Preparation Will Save You From Disaster
There are so many benefits to the upgrade to the new version of Wordpress 2.8 its hard to justify not upgrading. I will be upgrading all of my sites over the next couple of weeks and some of them are running on Version 2.6.5. One of the biggest reasons I am making the upgrade is the increase in speed.
The new version is built for speed and in the internet world, speed is King. Faster loads to your site, faster dashboard loads, just plain faster.
So, the time it takes to upgrade, and prepare for the upgrade , will be given back to you many times over.
OK, we have determined the reasons for upgrade, now we need to prepare for upgrade to divert disaster.
Prepare for BLAST OFF.
#1 - BACK UP YOUR DATABASE. If you haven’t been doing this on a regular basis, shame on you and take this opportunity to get it right. There is a great plug in that does it automatically and even emails you the file.
WP-DBmanager by Lester Chan - If you don’t have this on your blog – install it now and back up your database.
#2 - Plugin Compatibility Check One of the reasons I have not upgraded some of my sites is because I knew some of my plugins’ were not compatible with Wordpress 2.7 and I would have to change them. Since there are so many benefits to Wordpress 2.8 I will take the time to search out compatible plugins’ to perform the same tasks as the old ones. Here is a great list to determine what plugins’ might not be compatible with Wordpress 2.8. Plug In Check. You can turn off any plugins’ that might have a conflict and check to see if there is an upgrade or search out other plugins’ that will perform the same task. Searching out new plugins’ is usually how I solve the problem and many times I end up with something better than I had before.
#3 Theme Compatibility Check. Make sure your theme is compatible with the upgrade to Wordpress 2.8. I run this blog on Thesis, which I highly recommend. Yes, it costs some money, but if you are serious about building a blog this theme is awesome. It is very easy to use, you get free lifetime upgrades and the support is second to none. Seriously, if you want your Blog to be the best it can be, get the best.
Here is an example. On the day Wordpress 2.8 was released, I get an email from the author of the Thesis theme telling me that his upgrade is ready and how the changes will function with Wordpress 2.8. To be honest I didn’t know Wordpress 2.8 was being released that day, I found out through my Theme author. You can’t beat that.
I will step down now from the soap box but before I do, make sure your theme is compatible with the upgrade. If its not, its a great time to switch to Thesis and get serious about your business.
If you have any question about your theme compatibility the WP Codex will guide you through.
#4 - Last but not least, the Upgrade. If you haven’t installed the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin, go get it now. It simplifies the process and gives you play by play instructions throughout the procedure. You get the upgrade installed automatically, there are prompts to download the backup files it automatically creates and it even puts a message up about your site being in maintenance mode.
If you are wondering why you need to backup your site prior to using the Automatic Upgrade the answer is simple. Just do it. You can’t be too safe here and on top of it, the plugin I gave you backs up your site on an ongoing basis. You should have been doing this all along. If this paragraph doesn’t apply to you – Good On You.
#5 – Fatal Error
If you get a Fatal Error Message that looks like this:
Fatal Error Message : Allowed memory size of 38720439 bytes exhausted public.html/wp-includes/http.php
read this post - Fatal Error Repair – Wordpress 2.8 Upgrade
This is a little glitch I needed to figure out when I upgraded. It was simple so don’t panic. I have given you the exact details and procedures to overcome this little issue
Happy Speed Blogging.
