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Not sure about whether to update WordPress core, or your plugins first?
Often beginners don’t install updates because they are afraid of breaking their site. Updating your WordPress site in the correct order will help you prevent common errors and troubleshoot more easily.
In this article, we’ll show you the proper order for updating WordPress core, plugins, and themes.
Unfortunately, on rare occasions, updating WordPress or a plugin can break your website. This can happen if there’s a bug in the code or if the update introduces some kind of conflict with a theme or plugin.
That’s why we always recommend that you create a complete WordPress backup before performing any updates. You can also create a staging site where you can test the updates and catch any errors without risking your live website.
It’s also helpful to use the proper WordPress update order. You may be wondering whether it’s best to update WordPress core or your plugins first.
Our expert team recommends updating WordPress in this order:
First, update WordPress core
Then update your plugins
Finally, update your theme last
Let’s take a look at the best order to update your WordPress website.
Before You Start, Make a Complete WordPress Backup
Before you update anything, it’s important to perform a full backup of your WordPress website. You should store the backup on your computer or in cloud storage, not just on your hosting server.
That’s because there is always some risk that an update may break your site, no matter how careful you are or which order you perform the updates.
UpdraftPlus is the best WordPress backup plugin and is used by more than 3 million websites. You can use it to create a complete backup of your WordPress site and store it on the cloud or download it to your computer.
If a new version of WordPress core is available, then you should update that first. This follows the update order as it is listed on the Dashboard » Updates page and helps minimize the risk to your site.
Because plugin and theme updates are tested to work with the latest WordPress version, you are less likely to have conflicts by updating your plugins and themes after the latest version of WordPress is installed.
The simplest way to update WordPress core is to navigate to the Dashboard » Updates page and then click the ‘Update Now’ button.
When you press ‘Update Now,’ WordPress will automatically put your site in maintenance mode, then fetch the latest version of the software and install it for you. You will see the update progress on your screen.
To learn how to update WordPress core using either of these methods, see our beginner’s guide and infographic on how to safely update WordPress.
Troubleshooting a WordPress Core Update
Before you move on to update your plugins, you should first make sure that there are no problems with your website now that it is running the latest version of WordPress.
Simply visit your website in a new browser window to see if anything isn’t working or looks out of place. You should also review the settings in your WordPress admin area.
If you come across any issues, then take a look at our list of common WordPress errors and how to fix them.
If the problem you are facing is not listed there, then you should follow the steps in our WordPress troubleshooting guide to figure out the problem and apply a solution.
After That, Update Your Plugins
Once you have upgraded WordPress on your website, then you can update your plugins.
An easy way to do that is to scroll further down the Dashboard » Updates page to the ‘Plugins’ section.
Simply select the specific plugins you wish to update and click the ‘Update Plugins’ button. You can select all of the plugins listed by checking the ‘Select All’ box at the top of the list.
You may also notice a red number beside Plugins in the admin dashboard. Clicking inside will show you a yellow notice under each plugin that needs to be updated.
Then, all you have to do is click the ‘Update now’ link under any plugin you want to update without having to leave the page.
As you did after updating WordPress core, you should visit your website in a new browser window to see if you encounter any error messages or other problems.
You may sometimes discover that one of your plugins is not compatible with the latest WordPress version.
When that happens, you should follow the steps in our WordPress troubleshooting guide to see if you can find a solution to the problem.
If you can’t, then reach out to the developer and see if they plan to release an update. If the plugin is from the WordPress Plugin Directory, then you can contact the developer using the site’s support forum. Otherwise, check the official website for support information.
If no further development is planned, then you will need to look for a different plugin that performs the same task. You might like to take a look at our beginner’s guide on how to choose the best WordPress plugin.
If you’re not ready to move on to a different plugin, or if there are other issues with the update that you can’t resolve, then you may need to restore your WordPress site from the backup you made before you began the update process.
After you have updated WordPress core and your plugins, and you have checked that your website is working, you can update your theme, if an update is available.
However, when you update a theme, you will overwrite the existing theme files with new ones and lose any changes you made. If you added any code to your theme, then you should carefully check our guide on how to update a WordPress theme without losing customization.
Once you are ready to update your theme, you can simply scroll to the ‘Themes’ section at the bottom of the Dashboard » Updates page.
Once there, you can select the themes you want to update, then click the ‘Update Themes’ button. The ‘Select All’ checkbox will automatically select all available theme updates.
