How to use the WP Auto Update tool by SiteGround

In this tutorial we will show you how to use the WP Auto Update tool developed by us in order to keep your website always safe and up-to-date. The tool provides you with the following features:

• Accessing WP Auto Update
• WP Auto Update Overview
• WordPress Core Update Options
• WordPress Plugins Update Options
• Backup Restoration
• Email Notifications and Disable WP Auto Update Function

Accessing WP Auto Update

First, you need to login to your cPanel account and open the WP Auto Update tool located in the Sitebuilding Software section.

WP Auto Update Overview

On the first screen you will see a brief instructions on how to use WP Auto Update. Under them you will find a list of your WordPress sites. Next to the site URL, you will see its status showing whether WP Auto Update is Enabled or Disabled for this site. The last column in the table is for the available actions you can perform for those sites.

WordPress Core Update Options

If you have a website that doesn't have WP Auto Update yet and isn't up-to-date, you will see two options next to it - Enable Autoupdate and Update WordPress Core. The first one will enable the autoupdate feature and schedule update for your site. The second option will instantly perform a one-time update of your WordPress site. We recommend that you enable the autoupdate feature of the tool since it will assure that your site is always up-to-date.

WordPress Plugins Update Options

In addition, there is the Update plugins option available for all sites with WP Auto Update enabled. If you enable this option, all of your plugins will be updated to the latest version alongside with the core application.

Backup Restoration

Note, that if any issues with your website occur due to the automatic update feature, you can always restore your site to its state before the update. WP Auto Update stores a backup of your website each time, it performs an automatic update. If something goes wrong, simply select your site and select the Restore last backup action.

Email Notifications and Disable WP Auto Update Function

Last but not least, if you want to disable the WP Auto Update tool, you can do it anytime. You will receive an email notification 24 hours before the update takes place. If you want, you can stop the update before it begins.