In Brief
Yes, many small business owners can safely update WordPress themselves if their site is straightforward
DIY updates work well for small sites with fewer than 10 plugins, a standard theme, and a reliable backup system
Get professional help if your site takes payments, has custom development, or generates significant income
Always take a backup before updating anything, and update one item at a time
The cost of fixing a broken site is usually much higher than the cost of professional maintenance
WordPress is telling you updates are available.
You hover over that blue button, wondering whether to click it yourself or pay someone to do it for you. It feels like it should be simple, but you’ve heard stories about updates breaking websites completely.
Here’s the honest answer: for many small business sites, you can handle updates yourself without any drama.
But for others, clicking that button without preparation could turn a simple task into hours of guessing and troubleshooting.
This guide helps you work out which category you fall into. By the end, you’ll have clear criteria to decide what’s right for your site.
Table of Contents
Yes, You Probably Can Update WordPress Yourself
WordPress has made updates easier than ever, and millions of site owners handle them without problems every single day.
If you’re running a straightforward business website with a handful of plugins, a standard theme from a reputable developer, and decent hosting, you can probably manage updates yourself.
WordPress even handles some minor security updates automatically without you needing to do anything.
The update process itself takes just a few clicks. WordPress tells you what needs updating, you click the button, and it does the rest.
Most of the time, nothing goes wrong and your site continues working exactly as before, just with newer, more secure software running behind the scenes.
The real question isn’t “can I do this?” but “what happens if something goes wrong, and am I prepared and able to fix it?”
What Happens When You Click Update
When you click an update button, WordPress downloads the new version of whatever you’re updating. It then removes the old files and replaces them with the new ones. Finally, it runs any database changes needed for the new version to work properly.
This happens for three different types of updates.
- WordPress core updates change the fundamental software running your site.
- Plugin updates change individual features you’ve added.
- Theme updates change how your site looks and sometimes how it functions.
Most updates complete in a few seconds without any issues. WordPress has built-in checks to catch problems, though the quality of testing varies widely between different plugin developers.
What Could Go Wrong
Problems usually occur because of conflicts.
A plugin update might not work properly with your version of WordPress. Two plugins might clash after one gets updated. A theme update might not play nicely with a plugin you’re using.
It’s near impossible to predict these situations.
When conflicts happen, you might see error messages, find that parts of your site don’t work, or in worse cases, encounter the “white screen of death” where your site shows nothing at all.
These problems are fixable, but fixing them requires knowing what to do and having access to your site’s files.
When DIY Updates Are Fine
You’re likely safe to handle updates yourself if your site meets most of these criteria.
The Safe-to-Update Checklist
- Your site has fewer than 10 plugins installed
- You’re using a theme from WordPress.org or a well-known developer
- Your hosting provider takes automatic backups you can restore
- Your site is primarily informational rather than transactional
- You haven’t had a developer add custom code or functionality
- You’re comfortable accessing your hosting account if needed
- Updates have gone smoothly in the past
If you tick most of these boxes, DIY updates are a reasonable choice. You might still encounter the occasional hiccup, but it probably won’t be anything serious.
When You Should Get Help
Some situations genuinely benefit from professional attention.
The risk of something going wrong is higher, and the consequences of problems are more serious.
Warning Signs Your Site Needs Professional Attention
Consider getting help if any of these apply to you:
- Your site takes payments or bookings online
- You have more than 10 plugins installed
- A developer has added custom code or built bespoke features
- Your site has membership areas or restricted content
- You don’t have a backup system you know how to use
- Previous updates have caused problems
- Your website directly generates a significant portion of your income
For sites in these categories, updates carry higher stakes.
An e-commerce site going offline during a busy period costs real money. Custom code can break in unexpected ways when other components update around it.
The more plugins you have, the more chances there are for something to clash.
The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong
When updates cause problems, the costs add up quickly.
Downtime hurts immediately.
If customers can’t access your site, they go elsewhere. For service businesses, even a few hours offline during peak times can mean lost enquiries you’ll never get back.