Alternatively, you can navigate to Appearance » Themes in your admin area. If any updates are available, you will notice a red number next to ‘Themes’ in the admin sidebar.
Simply click the ‘Update now’ link above any theme you wish to update.
Troubleshooting Your Theme Update
Troubleshooting a theme update is similar to troubleshooting a plugin update. You should start by visiting your website in a new browser window to see if there are error messages or other problems.
If the theme is from the WordPress Theme Directory, then you can contact the developer using the support forum for that theme. Otherwise, check the official website for support information.
What Is the Proper WordPress Update Order?
In conclusion, let’s summarize the proper order to update your WordPress website:
First, you should back up your website
Then, update the core WordPress files
Next, update your plugins
Finally, update your theme
Always make sure your website is working properly before moving on to the next step.
Of course, if there is no update for WordPress core, then you can update your plugins or theme whenever new versions become available.
Do you want to add an external link icon to your WordPress site?
By clearly marking your external URLs, you can keep people on your site for longer, and make it clear that clicking on a particular link will open a new window or tab.
In this article, we will show you how you can add an external link icon to WordPress.
Why Add an External Link Icon on Your WordPress Site?
An external link icon is a small picture that appears next to a link that will take the user to a different website.
For example, you can scroll to the bottom of any Wikipedia post and see that most links in the References section have an external link icon.
By using external link icons on your WordPress blog, your visitors will easily be able to tell the difference between outbound links and internal links. Many sites also use external link icons to make it clear that the link will open in a new window or tab.
These icons can keep visitors on your site for longer and increase your pageviews since there’s less risk of them clicking on an external link and leaving your website by accident.
With that being said, let’s see how you can add an external link icon to your WordPress site.
How to Add an External Link Icon on Your WordPress Site
The easiest way to add an external link icon to your website is by using WP External Links.
You can use this plugin to add different images, Dashicons, and Font Awesome icons to your external links automatically.
WP External Links can also keep people on your site by opening all external links in a new window or tab. We recommend enabling this feature since many users assume links with an external link icon will open in a new window or tab, anyway.
To open all external URLs in a new window or tab, open the ‘Open external links’ dropdown and click on ‘each in a separate new window or tab.’
By default, WP External Links will apply this rule to every new external link that you create.
However, it can also scan your site and change any external URLs that you’ve previously added to your website. This will provide a more consistent experience for your users, so it’s a good idea to go ahead and click on the ‘Overwrite existing values’ box.
Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to create an icon for your external links. To start, scroll to the ‘Choose icon type’ section.
Now you can click where it says ‘no icon’ to open the dropdown.
Your options are Image, Font Awesome, or Dashicon.
Both Font Awesome and Dashicon come with a single box-with-arrow icon that you can use as your external link icon. This icon will always appear blue on your site, as you can see in the following image.
This is the exact icon that many websites use for their external links, so most visitors will understand what the box-with-arrow icon means.
However, ‘Image’ lets you choose between several box-with-arrow icons including some that have a slightly different style and color.
In the following image, you can see an example of how a colorful box-with-arrow icon will look on your WordPress website.
If you want to add a colorful icon to your site, then you’ll need to select ‘Image’ from the ‘Choose icon type’ dropdown.
You can then click on the one that you want to use for your external links.
Once you’ve done that, open the ‘Icon position’ dropdown.
Here, choose whether the icon will appear on the ‘Right side of the link’ or the ‘Left side of the link.’ Most websites show the external icon to the right of the link.
Do you want to use the standard blue box-with-arrow icon instead?
Then you can open the ‘Choose icon type’ dropdown and click on either ‘Font Awesome’ or ‘Dashicon’ instead.
Next, open the dropdown menu beside ‘Choose Dashicon’ or ‘Choose FA,’ and then click on the box-with-arrow icon.
Note: Both Font Awesome and Dashicons give you access to dozens of other icons. However, we recommend using the box-with-arrow icon as more people will recognize this as an external link icon.
After clicking on the Font Awesome or Dashicon that you want to use, you can specify whether it should appear to the right or left of the link following the exact same process described above.
When you’re happy with the external link icon you’ve chosen, simply click on ‘Save changes.’
The plugin will then add the icon to all the external URLs on your site automatically.
Are you looking for the latest marketing statistics and trends?
