Full site check & update – Example

Toggl:

Start your toggl timer

ManageWP:

Navigate to the site

Plugin / Theme / Core Updates:

Sync the site

Plugins to update? Backup the site

Update plugins

Themes to update? Backup the site

Update themes

Core to update? Backup the site

Update core

Security:

Run a security scan of the site

Performance:

Run a performance scan of the site

Asana:

Complete task in Asana

Toggl:

Stop your toggl timer

Toggl:

Start your toggl timer

ManageWP:

Navigate to the site

Find the site you want to update from the Websites tab. Click on the site.

Plugin / Theme / Core Updates:

Sync the site

For a video on this process, check step 4.

Next, we want to sync the site to see if there are any updates to perform. Click the Sync icon in the upper toolbar.

If there are updates, follow below based on the type of updates. If there are no updates, skip to Section 15, Security.

If there are updates:

Are there plugin updates? Move to step 9.
Are there themes to update? Move to step 11.
Is there a WordPress update? Move to step 13.
Do all three require updates? Start with plugins, move to themes next and finish with WordPress.

Plugins to update? Backup the site

Follow along with the video below to see how to backup a site in WP Engine. Complete the checklist below the video to backup.

1

From the WP Engine dashboard, click on the install you wish to backup
2

Navigate to Backup points from the left hand menu
3

Click the green Back Up Now button
4

Enter a description of the backup, such as 12/12/2016 Plugin Update
5

Enter your email in the next line so you’re alerted when the backup is complete and you can move to the next step

Update plugins

If there are theme, core and plugin updates, you want to first update plugins.

If the plugin is a major update DO NOT update the plugin.

How do you know if it's major or minor?

Take a look at this example.

Basically, if the value for spot #1 (ones) or #2 (tenths) changes, it's major. If spot #3 (hundredths) changes it's minor.

In the example above, Beaver Builder and Ninja forms are minor updates because only the hundredths value changed. Easy Forms and Yoast SEO both have tenths value changes.

In closing, follow this process to determine minor vs major updates:

Did the ones value change (spot #1)? It's MAJOR, don't update and continue with major update process outlined below.
Did the tenths value change (spot #2)? It's MAJOR don't update and continue with major update process outlined below
Did the hundredths value change (spot #2)? It's MINOR go ahead and update.

Follow along with the video below. There is one plugin to update (minor update) and one we skip because it's a major update. Complete the checklist for the plugin update task.

1

Open the website in a new tab and check the main pages of the site. These are the pages listed from the main navigation. We want to get an idea of what the site looks like before updating so we know if something goes wrong.
2

Go to the Updates box in the site dashboard on ManageWP.
3

Check the version numbers of the updates. Is it a minor update ( i.e. 2.1.1 -> 2.1.2)? If yes, click the box next to the plugin.
4

If no (i.e. 2.1 -> 2.2 or 2.1 -> 3.0), don't check the box. Instead, add a task in Asana for this project to update this particular plugin in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set a due date within 2 weeks.
5

Once you've checked the appropriate plugins, click update.
6

Check the main pages of the site again. We're looking for any obvious layout problems.
7

If there are problems, roll back the update via WP Engine. Add a task in Asana for this project to update the plugin in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set the due date within 2 weeks. Check out video below for rollback process.

Themes to update? Backup the site

If there are themes to update, backup the site again on WP Engine before updating the themes. Redundancy is good!

Update themes

If there are themes to update, update the themes following the same procedure as the plugins.

1

Check the main pages of the site.
2

Go to the Themes box in the site dashboard on ManageWP.
3

Check the version numbers of the updates. Is it a minor update ( i.e. 2.1.1 -> 2.1.2) or is this an inactive theme? If yes, click the box next to the theme.
4

If no (i.e. 2.1 -> 2.2 or 2.1 -> 3.0 AND the theme is the active theme), don't check the box. Instead, add a task in Asana for this project to update this particular theme in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set a due date within 2 weeks.
5

Once you've checked the appropriate themes, click update.
6

Check the pages listed in the notes section again and be on the lookout for any problems.
7

If there are problems, roll back the update via WP Engine. Add a task in Asana for this project to update the theme in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set due date within 2 weeks.

Core to update? Backup the site

If there is a core update, backup the site again.

Update core

Finally, we'll update the core if needed.

1

Check the site pages.
2

Go to the Core box in the site dashboard on ManageWP.
3

Check the version number of the update. Is it a minor update ( i.e. 4.1.1 -> 4.1.2)? If yes, click the box next to the core update.
4

If no (i.e. 2.1 -> 2.2 or 2.1 -> 3.0), don't check the box. Instead, add a task in Asana for this project to update the core in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set a due date within 2 weeks.
5

Once you've checked the appropriate update, click update.
6

Check the pages listed in the notes section again and be on the lookout for any problems.
7

If there are problems, roll back the update via WP Engine. Add a task in Asana for this project to update the core in a dev environment. Assign the task to the developer and set due date within 2 weeks.