How to update the WordPress plugin version?

Make sure to backup your WordPress data

There are three different ways on how you can backup your WordPress data:

1. The company where you host your webpage might have an automatic backup of the data already in place or allow you to do a manual one
2. You can follow the WordPress instructions on the official website
3. You can use a third-party plugin such as BackWPup, UpdraftPlus, VaultPress (Jetpack Backup), BackupBuddy, Duplicator

You have two options to update your WordPress plugin version:

Upgrade the plugin without losing data

You can upgrade the plugin just by copying source code files. To do this, you need to have access to your server by FTP or SSH protocol for coping files. You can use as examples such FTP clients as FileZilla etc.

Once you are connected to your site via FTP, use the folder structure in the Remote site tab to navigate to your plugins folder. You can see the path in the screenshot below:

Then, rename the folder for the plugin Hostaway (/wp-content/plugins/hostaway) by right-clicking on it and choosing Rename. You right-click and rename it hostaway-old.

While you can always just delete the old plugin right away – renaming it ensures that you still have the files readily available in case something goes wrong. Once you verify everything works, you will need to delete the old version, though.

Once the folder is renamed, you need to download the most recent version of the plugin.

Then, use a tool to open the .zip file you downloaded and extract. Then, find the extracted folder in the Local site tab of your FTP program and upload it to the plugins folder on your server.

Once the file upload completes, your plugin should be updated to the latest version. You can verify this by going to the Plugins tab in your WordPress dashboard.

Make sure to double-check that the plugin is still activated (it should be). Then, as long as you don't see any bugs, you should go ahead and delete the old folder from your server using your FTP program.

Note – until you delete the old folder, you might see the plugin listed twice in your Plugins tab. That is normal and will go away once you delete the old folder.

Deactivate and delete the old version

To remove a plugin in WordPress, follow these steps:

1. Click on the 'Plugins' option in the left-hand menu of your WordPress backend
2. Then, select 'Installed Plugins' from the drop-down
3. Next, find the plugin you wish to delete and click 'Deactivate'
4. Once the plugin has been deactivated, click 'Delete'
5. If a warning message appears, asking if you want to delete the plugin files and data, click 'Yes' to confirm the deletion

Install and activate the new version

To install a new version of a WordPress plugin, you need to access the WordPress backend and follow these steps:

1. Go to the left menu and click on Plugins
2. Then select Add New
3. Click on Upload Plugin and choose the downloaded zip file of the new version
4. After that, install and activate it by following the instructions in this article

Clear WordPress Caches

If you have installed a WordPress js/CSS minify plugin or WordPress cache plugin, for example, Autoptimize, W3 Total Cache, WP Rocket, WP Fastest Cache, or WP Super Cache, empty all caches from the plugin.

Some web hosts, for example, GoDaddy, WPEngine, SiteGround, and DreamHost, will also cache web files. You need to clear the caches of the web hosting before testing. Please contact your web hosting provider and ask about how to clear caches.

Clear caches of your web browser before testing.