The marketing industry is always evolving. It’s important for your business to be up-to-date so you can stay competitive.
In this article, we’ve gathered tons of digital marketing statistics for you, all in one place. With this data, you can see what’s missing from your marketing strategy.
The Ultimate List of Digital Marketing Statistics (2022)
We’ve divided these marketing statistics into several different categories. You can jump straight to the section you’re most interested in using the links below.
48% of companies that have a content marketing strategy use blogging.
The most popular blog content formats are how-to articles (77%), followed by news and trends (49%), and guides and eBooks (47%).
B2B blogs with educational content get 52% more organic traffic than B2B blogs with company-focused content.
The leading content marketing types used by B2C marketers are blog posts/short articles (83%), email newsletters (74%), and pre-produced videos (62%).
For B2B marketers, webinars, online courses, and virtual events were the content types that produced the best content marketing results in 2022.
80% of marketers who produce audio content and podcasts planned to invest the same amount or more in 2022.
Only 16% of marketers say they’ve invested in audio chat rooms like Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse.
38% of marketers planned to include infographics in their content creation for the first time in 2022.
60% of marketers report that content marketing generates demand/leads.
70% of marketers say that content marketing helps to educate the audience.
60% of marketers say that it helps build loyalty with existing clients/customers.
76% of content marketers use organic traffic as a key metric for measuring content success. Only 22% use backlinks.
The purpose of content marketing is to create and share relevant information to attract and engage a target audience that’s interested in your product or service.
Blogging has been a staple of content marketing for a long time. What’s important to note here is that the most popular blog format is how-to articles. Blogs with educational content get 52% more organic traffic than blogs with company-focused content.
This shows how important it is to provide valuable content that solves the pain points of your target audience, instead of just promoting your company.
The global pandemic also encouraged marketers to try new strategies. As we shifted away from in-person events, smart marketing teams used virtual events like webinars and online courses to attract and engage their audience.
Search Engine Optimization Statistics
Google currently has 83.84% of the search engine market share.
Google receives over 105,191 searches per second.
53% of shoppers say they always do research using a search engine before deciding to purchase a product.
50% of search queries are 4 words or more.
Around 8% of search queries are phrased as questions.
67% of clicks go to the first 5 results displayed in search engines.
The #1 result in Google gets about 32% of all clicks.
Only 3.4% of clicks on Google search results go to AdWords or paid listings.
90% of web pages get zero organic traffic from Google.
Google uses over 200 factors in its algorithm for ranking websites including keywords, content length, page speed, image optimization, mobile usability, and more.
Organic search results that rank on page 1 of Google contain an average of 1,447 words.
71% of marketers say using strategic keywords was their number one strategy for SEO.
According to a HubSpot survey, over 50% of respondents say keyword rankings and organic traffic are the top ways they measure the success of their SEO strategies.
49% of marketers report that organic search has the best ROI of any marketing channel.
By looking at these stats, it’s easy to see why SEO is so important. With proper WordPress SEO, you can get more visitors to your website via search results. And 49% of marketers say that organic search has the best return on investment (ROI).
The fact that 90% of web pages get zero traffic from Google could be because they’re not properly optimized.
To optimize your site and improve your search engine rankings, we recommend using All in One SEO (AIOSEO). It’s the best SEO plugin and toolkit on the market.
AIOSEO will analyze your entire website and identify any critical errors that could be harming your rankings, and provide actionable tips for improvement. Plus, the TruSEO on-page analysis makes it easy to optimize your posts and pages for your focus keywords.
47% of emails are opened or discarded based solely on their subject line.
Personalized subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened.
Subject lines with a sense of urgency and exclusivity get a 22% higher open rate.
Adding a popup on your blog can increase your email list by list by 1.375%.
15.8% of all emails go missing or have been caught by popular spam filters.
These statistics show that email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to communicate with your audience. A marketing ROI of 4400% is amazing!
But, it’s important to remember that 77% of ROI comes from using email automation to send segmented, targeted, and triggered email campaigns. When campaigns are personalized to a user’s preferences or actions they’ve taken on your site, they’re more likely to convert.
If you’re interested in using email automation to boost conversions and improve ROI, check out our picks of the best email marketing services.
Another interesting stat is that 15.8% of all emails go missing.
To prevent any of your important messages from being sent to the spam folder, we recommend using one of these SMTP service providers. STMP service providers are specially configured to make sure your emails reach users’ inboxes.
