1. Procedure Title
Name of the Process: Website Plugin / Theme / Core Update
2. Purpose
Brief Description: Establish a standardized process for updating Plugins / Themes and WordPress core.
3. Scope
Involved Areas: Website Maintenance
4. Responsibilities
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Webdev – Website Maintenance
5. Definitions and Key Terms
Glossary:
Website Maintenance – Website maintenance is the process of keeping a website up-to-date and running smoothly as well as performing optimally. Website maintenance includes tasks like ensuring all the links on your site are working, regularly updating content, and fixing any broken links.
Pages / Webpage – A web page (or webpage) is a document on the Web that is accessed in a web browser.[1] A website typically consists of many web pages linked together under a common domain name. The term “web page” is thus a metaphor of paper pages bound together into a book.
Plugins – A WordPress plugin is a piece of software that “plugs into” your WordPress site. Plugins can add new functionality or extend existing functionality on your site, allowing you to create virtually any kind of website, from ecommerce stores to portfolios to directory sites.
Oxygen Builder – Oxygen Builder is a tool that enables you to build entire WordPress websites. It is not a page builder or a theme, but a hybrid product that enables you to have more control over what you create.
6. Procedure Details
6.1. Preparation and Prerequisites
- Google Drive Backup Folder for websites.
- Plugin Updates SOP
6.2 Timeline for Task Completion
- 10 Minutes – 30 Minutes per website depending on the number of plugins and number of pages.
6.3. Step-by-Step Procedure
Go to the website login URL, for example: `https://www.superiorgrouting.com/letmein/`.
Login to the website
Navigate to the All-in-One WP Migration plugin in your WordPress dashboard, then click on Backups.
Create Backup
A popup will appear—please wait until it completes.
Once completed, click Download.
After downloading the backup file, upload it to the Google Drive Backup Folder: Google Drive Link.
Once the backup upload is complete, return to WordPress and delete the older backup.
Click close
Click on the three dots on the right side, then select Delete.
Updating plugins
Hover over Dashboard, then click on Updates.
In this area, you can see updates for plugins, themes, and the WordPress core.
You can update plugins directly from here, or you can go to the Plugins or Themes sections to update them individually. Updating plugins one by one is recommended, as bulk updates can sometimes cause issues, making it more difficult to troubleshoot which specific update led to an error on the website.
Click into plugins > Installed plugins
Update each plugin individually that has an available update.
After plugins is updated
If there are theme updates, go to Appearance > Themes.
You will see an Update button if there are any updates available for the theme.
Once all the updates are complete, you need to clear the cache in
– Oxygen
Go to Oxygen Settings
CSS Cache tab and click into Go to the regeneration page. (Note: Skip this step if the website is built with Elementor.)
Start Generation
Wait for it to complete
– Litespeed
Hover to top litespeed icon -> then purge all
After clearing all caches, be sure to double-check all pages of the website in an incognito window to ensure there are no issues that occurred during the updates.
6.4. Tools and Resources
- WordPress
- Website Updates SOP
- Google drive backup Folder
7. Quality Control and Evaluation Metrics
Website Maintenance:
- Plugins:
- All plugins should be up to date
- Themes:
- All themes should be up to date
- WordPress Core
- WordPress core should be up to date
- Website Errors
- Websites should not encountered any form of error upon updates
- Website Security
- Website will not trigger any form of security issues when all plugins, themes and wordpress cores are up to date.
8. Exception and Problem Handling
- Website Error
- Troubleshooting website that has encountered an error upon updating
- Deactivate Plugins that took the update which cause an error
- Deactivate Theme that too the update which cause an error
- Core – Rollback core to previous versions
- Doing all and still issues occur restore the backup from the previous week
9. Documentation and Record Keeping
Documentation Requirements: SOP Google Drive
10. Procedure Review and Update
Review Frequency: Every 6 Months for new edits and revisions