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1. CuriousLittleBird
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   I'm working on a WordPress theme for a client, and the version of WordPress running on the client's site is very old--I think it's in the 1.5s, if that. (There is no "automatic WP upgrade" button, nor is there an "upload new theme" button in the Themes section. Every time I click "there's a new version of WP, upgrade now," it takes me to the "download new ZIP file of WP" page.)

   I am worried about doing a manual install for my client, because I don't want it to install another instance of WordPress in the same folder. How do I upgrade the current installation from that ZIP file without wiping out the whole existing WP database?

   Many, many thanks in advance for checking out this topic!

2. govpatel
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   Since your client has very old wordpress and lot has changed since 1.5 you will need to upgrade in steps for each version from archive

   Depending how much data your client has and wants in new wordpress it may better to just make copies of posts and install latest version and recreate the posts.

   As all plugins will be outdated.

3. songdogtech
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   You can't wipe out the DB by doing a manual upgrade. See Upgrading WordPress « WordPress Codex

   It's best to do manual, incremental upgrades from 1.5 to 2, 2 to 2.3, 2.3 to 2.5, 2.5 to 2.8.5, 2.8.5 to 3.0.1, and then to the latest to be sure the database gets upgraded properly. Your current theme won't work well or at all under 3.1.x, due to lots of changes.

   Once you get to 2.8.5, you can use the automatic upgrade from the dashboard, and that will jump to 3.2, but should be OK.

   Backup your database, deactivate all plugins, switch to the default or classic theme and the save a copy of your current theme from wp-content/themes to your local PC.

   Older versions available at Release Archive

4. CuriousLittleBird
   Member
   Posted 10 months ago #

   Thank you both for your help! I upgraded successfully to the newest version using these tips. The manual upgrades worked much more smoothly than I expected.

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