Social Media Marketing Statistics
The average social media user has accounts on more than 8 social media platforms.
Users spend on average around 2 hours and 29 minutes on social media every day.
43% of people use social media to make purchasing decisions.
Facebook is still the most popular social media platform, with 2.9 billion monthly active users. YouTube is in second place with 2.2 billion monthly active users.
Other social networks that land in the list of the top 10 include Instagram (2 billion monthly active users), TikTok (1 billion monthly active users), Pinterest (444 million monthly active users), and Twitter (217 million monthly active users).
Over 90% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for organic social marketing.
98.3% of Facebook users access the app on mobile phones.
The majority of marketers say they post on most social media platforms 4 to 6 times a week.
84% of marketers target Millennials as part of their social media strategy. This makes sense because 44% of Millennials use social media on a daily basis.
Marketers report that the number one goal for their social media marketing efforts is to advertise their products or services, followed by increasing brand awareness.
27% of marketers say that the biggest challenge they face on social media is creating engaging content.
82% of marketers say they repurpose content across social media channels.
80% of marketers say funny content is the most effective on social media.
68% of marketers’ companies work with influencers on social media.
64% of marketers say they invest in building social media communities.
With billions of people on social media, it’s no surprise that businesses integrate their marketing strategies with these popular platforms.
But, the biggest challenge marketers face is creating social media content that’s engaging for internet users. Content that’s too focused on promoting your product or service likely won’t get the engagement you’re looking for.
That’s why marketers use strategies like repurposing helpful blog content, sharing funny memes, and working with influencers.
You can also create a social media community, which is an easy way to build a highly engaged audience around your brand. We created our own Facebook group called WPBeginner Engage which currently has nearly 90,000 active members.
Video Marketing Statistics
The current average viewer spends 100 minutes per day watching digital videos.
86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
Video is expected to be the most invested in B2B marketing channel in 2022.
34.4% of marketers create new videos monthly, while 33% create new videos every week.
The most commonly created types of video are explainer videos (74%).
Other top video types are social media videos, presentation videos, video testimonials, video ads, sales videos, and product demos.
96% of people have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service.
Videos less than one minute long receive the highest average engagement rate at 50%.
82% of marketers say video has helped them increase dwell time.
94% of marketers say video has helped them increase their audience’s understanding of a product or service.
86% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads.
81% of marketers say video has helped them directly increase sales.
49% of marketers say video has helped them reduce support calls.
Over 80% of marketers agree that video can help your business generate more traffic, leads, and sales.
The best part is that adding video to your marketing strategy is easy and affordable. Anyone with a smartphone and the internet can produce quality video content.
Plus, you can upload your videos to YouTube and automatically display them on your WordPress site using a plugin like Smash Balloon.
Smash Balloon’s YouTube Feed Pro lets you easily display customizable YouTube feeds on your website. This is the perfect way to showcase social proof and boost user engagement on your WordPress site.
50% of marketers consider lead generation a top priority in their marketing campaigns.
61% of marketers consider generating traffic and leads to be their biggest challenge.
3% of your target audience is actively buying, 56% aren’t ready, and 40% are getting ready to begin.
Content marketing is 3X more effective at generating leads than traditional marketing. It also costs 62% less.
B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those that don’t.
74% of companies use web forms for lead generation, with 49.7% stating their online forms are their highest converting lead generation tool.
More than half (53%) of marketers say webinars are the top-of-the-funnel format that generates the most high-quality leads.
53% of marketers say email has been the most effective channel for early-stage lead generation.
Increasing your number of landing pages from 10 to 15 increases leads by 55%.
Websites with 40+ landing pages generate 1200% the number of leads than those with just one.
53% of content marketers use interactive content in their lead generation efforts.
79% of top-performing businesses have been using marketing automation to generate leads for three or more years.
Lead generation is the process of getting people interested in your business and gradually moving them through your sales funnel.
At WPBeginner, we recommend creating a landing page for each of your lead generation campaigns. This helps your website visitors to focus on the offer in front of them with no distractions, making them more likely to convert.
The fact that websites with 40+ landing pages generate 1200% more leads proves just how effective landing pages are.
The easiest way to create high-converting landing pages is with SeedProd. It’s the best drag and drop page builder for WordPress. Plus, it comes with hundreds of customizable landing page templates to get you started quickly.
