WordPress Plugins – Going Backward

The other day I was a bit too eager to update a WordPress plugin when I saw that a new version was available. New Rule: always go to the plugin website and look to see if the plugin is reported to work with your version of WordPress BEFORE you upgrade. When I did this afterward, I found there were more than 100 reports of the plugin failing. Better to check first.

The immediate fix is to return to the prior version of the plugin. I ALWAYS keep a clean copy of plugins on my computer. So I had the version that had been working immediately available to me. If you don’t do this you will need to look around the web to find an earlier version. Older versions should be available here: wordpress.org/plugins/YourPluginName/download/ where “YourPluginName” is, of course, the name of your plugin. To find that name, search for your plugin at wordpress.org then add the download directory to its path.

Once you have the plugin and it is unzipped on your computer:

1. DO NOT delete the plugin through your WordPress dashboard! You may lose things you have added, depending upon the plugin.
2. Backup your installation via the admin side of your WordPress installation: Tools>Export
3. Go to Plugins in WordPress Admin and deactivate the plugin with the problem
4. Use your FTP client to move the files from within the plugin directory on your computer to the plugin directory on your server (wp-content/plugins/YourPluginName/). Override existing files when asked.
5. When the upload is complete, go to your browser, close your WordPress window or tab and clear the cache
6. Reopen WordPress Admin go to Plugins and reactivate the plugin
7. Be sure the listed version number is what you expect to see
8. Check things out on the user side of WordPress to be sure the plugin is doing what it is supposed to and the errors are resolved.

Next time, go to the plugin website and look to see if the plugin is reported to work with your version of WordPress BEFORE you upgrade.

-Jerry-