Upgrading your WordPress website is crucial for its optimal performance & security; however, it can also turn into a mess if not done under the guidance of a WordPress expert. In this blog post, I have shared some of the common errors that webmasters experience when they upgrade their WordPress site.
Common Post-upgrade Errors
1. Website Crashes / White Screen of Death
In this case, the site suddenly turns completely blank after updating a plugin. This error is usually caused by conflicts between the plugin and the theme, or between the plugin and another plugin.
The best approach to fix this issue is to access the server or FTP to deactivate the faulty plugin. If these terms or processes sound unfamiliar or too technical to you, it would be a good idea to hire a WordPress developer to deal with these kinds of crucial problems.
2. Plugin Conflicts With Other Plugins
Your WordPress site may be using several plugins, and not all of them work well together. Updating one plugin may cause another to stop working or display errors, and this is not uncommon.
If you notice broken layouts, missing buttons, error messages, or slow loading after the upgrade, your plugins may be conflicting with each other. Quick troubleshooting for this error may require disabling plugins one by one to identify the cause.
3. Theme Compatibility Issues
Updating a plugin may change its functionality, further breaking the theme. It’s because some themes depend on the specific plugin versions.
Common symptoms of this error include broken pages, missing sections, or layout distortion. In this case, you must hire a web developer who may need to update or modify theme files to fix the problem.
4. Failed or Incomplete Updates
When a WordPress upgrade is stopped halfway due to any reason, such as low memory, timeouts, or file permission issues, it can also cause the whole site to malfunction. To address this problem, you may need to upload plugin files or manually increase server limits.
5. Loss of custom modifications
This is a widespread problem that most webmasters face after upgrading their WordPress site, especially if their site had several customizations.
Updating the plugin without a plan removes all custom code in the plugin files, which can break custom features and may require rebuilding from scratch. The solution? Use hooks or custom snippets instead of editing plugin core files. If you aren’t sure about the customized codes added to your website’s plugins or themes, consult a WordPress expert.
6. Unexpected Changes After Updating
Updating your WordPress site may add new features or design changes that may affect the site layout, forms, buttons, or user experience. Therefore, it is always a good practice to upgrade a website on the staging server before moving it to the live server. If this looks like a lot of work to you, hire a web developer to do this job for you.
How to Avoid Post-Upgrade Errors?
- Always take a full backup before updating anything.
- Test updates on a staging site rather than on the live website.
- Update plugins regularly—don’t let them accumulate.
- Check plugin compatibility and read changelogs first.
- Use a reliable hosting provider with sufficient memory and processing power.
Precautions to take
Before Updating
- Take a full backup (files + database).
- Update on staging first instead of the live website.
- Check plugin compatibility with your current WordPress version, theme, and other plugins.
- Read the changelog to see what the update changes.
- Disable cache (both plugin-based and server-based) to avoid conflicts.
- Inform clients or team members that maintenance work is happening.
During the Update
- Update one plugin at a time to detect issues easily.
- Monitor the website immediately after each update.
- Check error logs if something breaks (PHP errors, server logs, WP debug logs).
- Avoid updating during peak hours when website traffic is high.
After Updating
- Clear all caches (plugin, browser, hosting, CDN).
- Test key website features, such as:
- Contact forms
- Shopping cart/checkout
- Login/signup
- Sliders, galleries, menus
- Payment gateways
- Verify that the theme still works as expected.
- Check mobile responsiveness to make sure nothing shifted.
- Update the staging environment to match the live setup.