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Update the WordPress Version of a Site ​

Every InstaWP site is created on a specific WordPress version, and that version is shown on the site dashboard. Sooner or later you'll want to move a site to a newer WordPress release — for a security fix, for a plugin that needs it, or just to keep the site current.

InstaWP doesn't replace WordPress' own updater. You update WordPress core the same way you would on any host — from WP Admin or with WP-CLI — and the InstaWP dashboard then shows you the new version.

In this documentation, we will explore:

Let's get started 🚀

Where to see your site's WordPress version ​

Go to the Sites page and click the site you want to work on. The site dashboard shows a WordPress Version card, and the same version also appears in the header strip next to the site name.

The WordPress Version card on the InstaWP site dashboard, with the refresh icon next to the version number

What the refresh icon does ​

The small circular arrow next to the version number is a refresh, not an upgrade button. Clicking it asks the server which WordPress version the site is actually running right now and updates what InstaWP has on record. It never installs anything and never changes your site.

Clicking it will not offer you a newer WordPress release to install, and it isn't only a way to move the number up — if the site is running an older WordPress than the dashboard has recorded, the number moves down to match the site.

You need it because the version is recorded when the site is created and isn't re-checked on its own. If WordPress has been updated since — from WP Admin, by a WordPress auto-update, or because the site was cloned from an older site — the dashboard can keep showing the old number until you refresh it.

That stale number isn't only cosmetic: the PHP Config page decides which PHP versions to offer you based on the WordPress version it has on record. So if a PHP version you expect is missing from the list, refresh the WordPress version first and check again.

📌 Note: The refresh icon only appears on sites hosted on InstaWP, and only for team members who are allowed to change the site. On legacy sites it isn't shown.

To actually install a newer WordPress, use one of the two options below.

Before you update ​

A WordPress core update is rarely dramatic, but it is a change to a live site. Two minutes of preparation:

  • Save a version first. Use Maintain Versions to take a snapshot you can restore in one click if a plugin or theme doesn't get along with the new release. You can also restore from a backup.
  • Test on a copy if the site matters. Clone the site, update the clone, click through the pages that matter, and only then update the original.
  • Update plugins and themes too. Most post-update breakage comes from an outdated plugin rather than from WordPress itself.

Option 1: Update from WP Admin ​

This is the simplest route and works on every plan.

Step 1: Open the site dashboard and click Magic Login in the top-right corner. It signs you into WP Admin as an administrator, with no password to type.

Step 2: In WP Admin, go to Dashboard → Updates.

Step 3: If a newer WordPress release is available, click Update to version X.X. WordPress downloads and installs it, then returns you to the Updates screen.

Step 4: While you're there, update any pending plugins and themes as well.

Option 2: Update with WP-CLI ​

If you prefer the command line, or you're updating several sites at once, use WP-CLI. Two places in the dashboard can run it:

  • Web Terminal — a shell in your browser, already in the site's directory.
  • Run Commands — save a command once and run it on one site or on many sites at the same time from Bulk Actions.

The commands are:

bash
wp core update          # install the latest WordPress release
wp core update-db       # apply any database changes the new version needs
wp core version         # confirm which version is now installed

To move to a specific release instead of the latest, add the version:

bash
wp core update --version=6.8.2

After updating ​

Go back to the site dashboard and click the refresh icon on the WordPress Version card. The card will show the new version, and the PHP versions on offer in PHP Config will match the WordPress version you're now running.

Then open the front end and WP Admin and click around briefly — the home page, a key template, and the admin screens of your most important plugins. If something is wrong, restore the version you saved before you started.

Managed sites are different ​

Everything above is for sites hosted on InstaWP, under Sites. Sites you connect from another host, under Manage, have their own update tooling: the managed site dashboard reports when a WordPress update is available, and you can let WordPress update itself with Auto Update Core, or run updates at a time you choose with Scheduled Updates (which takes a snapshot first).

See Managed Site Overview for how those settings work.

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