WordPress 2.7 worked fine here but…

Dec 12, 2008 in information

Did not have time to start upgrading my blogs yesterday because of previously scheduled items. So….

This morning I pulled the data base, turned off the plugins, grabbed my wp-config.php file and backed up the wp-content folder. Then ftp the new files up and ran the upgrade.php command.

All was good so far…

Then started turning on the plugins. Figured from previous testing that I would need to replace Simple Tags as there was a conflict there and WordPress told me to swap with another when I turned it on as expected except…

There was an upgrade for it. So…

Clicked the upgrade button for the plugin a minute or two later all is back to normal here. So I am ready to start upgrading the others.

But….

I had already checked for compatibility and was expecting to have to change a plugin because of the checking I had done.

Now this is a comment and replies from yesterdays post that I wanted to highlight.

Michelle on December 12, 2008 at 9:28 am Edit

I’m so glad that I backed up everything before doing the upgrade. I have two blogs. One upgraded flawlessly. The other has given me errors. If I hadn’t backed up first, I’d be lost right now. So, backing up your blog is the most important step in the upgrade process. I used to skip that step, but I never will again.

Michelle´s last blog post..It Pays to Know Your Programs #
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Mike on December 12, 2008 at 10:11 am Edit

@Michelle -
Glad you got the backup. I have upgraded 100’s if not 1000’s of times for clients and myself and only ever needed the backup twice but…

Those 2 times I had it was more than worth the effort of the times I didn’t need it.
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Michelle on December 12, 2008 at 10:35 am Edit

@Mike - I’m still trying to determine the trouble. It’s not the plugins. I think it’s the theme I’m using. I’m going to change themes and try again.
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Mike on December 12, 2008 at 10:41 am Edit

@Michelle -
switch to default theme first and see if it will run with your plugins, then if that works you will know it is the theme. Also can be the widgets you are using in your sidebar.

If you still have trouble with the default then shut off widgets one at a time and check each time to see if that was the problem to isolate it.

So even though the odds are in your favor of not having a major problem do the backups just in case and if you do have a problem there are some good trouble shooting tips in that thread above.

Due your homework and take your time as there is no need to rush to 2.7 as long as you are running 2.6.5 until you have done your due diligence.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: upgrade wordpress, wordpress, wordpress 2.7

WordPress 2.7 released - What now?

Dec 11, 2008 in information

Last night WordPress released version 2.7. They faked me out as on the beta they had a new release candidate so it looked like they would not make the 10th. Wake up this morning and log in and it says WordPress 2.7 is available. Please upgrade now.

The question is should you?

The answer is a rousing absolute DEPENDS.

I know not the answer you were looking for. Here is why.

1. It is NOT a security update so it is not a must do. You should be running 2.6.5 and if you are not then that is a must upgrade.

2. Lots of new features but as previously discussed you may need to make changes to plugins and need to check your theme compatibility.

Because of this you need to check those things before you can make the decision. There is no rush and you can find that information on this post - Are you ready for WordPress 2.7?

Why you should

The new features in 2.7 are the reason that this has been one of the most awaited releases. Just being able to do what I did this am on the beta blog would be worth the effort. Yes I logged in and sew the upgrade message, clicked it, clicked upgrade and a few minutes later it was on the latest version.

Caveat: You should back up first and on my normal blogs I do but did not on that one because it is just there to test and there is nothing on that of value there if it got lost.. It is used just to test alpha and beta version. You should also be doing regular backups anyhow

There are tons of other new features some of which have been previously covered but to list a few.

Customizable dashboard
Automatic plugin installation (not just upgrading)
Automatic upgrading
and much more

So now you know why the answer was a great big depends.

Yes you want to upgrade because of the features but….

Not until you have done a bit of homework and allowed time for your favorite theme and plugin authors to make what you like compatible. I will be upgrading my various blogs in the next few days. Today is already spoken for and will let you know what has worked and what has not.

Here is the official WordPress Video walk through.Check out.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: upgrade wordpress, wordpress, wordpress 2.7

WordPress 2.6.5 released

Nov 27, 2008 in information

Despite the eminent release of 2.7 WordPress has issued a new security update. They skipped from 2.6.3 to 2.6.5 because of a bogus release from someone of a 2.6.4 to make sure there would not be anyone grabbing the bogus download by mistake.

You can read the whole post at the WordPress Blog.

Once version 2.7 comes out you will be able to upgrade automatically but for now go grab the files and make sure you upgrade your blog.

I have put my video on upgrading below.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: upgrade wordpress, WordPress 2.6.5

Upgrading WordPress revisited

Jul 16, 2008 in questions

Today’s question is a consistent one each time WordPress upgrades to a new version.

I am always a bit hesitant to Upgrade. What does one really have to do to Upgrade?
Is it easy or a Monster?

First you do need to understand a few things.

How to FTP
How to use PHPMyAdmin (located in cPanel)

If you are comfortable with that it is a piece of cake. If you are not it can be a monster.

WordPress has a nice 3 step process that will easily walk you through it or I have a video below. It is from earlier versions but the upgrade process has not changed.

Tomorrow I hope to have some more info on the new version and some of the new features not previously covered.

As always your questions and comments are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: easy wordpress upgrade, upgrade wordpress, wordpress

WordPress 2.5 - 2 thumbs up

Apr 06, 2008 in Updates

Well I have changed quite a few blogs over to the latest version of WordPress - 2.5 and have had no problems so far.

Unlike the last major change when they went to 2.3 I have had no trouble with the various plugins not wanting to play nice with this version.

The biggest thing I have found is the look in the back. There is a video tour in a previous post. Widgets have become easier to use and I occasionally have a problem finding something but all in all it has been a very smooth transition.

I haven’t used their WYSIWYG and won’t as I use Blog Desk for composing my posts. It allows me to do all the editing and image manipulation on my desk top.

Now I only upload with it and do not publish direct (even though I could) because I can’t manipulate the tags and title tags from my desktop.

As title tags and tagging improve your results I would recommend you do the same.

A lot of the new features in this one probably won’t come to fruition for a bit as this looks to be the base upon which they will build in the future. Getting used to this now will allow you to take advantage of some of the upcoming features.

Looks to be relatively safe to do this upgrade at this time in my humble opinion.

As always your comments and questions are welcomed.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: upgrade wordpress, wordpress 2.5

More on WordPress 2.5

Apr 04, 2008 in Updates

Just did a video and uploaded it to give you an idea of some of the changes with the latest edition of WordPress -2.5.

Starting to like this and with a minor exception mentioned in the video with the upgrade functionality which may have been just a server glitch I have had no problems and the upgrades I have done have been extremely easy with no conflicts.

Have a few more of my blogs to upgrade that do different things and then will be able to make a recommendation on whether you should be upgrading.

Enjoy the video and as always your feedback is requested.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: upgrade wordpress, wordpress, wordpress2.5

Upgrading WordPress

Jan 14, 2008 in questions

This is another topic that I get asked a lot so I have put a video on You Tube. If you like these videos and would like to see more of them leave a comment and if you are really kind click over to You Tube and rate it.

Upgrading your WordPress blog is important because like all open source software the hackers are always looking for ways to exploit it. WordPress does a good job of fixing any exploits that they find but if you don’t keep current you don’t stay protected.