How to upgrade to WordPress 2.8 Baker
Updated July 3, 2009:
(Scroll down for the actual article, right now I need to address some problems I had / am having with 2.8)
1) I am noticing some inconsistencies. These include
a) WWSG (What Would Seth Godin Do) plugin strangely comes up with “header already sent” errors. The Plugin worked fine for the first week … and when I deleted the error.log file, it hasn’t come back yet …
b) Although everything worked great for the first days, suddenly I had a “Redirect Loop” error with FireFox. Although one culprit turned out to be a plugin called “Redirect”, I occasionally get these errors. Today, one of my most viewed posts disappeared to a totally unique URL. (Meaning, the link became something I never created nor heard of before, it was just a weird URL that has nothing to do with my site!)
[The actual problem, just to explain, not to try to push the site, was: http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/ramadan/ suddenly became http://www.30-days.net/ministry/ramadan/. (Link not activated since it generates errors on my site.) I have a category called "ministry", but it belongs in a totally different location!]
c) After some days, I noticed the site was getting slower. When I checked my Dashboard > Appearance > Widgets I found that old, experimental widgets were suddenly showing up in the “Inactive Widgets” at the bottom of the page.
I physically copied and pasted all my active Widgets into a text file, then activated Justin Tadlocks great “Widget Reset” plugin. After that, my widgets worked properly and the site runs faster. [NOTE: Widget Reset is in the WordPress Plugin Repository, just search for it, you don't have to go to Justin's site to download it. AND YES, it does work with WP 2.8. I just used it!]
I highly recommend you use Justin’s plugin if you have a cluttered “Inactive Widgets” section. BUT DO MAKE A BACKUP SOMEHOW OF YOUR OLD STUFF, Widget Reset totally deletes your widgets!! as it is supposed to.
d) There are a few other issues, but they don’t effect my site, they are just annoying. These include Dashboard > Appearance > Editor > click a file to Edit and find yourself at the bottom of the file. It is too easy to start typing before noticing you are in the wrong place:
MORE annoying, try clicking Dashboard > Posts > Edit > Filter (a category) > (do your edit and then click > Update Post … in WP 2.7 you had the option to “Return” which brought you back to the category you were editing. In 2.8 this has disappeared, at least on my host, so I have to click … > Edit and then apply the Filter again! I hope someone at WordPress noticed this “little” hitch, it wastes a lot of time, at least for me.
HERE IS THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE, plus tips at the end I updated later regarding Widgets and .htaccess problems…
WordPress 2.8 (named Baker after Jazz artist Chet Baker) has many new features and clever ideas built right into it. I’ll list some of the links at the bottom of this post.
When upgrading to WP 2.8, remember to do the following:
1) Make a backup of your database:
either via your control panel or use a plugin like WP-DBManager
2) Make sure all your plugins are up-to-date. Usually this just means clicking the automatic update feature, otherwise, download the new version and follow the instructions.
3) If you have customized anything within your WordPress installation, make sure you have a backup!
For example, if you changed the automatic post revisions feature, remember to backup the custom php files. And of course backup your customized Themes, wp-config.php file, .htaccess and any other files you may have changed. Just check for newer dates via your FTP software if you have forgotten which files you changed. (Tip: I wait a day or so before changing any core WP files so I can see which files are newer.)
4) If you have custom sidebars and have been using widgets such as widget_logic, you should copy the custom code into a text file and save it. WP 2.8 has added some widget logic of its own which may conflict with how your prior widgets were done.
5) Deactivate your plugins just as you start the upgrade process. If your theme is old and you were on a WP pre-2.5 version, it is a good idea to use the default theme for the few moments it will take upgrade.
NOTES: When you have successfully upgraded, check the links to posts from the home page work. If they do not, login to WP, click Settings >> Permalinks >> Save Settings (even if you have not made changes here, which in fact you shouldn’t have in the upgrade process).
NOTES 2: If you suddenly find you can’t login to WP after the upgrade (as happened right here), check the Codex Forums but what worked for me was to move the root directory .htaccess into my WP directory. That worked!
Here are links to detailed steps:
Installing WordPress from the beginning:
New WordPress Installation Checklists:
WordPress Plugin Compatibility Checker:
Issues of our time!
You don’t need to be a computer savvy for you to recover your files. You have to by for a software which will for sure back up your business files.
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