Repair costs often surprise people. Emergency fixes from WordPress developers typically cost more than routine maintenance. You might pay £100-300 to fix a problem that proper maintenance would have prevented.
Your time matters too. Troubleshooting a broken WordPress site when you should be running your business is frustrating and unproductive.
For many business owners, paying someone else to handle updates frees up hours they can spend on work that actually earns money.
A Middle Ground: Update Yourself, But Smarter
If you decide to handle updates yourself, there are ways to reduce the risk significantly.
Five Rules for Safer DIY Updates
- Always back up first. Before touching any update, make sure you have a recent backup you can restore. Many UK hosting providers like Krystal, 20i, and SiteGround offer one-click backups, or you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus.
- Update one thing at a time. Don’t click “Update All” and hope for the best. Update one plugin, check your site works, then move to the next. If something breaks, you’ll know exactly what caused it.
- Start with plugins, then themes, then WordPress core. This order reduces the chance of one update breaking something that another update then makes worse.
- Check your site after each update. Visit your homepage, a few key pages, and any forms or interactive features. Make sure everything still works before updating the next item.
- Know your recovery options. Before you need it, make sure you know how to restore a backup or contact your hosting provider for help.
If you want extra peace of mind, some hosting providers offer development or staging sites where you can test updates on a copy of your site before applying them to the live version. This adds time to the process but removes almost all risk.
Making Your Decision
What works for one site won’t suit another. What matters is making an honest assessment of your situation.
If you have a simple site and you’re comfortable with basic troubleshooting, handling updates yourself makes sense. If your site is more complex or generates significant income, the peace of mind from professional maintenance is often worth the cost.
Whatever you decide, don’t ignore updates entirely. Leaving them to pile up creates bigger problems down the line, both for security and compatibility.
If you’d rather hand this over to someone else, we offer WordPress maintenance packages that include monthly updates, backups, and monitoring. But if you prefer the DIY approach, the guidelines above will help you do it safely.
Frequently Asked Questions
WordPress releases minor updates every few weeks and major updates several times per year. Plugins and themes update on their own schedules, with some updating monthly and others less frequently. Security updates should be applied promptly, while feature updates can wait a week or two to let others discover any problems first.
WordPress automatically applies minor security updates by default. However, major WordPress updates, plugin updates, and theme updates require you to click the update button manually unless you’ve specifically enabled automatic updates for everything. Many site owners prefer manual control so they can back up first and test afterwards.
You can roll back to a previous version if you have a backup from before the update. This is why backing up before updating is so important. Without a backup, you’ll need to troubleshoot the specific problem, which might involve deactivating plugins or contacting your hosting provider for help.
Most individual updates complete within 10-30 seconds. Updating everything on a site with many plugins might take 5-10 minutes if you’re doing it properly (one at a time with checks between each). The actual process is quick; it’s the preparation and testing that takes time.
Update plugins first, then your theme, then WordPress core last. This approach means each component is updated to work with your current WordPress version before WordPress itself changes. It reduces the chance of conflicts and makes troubleshooting easier if problems occur.
A plugin that hasn’t been updated in over a year might be abandoned by its developer. Check whether it’s been tested with your WordPress version by looking at the plugin’s page on WordPress.org. If not, consider finding an alternative plugin that’s actively maintained. Abandoned plugins can become security risks over time.
Ideally, yes. In practice, if your hosting takes daily automatic backups, you might rely on those for routine plugin updates. However, before WordPress core updates or updates to plugins that handle important functionality, a manual backup gives you more control over exactly what you can restore.
It’s convenient but riskier than updating individually. If something breaks after updating everything at once, you won’t know which update caused the problem. For simple sites with few plugins, it’s usually fine. For complex sites, updating one at a time is safer.
In addition, updating 5-10 plugins all at the same time can slow your server down and lead to outages.
Professional maintenance typically includes monthly updates to WordPress core, plugins, and themes. Before updating, they take backups and check for potential conflicts. After updating, they test the site to confirm everything works. Many services also include security monitoring, uptime checks, and support if problems occur.