Plugins and wp core need updating as they contain bug fixes and security fixes
What are the risks?
- If you haven’t updated for many months, Don’t worry too much. The plugin updates should still work.
The risks are more when plugins authors do not release new updates and the plugins become “abandoned” as they plugins are more likely to be exploited. - Glitches during the update process or plugin conflicts with the specific versions of plugins can happen. Conflicts will require you to reinstall the previous version of the plugin. Glitches will require a manual update of the plugin or simply try upgrading again.
Key Points for Safe updates:
- Always backup your plugins directory and database before performing the updates.
- If your risk is high, update everything on staging/development server before updating on live server to ensure no conflicts
- Update plugins once a week
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