Support » Requests and Feedback » Auto-updates: should remain core only

  • Hi, I’ve just done the WordPress 2015 survey and the final question has indicated something I REALLY DO NOT WANT to happen: auto-updates for plugins and themes.

    I love that WP updates it’s core with minor and security features. This saves me time, keeps my site secure and is low-risk of breaking my site.

    I run a number of sites for charities and non-profits, all as a volunteer. I give my spare time for free to set them up with a website, fix it if it breaks, and add new plugins if they need something new. They are all small local charities run by people with no technical knowledge, so they may be able to add new posts easily, but anything else – and especially if it breaks – is beyond their capability. For two of my sites, if the theme auto-upgrades it will break the site, and the bits that work will look very different – I’ve tested this and it wasn’t good.

    Once I’ve set their site up and showed them how to add new posts, I leave them to it and they can manage it themselves. As such, I don’t go back to update the site in terms of WordPress versions or plugin updates – the framework stays static and in a known-good-state. One of the owners once updated everything himself on his live site, and everything broke horribly.

    Updating the WP core with minor and security updates is low-risk in terms of keeping the site working and live, and is a Good Idea. Updating plugins and themes automatically presents much greater risk, especially for the sites which don’t change often. If you’re going to implement this, please make it so people have to opt-in in order to activate this.

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  • the framework stays static and in a known-good-state

    The problem is that it doesn’t stay in a known-good-state. Web hosts are always doing upgrades behind the scenes, bad people learn about and exploit security holes in themes and plugins (which hopefully developers then patch). I’ve dealt with a lot of people who choose to never update and inevitably, things break or get broken.

    If you’re going to implement this, please make it so people have to opt-in in order to activate this.

    But considering the situation you’re in (and I’m in a similar one), I think this is the best compromise. I would rather go in late on a Saturday night and upgrade things myself, one at a time, and fix small issues before they become big issues.

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