Plugins & Updates

Finding and installing plugins, activating, deactivating, deleting and reinstalling them, updating WordPress itself along with your plugins and themes, and turning on automatic updates.

8 articles

How to turn on automatic updates

WordPress can install plugin and theme updates for you as soon as they are released. Here is how to switch that on, so you never have to remember to update again.

4 steps Plugins & Updates

How to delete and reinstall plugins

Sometimes a plugin has to go. Maybe you've stopped using it, or maybe it's misbehaving and you want a clean copy of the files on your site. You can do either one straight from your dashboard — no file access needed.

6 steps Plugins & Updates

How to update WordPress

A WordPress update brings you the newest features and the latest security fixes. It usually takes a minute or two, and WordPress does almost all of the work for you.

5 steps Plugins & Updates

How to activate and deactivate plugins

Plugins are the add-ons that give your site extra abilities — a contact form, a shop, a photo gallery. You can switch any of them on or off from one screen, and switching one off leaves it installed and ready for next time.

2 steps Plugins & Updates

How to update your themes

Theme updates bring fixes, fresh features, and the security patches that keep your site safe. You can install one from the Themes screen, or catch up on several at once from Updates — whichever suits how many are waiting.

2 steps Plugins & Updates

How to install a plugin from a ZIP file

Bought a plugin somewhere other than the WordPress Plugin Directory? If you have the .zip file on your computer, you can install it right from your dashboard — no file transfer tools, no code.

4 steps Plugins & Updates

How to install a plugin from the plugin directory

The plugin directory is built right into your dashboard. You can search it, see how well each plugin is kept up, and install one without ever leaving your site.

3 steps Plugins & Updates

How to update your plugins

Plugin updates are small releases that fix bugs and close security holes, and WordPress tells you the moment one is waiting. Here's how to see what needs updating, read what changed, and update one plugin or all of them at once.

3 steps Plugins & Updates