Installatron allows you to easily upgrade the software on your hosting package. The program even offers the option to perform upgrades automatically as soon as a new version becomes available.
To protect your hosting package, we recommend enabling automatic upgrades. Outdated software can pose serious risks, including security vulnerabilities, compatibility problems, reduced performance, loss of support, and potential data loss. Keeping software up to date helps protect your website and ensures it runs smoothly.
This guide uses WordPress as an example, but the process is the same for any application.
Enabling automatic updates
If you enable automatic updates, Installatron will automatically update to the latest version of the software as soon as it becomes available. A backup is created automatically, so you can revert to it if the update does not complete successfully. You have three options to choose from:
- No automatic updates: With this option, you will need to manually update the installed software to stay protected against security vulnerabilities. This option is not recommended.
- Automatic updates to new minor versions and security updates: Updates to new minor versions are performed automatically. These often include security updates, which can usually be applied safely. With this option, a backup is also created automatically, allowing you to restore your site if needed. This is the recommended option.
- Automatic updates to all new versions: With this option, updates to all new available versions are performed automatically. This includes major updates, which can sometimes affect the functionality of plugins and themes. While keeping everything automatically up to date is convenient, it is important to be aware of this potential risk.
The steps to enable automatic updates are as follows:
1. Log in to DirectAdmin.
2. Under 'My Applications', click on the name of the application for which you want to enable automatic updates.
3. Scroll down to the 'Automatic Update' section and select the following options:
- Update to new minor versions and security releases.
- Do not automatically update plugins.
- Do not automatically update themes.
- Create a temporary backup and automatically restore the backup if the update fails.
4. Click 'Save All' at the bottom to save these settings. Automatic updates are now enabled for that installation.
Manual update
If you want to update an application manually, you can do so via Installatron as well. You can do this when automatic updates are disabled or when you want to update to a new major version. Note that this may cause issues with plugins and themes.
1. Log in to DirectAdmin.
2. Under 'My Applications', click on the name of the application for which you want to perform an update.
3. Click the update button.
4. Select the version you want to update to under 'Destination Version'. The recommended version is usually selected by default.
5. Choose whether you want to update plugins and themes.
6. Choose whether to create a backup of the current installation. It is advisable to do so.
7. Click the 'Update' button at the bottom.
8. A backup will be created and the update will be performed. Once the update is complete, check that your website is still functioning correctly and, preferably, enable automatic updates.
If the update fails and your website stops working, restore the backup that was created. Click here for more information on restoring an Installatron backup.