Update WordPress With wp-toolkit¶

Use this page to update WordPress core, plugins, themes, and language packs from cPanel's wp-toolkit.

Before Updating¶

1. Confirm the correct site is selected.
2. Create a backup.
3. Review the available updates.
4. Identify risky plugins such as WooCommerce, payment, membership, booking, form, caching, security, or page-builder plugins.
5. Use staging or Smart Updates for larger changes.

Update A Site¶

1. Open wp-toolkit.
2. Expand the site.
3. Review available updates for core, plugins, themes, and translations.
4. Update WordPress core first when appropriate.
5. Update plugins and themes.
6. Test the public site and WordPress admin.

WP-CLI Equivalent¶

Run these commands from the WordPress document root to review and apply updates from SSH.

wp core check-update
wp plugin list --update=available
wp theme list --update=available

Apply updates deliberately:

wp core update
wp plugin update plugin-slug
wp theme update theme-slug
wp language core update

For lower-risk sites, all plugin or theme updates can be applied in one pass:

wp plugin update --all
wp theme update --all

For stores, membership sites, page-builder sites, and other important sites, update risky plugins one at a time and test between changes.

Automatic Updates¶

wp-toolkit may expose automatic update options for WordPress core, plugins, and themes.

Use automatic updates carefully:

• Low-risk brochure sites are often good candidates.
• Business-critical stores, membership sites, and custom builds usually need manual review.
• Premium plugins may need license checks or vendor-specific update steps.
• Backups should still exist even when updates are automated.

What To Test After Updates¶

Check:

• Home page and key landing pages.
• WordPress admin.
• Contact forms.
• Checkout, bookings, memberships, or logins.
• Menus, search, and page-builder layouts.
• Caching behavior.

If the site breaks, restore from backup or disable the recently updated plugin or theme.

Related wp-toolkit Tasks¶