Update Atahualpa WordPress Theme

Expert WordPress users and regular readers of this blog will know that we recommend updating to the latest WordPress version regularly, to ensure that the any known security vulnerabilities are patched. Many people also take that opportunity to upgrade their favorite plugins and theme to ensure continued compatibility.

But what if you are using a highly configurable theme like Atahualpa? How do upgrade and yet keep all your custom settings, header images and favicon after the upgrade. The good news is that most of the theme settings for Atahualpa are stored in the database so that an upgrade will not lose that customization.

So how do you update the Atahualpa WordPress Theme when the time comes?

Before you update WordPress, your plugins or theme, backup your database, wp-content folder and wp-config.php files to make sure you can reverse out of the change in the event that there is a problem.

If you have used custom header images or made any changes to the page code in the Atahualpa theme, or set a shortcut icon, Web site icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon (favicon) than you will need to use the manual method to update the theme. If you are using the theme with default header images etc. or have a quick way to restore them after an upgrade, then you can use the WordPress update facility. However, the way we recommend is to Upgrade the theme manually, as follows:

  1. Backup your database.
  2. Backup the wp-content folder, which contains your themes, favicon and header images.
  3. Download the latest version of the theme to your computer.
  4. Unzip the file and copy in your custom images and delete the ones supplied.
  5. Check for any Atahualpa theme patches and apply them.
  6. Update any code changes you made in the previous version (experts only!)
  7. Add any custom templates you use to the new theme folder.
  8. Upload the theme folder to the ‘wp-content/themes’ themes folder on your host.
  9. Activate the the new theme via WordPress Dashboard, and test.

The new theme should now display correctly. But if you have a problem you can revert to the earlier version using Dashboard again. Common causes of problems are as follows:

  • Code customization which has not been correctly installed or has a negative impact in the new theme. Solution recheck the code is complete and in the correct location and retest.
  • Images using the full path name not displaying. Solution – Verify URL Names in WordPress options, or avoid using where possible.
  • WordPress menus not displaying. Solution – reselect the menus in Dashboard, Appearances, Menu.

So now we know how to update the Atahualpa WordPress Theme, which should make the task easier the next time!

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