
Hey Judith,
I always get anxious when I’m updating WordPress…I know it must be done so I don’t put it off for very long. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your article and admire you so much because you’re one of the very few webmasters who actually reply to comments! You’re just great! Have an awesome day!
no BS.. to the point information
Thank you so much Judith and your site design and colors are awesome !
Hey, Nate:
You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t get anxious — you can minimize that level by keeping up, right? If you follow my checklist and update promptly you’ll have less to be anxious about! Thanks for the kind words!
I ma just starting to w re do a brand new site and w I was thinking of using wordpress. is there any issue in using nay hosting comapny? doe sit matter? I usually use web.com to host my sites? does the site have to be worked on live at all times
Hey, Lea:
Not all hosts can effectively handle the unique resource and database requirements of a WordPress site — especially as it grows and gets busy or has a lot of traffic. I use HostGator for all my sites after finding out the hard way when other hosts fell short and my sites would go off-line due to resources issues. Two hosts that I do not recommend for WordPress sites, just based on my experience and those of my clients who were hosted with them, are GoDaddy and DreamHost. While both may be good at basic hosting or other related services — WordPress hosting (and support which is just as important) is not one of them HTH!