Updating WordPress themes is very much important, but most of the people were not aware of it. So they have a question in mind like, whether is it very much essential or must update the WordPress themes? And what will happen if I didn’t update WordPress themes? This is not an excellent question, but it is a valid one. If you analyse the work you do, then you should get these question on your mind. It is the day which made to look at it, and I am sharing the valid points after a lengthy analysis.
Update WordPress Theme files Regularly
Most of the themes will release at least one update per week, and it will be minor updates. But we will have another question like why can’t they update all the minor updates to launch a Big Update as a one? And the reason behind every problem is security.
Security is the Core Reason
Security is very much important everywhere. If you want to make sure your data are safe, then you want to take care of your security. When it comes to an online platform, the websites are on various domains such as blogs, educational contents, business websites, magazines, writers, personal profiles & so on.
When we take a one-page website, there too we need security, and it is important to keep the website stable. A single security patch may spoil the entire website either by design or by the content. So security is important from a small size content to huge online platforms.
What are those Minor Updates?
Updates are nothing by adding additional checks or additional features to the existing contents. Sometimes, if suppose a function is not supporting the people, and if it creates a disadvantage for the theme or application, then it will be removed on the update. So minor updates may also have a serious security update. This shows the importance of updating the theme regularly.
Every Theme/ Plugin/ CMS will have an update history or changelog. If you have a look at it, then it will show the importance of the updates.
Check the Divi Changelog -> https://divinotes.com/divi-changelog/
version 3.19.1 ( updated 12-26-2018 )
– Fixed unwanted z-index issue after module is animated.
– Fixed a bug where Reset Advanced Styles action were not resetting Custom CSS fields.
– Fixed CSS for Login and Email Optin module layout in Specialty section.
– Fixed a bug where Blurb module circle icon became square if font size is big.
– Fixed Dynamic Content being disabled when module styles are reset.
– Fixed undraggable module items’ drag and drop on settings modal in Firefox.
– Fixed visual builder’s incorrect drag handle position when dragging section/row/module which has custom width.
– Fixed incorrect builder top margin when admin bar is disabled.
– Fixed unwanted changed row z-index positioning due to recent section-divider related fix.
– Removed unwanted margin on visual builder of post post-type in RTL layout.
– Fixed Select Menu position when the admin bar isn’t present on the page.
– Fixed Go To Item list being updated after editing page.
– Added quick actions modal launch keyboard shortcut into help modal.
– Fixed go to action not scrolled to the right element when the page has been scrolled manually.
– Fixed Visual Builder loading with “crm.zoho.com” script on page.
– Fixed Integration Code sometimes being altered when including scripts.
* core/components/data/ScriptReplacer.php
* core/components/data/init.php
* core/ui/utils/frames.js
* includes/builder/frontend-builder/assets/css/fb-top-window.css
* includes/builder/frontend-builder/bundle.js
* includes/builder/functions.php
* includes/builder/scripts/builder.js
* includes/builder/scripts/frontend-builder-scripts.js
* includes/builder/styles/frontend-builder-style.less
Check the Visual Compose Release Notes -> https://visualcomposer.com/help/release-notes/
10.0 – 26.11.2018
New: Basic editor elements added to the plugin .zip file
New: Radial gradient added to the Design Options
Update: New Visual Composer logo added
Update: Visual Composer Hub UI update
Update: User Interface for element and template search results
Update: Simplified plugin activation mechanism
Update: Compatibility with WordPress 5.0
Update: Compatibility with Gutenberg editor in WordPress 5.0
Update: Optimized plugin .zip file
Update: Authorization token removed for the Free version to simplify activation
Update: Activation of the plugin available via Visual Composer Hub
Update: Amount of activation related requests minimized for better performance
Update: Error handling mechanism improvements to track possible activation failures
Fix: Template can be added to the page after update
Fix: BeTheme compatibility improvements for editor loading in Safari
Fix: Template update renew media files within the template if necessary
Fix: Visual Composer Hub teaser is updated after Premium activation
Fix: Styles of the editor are applied correctly
Fix: Basic menu works properly without sandwich menu element download
Fix: TinyMCE display external plugin options in Frontend editor
Fix: Global template preview contains assets
Fix: Global Gallery works properly in Visual Composer
Fix: Custom CSS/JS in Settings not missing border
Fix: Console error for Safari fixed
Fix: Controls border is rounded
Fix: Template can be added to the page right after download
Content Elements: Side Post Grid element added to the Visual Composer Hub
Content Element: News Post Grid element added to the Visual Composer Hub
Content Element: Grow Shadow Button element added to the Visual Composer Hub
Content Element: Social Profile Icons added to the Visual Composer Hub
Get the Latest Features
Everything is changing upside down due to various new launches every day. So it is must for the theme publishers to make sure their theme is up to date to sustain in the market. So every theme publishers will have a team to compare various features & to create a specific feature which helps to attract most of the customers.
So these new features will be added during the updates. As mention on the above update samples, you could see a point on the divi changelog “Added quick actions modal launch keyboard shortcut into help modal” which mentioned that a feature is added on Divi. So make sure you are up to date and grabbing all the new features by updating your theme regularly.
How to get notified about Updates periodically?
One of the recommended ways to get notified is through WordFence Security Plugin. Yes, it is a WordPress security plugin which allows us to schedule the periodic scanning and scan reports will be sent to our email id. So it will send notifications periodically as per our configuration and you can update it while receiving the information.
How to Update WordPress Themes?
Login to your WordPress website & you can see an Icon as mentioned the below Image.
When you click on that Icon, it will show you all the pending updates of WordPress, Plugins & Themes. You can check and update it one by one. Updating the themes alone is not important, you also want to keep all the software up to date for a smooth experience.
Another way to update your WordPress theme is, click on Appearance -> Themes. You can able to see the themes available and it’s available updates. Sometimes paid themes will require validation to update it. So validate the theme & update it properly to make sure the site loads fine.