# Update WordPress, plugins and themes

See which updates a WordPress site has, install them one by one or all at once, and manage plugins and themes without opening WordPress admin.

## Before you start

- A running WordPress site in Nuvlo.
- Permission to manage sites.
- A recent backup. Nuvlo doesn’t take one before updating. See [Back up a site](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/back-up-a-site).

## Step 1: Find sites with updates

In the **Sites** list, the **WordPress updates** quick action shows a count when updates are waiting. Its tooltip names them.

On a site’s page, the **WordPress** tab shows a dot, and the **Updates** tile on **Overview** shows how many are available.

![Overview tab of a WordPress site with the Updates tile showing available updates](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/wordpress-updates--overview-tile.webp)

## Step 2: Open the WordPress tab

Click the **WordPress** tab. The **Updates** card lists every waiting update: WordPress core, plugins and themes, each with its current and new version.

Click **Check again** to read the site’s state fresh.

![WordPress tab with the Updates card listing core, plugin and theme updates](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/wordpress-updates--updates-card.webp)

## Step 3: Install the updates

Click **Update to …** on a row to install one update. To install everything, click **Install all … updates**. Nuvlo updates plugins first, then themes, then WordPress core, one at a time, and clears the object cache afterwards.

Before each update Nuvlo keeps a copy of the plugin, theme or WordPress files. After it, Nuvlo loads WordPress, the home page and the login page. If one of them worked before and fails now, Nuvlo puts the previous version back and tells you which update broke the site and why. The other updates still install.

> Only files are put back. If the new version changed the database before it failed, that change stays. Updates WordPress installs by itself (the **Auto-updates** switch) are not checked this way.

When a site has one update, the **Overview** tile offers **Install update**.

If Nuvlo couldn’t check part of the site, the card names that part and what WordPress said.

## Step 4: Manage plugins

The **Plugins** card lists every plugin with its version, status and an **Auto-updates** switch. Turn the switch on to let WordPress update that plugin by itself.

The **⋯** menu on a row has **Deactivate plugin**, **Activate plugin** and **Delete plugin**. Delete a plugin only after deactivating it.

![Plugins card with version, status, Auto-updates switch and the options menu open](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/wordpress-updates--plugins.webp)

> **Warning:** **Delete plugin** can remove the plugin’s settings and data along with its files. It can’t be undone.

Must-use plugins and drop-ins load outside WordPress’s plugin manager, so they have no switch or menu here.

## Step 5: Manage themes

The **Themes** card has **Update** for themes with a new version, and **Activate theme** and **Delete theme** in each row’s menu. You can’t delete the active theme; activate another one first.

![Themes card with each theme’s version and status](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/shots/wordpress-updates--themes.webp)

## Automatic updates

New WordPress sites install minor WordPress releases, such as security fixes, by themselves. Major releases wait for you. This is the `WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE` setting, which you can change in [wp-config.php](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/wordpress-config).

Plugins update automatically only where their **Auto-updates** switch is on.

## If a site breaks after an update

An update installed from Nuvlo that breaks the site is undone by itself. If the site broke another way, or shows “Bad gateway” or doesn’t answer, restart PHP. **Overview** shows **Restart PHP** while the site is down. See [Restart a WordPress site’s services](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/wordpress-services).

If that doesn’t help, restore the backup from before the update. See [Restore a backup](https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/restore-a-backup).

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Source: https://app.nuvlo.dev/docs/wordpress-updates