According to marketing spend stats, on average, for every $92 spent on acquiring a customer, just $1 is spent on trying to convert them.
68% of small businesses don’t have a structured or documented conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategy.
Only about 22% of businesses are satisfied with their conversion rates.
The average landing page conversion rate is 2.35%.
The best websites have conversion rates of 11.45% on average.
Using visual content like videos on landing pages can improve conversions by 86%.
The mean conversion rate for online forms sits at approximately 21.5%. Although, this number varies depending on the industry.
Multi-step forms in WordPress can lead to 300% more conversions.
50% of marketers who use lead magnets to encourage signups report higher conversion rates.
eBooks are the most popular lead magnet amongst subscribers, with 27.7% of marketers using them.
Personalized calls to action (CTAs) convert 42% more visitors than non-personalized ones.
50% of people say that case studies are the accelerant for moving people through their sales funnel.
A 1-second delay in your site speed can reduce conversions by up to 7%.
Asking for a phone number has the worst impact on conversion rates.
The average mobile conversion rate is around 1.53% compared to 4.14% on desktop.
A/B testing is the most used method of conversion rate optimization.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take your desired action, whether it be filling out a form or buying a product.
The statistics above will give you smart ideas that can help you convert more of your website traffic.
For example, you can speed up your website to improve the customer experience and increase conversions by up to 7%.
68% of marketers stated that paid advertising is “very important” or “extremely important” to their overall marketing strategy.
Search advertising spending is projected to exceed $137 million by 2022.
eMarketer predicts that PPC (pay-per-click) ad spending will reach over $258 billion in 2022.
The typical cost per click for search ads in 2022 is in the range of $2 to $4.
Industries with the highest average cost per click are attorneys and legal services, dentists and dental services, and home improvement at $6-8 per click.
80% of brands use paid social media advertising.
Facebook is the most popular platform for companies to buy social media ads.
26% of marketers say that they’re seeing the best direct ROI from ads on Facebook.
Ad placement and audience targeting by demographics are the top ways that advertisers drive more demand.
Mobile advertising has been rapidly growing in the past couple of years but is expected to slow down to about 10.4% by the end of 2022.
Video ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate of 4.9% between 2020 and 2024.
Paid search ads and social media ads are commonly used by marketers to increase brand awareness, attract customers, and generate revenue.
Facebook is the most popular platform for buying social media ads and 26% of marketers are seeing the best direct ROI from it.
This makes sense because Facebook has the highest monthly active users at 2.9 billion, so it has the highest potential ad reach.
Affiliate marketing generates 16% of all online orders in the US and Canada.
Affiliate marketing is considered a crucial skill by 40% of online marketers.
In the United States, the total spending by customers that were referred by an affiliate is expected to reach $8.2 billion in 2022.
Over 80% of brands and 84% of publishers run an affiliate program.
Affiliate marketing is the #2 marketing tactic that publishers use to generate revenue, behind Google AdSense.
The top 3 affiliate categories are Fashion, Sports/Outdoors, and Health & Beauty.
Marketers use affiliate programs at all stages of the customer journey: 83% targeted consumers during the discovery and awareness phase, 79% during conversion or purchase, and 79% to create ongoing customer engagement.
Affiliate marketing conversion rates average between 0.5% to 1%.
Affiliate programs generate between 15% and 30% of revenue for advertisers.
40% of US merchants consider affiliate programs to be their best client acquisition channel.
With affiliate marketing, you can get your biggest fans, customers, and other marketers to promote your products for you.
Affiliate marketing programs generate between 15% – 30% of revenue for businesses. It’s clear that this is a marketing strategy you don’t want to ignore.
42% of marketers plan to increase their budget in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
33% of marketers who don’t use automation or artificial intelligence (AI) plan to in 2022.
34% of retail customers would be comfortable speaking with customer service through AI chatbots instead of a live customer support representative.
64% of businesses believe that chatbots will allow them to provide a more customized support experience for their customers.
93% of marketers love gamification.
88% of B2B marketers plan on converting 10 to 30% of their material to interactive content.
Marketers are still interested in experimenting with technology like virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
These marketing trends might seem too complicated and expensive for small business marketing budgets.
But, small business owners can easily use live chat software with artificial intelligence chatbots to automate conversations with prospects and customers.
