If you want to upgrade to Wordpress 2.7 or any other version you can use a manual process to do this.
This is probably the safest way to upgrade, but you will need some technical knowledge and be able to use FTP software.
There are basically 3 different ways to upgrade to a new version of Wordpress
[1] The Manual FTP Process – Safest, but more technically challenging (this process)
[2] One-click Install with Cpanel/Fantastico – Best Option, but you need the right Web Host
[3] Instant Upgrade Plugin or similar – Make sure it works with your Web Host and is Supported
Manual Process for Upgrading to Wordpress Version 2.7
Now you have a choice of whether you want to follow the process from the horse’s mouth if you like by reading about how to do this using the official and extended Wordpress upgrade instructions at:
Upgrading Wordpress with the 3 Step Upgrade
Or you can follow my version below which will summarise, with images, what you need to do…
Make sure you read the following post first before upgrading and take action where necessary:
What You Need To Do Before Upgrading To Wordpress 2.7
Wordpress 2.7 is a major upgrade and your theme and/or plugins may no longer work.
If you don’t have time to check to see if each plugin you use is compatible then deactivate all those you are not sure about and maybe temporarily install a theme which you know is compatible.
Also definitely do a full site backup before you start.
(including your .htaccess file)
The Manual Upgrade Method
Here’s the manual upgrade method and you will need FTP software to do most of these tasks:
ASSUMPTION:
This process assumes that your Wordpress installation is in the root of your website (ie the top level). If you have Wordpress installed in a subfolder such as “/blog” then you will need to adapt the following instructions accordingly.
STEP 1 – DOWNLOAD AND REPLACE YOUR WORDPRESS FILES
[1-1] Get a copy of the Wordpress 2.7 software in ZIP format from this link:
Download Latest Version of Wordpress
And download it onto your personal computer and then unzip the downloaded wordpress-27.zip file so that you end up with a folder named wordpress.
The content of this ‘wordpress” folder should look like this:
[1-2] Delete both the existing wp-admin and wp-includes folders from your website root directory (but only if you have already taken a backup of your site and do not continue until you have!)
[1-3] Copy the new wp-admin and wp-includes folders from the downloaded “wordpress” folder to your site’s root directory (Leave the wp-content folder as is for now).
[1-4] Copy all the files (not folders, or the files in them!) in the downloaded “wordpress” folder to the root directory of your website and overwritie the existing files.
[1-5] Rename the wp-config.php to wp-configOLD.php in your website’s root directory
[1-6] View or edit the wp-configOLD.php file and edit the wp-config-sample.php at the same time (both are in the root directory on your server)
[1-7] Copy your site-specific Wordpress settings (such as database sign-in data etc) from wp-configOLD.php to wp-config-sample.php and close both files, saving the new settings in wp-config-sample.php when prompted.
(This is an important task so make sure you get it right – if you are not sure what to copy then check the extended official upgrade document at Wordpress for more details using the link above.)
[1-8] Rename the wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php.
[1-9] Copy the index.php file from the wp-content folder in the downloaded “wordpress” folder into the wp-content folder at your website and overwrite the existing index.php file.
[1-10] Ignore the plugins and themes folders in the wp-content folder from the downloaded “wordpress” folder, as these only contain default themes and plugins, which you already got when Wordpress was first installed.
(…unless of course you are using the default or classic theme, in which case you will need to copy the new version of the one you are using into your site’s theme folder to overwrite the old one.)
STEP 2 – UPGRADE YOUR WORDPRESS INSTALLATION
[2-1] Login to the Wordpress administrators account for your website (mydomain.com/wp-admin).
[2-2] Look out for a message telling you that the Database Needs Upgrading
[2-3] Follow the link provided and then follow the instructions given to update your MySQL database to be compatible with the latest Wordpress code for version 2.7
(If you get any problems in any of the above tasks you should refer to the Extended Instructions using the link to the Wordpress website provided above)
STEP 3 – CLEAR THE CACHE AND CHECK YOUR WEBSITE
[3-1] If you use Caching on your Wordpress site then clear the cache now.
[3-2] Go to your website in your browser and check that evrything is working well.
Congratulations you just upgraded to Wordpress 2.7!
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Very detailed tutorial and informative tutorial.
Is the process the same for upgrading manually from 2.8 to 2.8.1?
or has the procedure changed?
Keith – if you want to upgrade manually then use the same procedure, BUT you can now (version 2.7 up) upgrade Wordpress manually from within your admin Dashboard. To upgrade automatically just click on the line above the dashboard that will say something like: “WordPress 2.8.1 is available! Please update now.” or click on the UPDATE button in the Right Now section of the dashboard.