Title: Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades
Author: Chris Jean
Published: July 6, 2011
Last modified: April 20, 2022
---
Search plugins
This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.
# Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades
By [Chris Jean](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisjean/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades.2.0.2.zip)
* [Details](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/#description)
* [Reviews](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/#installation)
* [Development](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/)
## Description
WordPress has a built-in feature to install themes and plugins by supplying a zip
file. Unfortunately, you cannot upgrade a theme or plugin using the same process.
Instead, WordPress will say “destination already exists” when trying to upgrade
using a zip file and will fail to upgrade the theme or plugin.
Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades fixes this limitation in WordPress by automatically
upgrading the theme or plugin if it already exists.
While upgrading, a backup copy of the old theme or plugin is first created. This
allows you to install the old version in case of problems with the new version.
Attention: Version 2.0.0 changed the functionality of the plugin. You are no longer
required to select “Yes” from a drop down before the theme or plugin can be upgraded.
The need for an upgrade is now detected automatically. So, if you are used to the
old functionality of the plugin, do not be concerned about the absence of upgrade
details on the theme and plugin upload pages. Simply upload the theme or plugin
as if you were installing it, and the plugin will automatically handle upgrading
as needed.
## Installation
1. Download and unzip the latest release zip file
2. Upload the entire easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades directory to your `/wp-content/
plugins/` directory
3. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
## FAQ
### Why does the plugin no longer show the drop down to select “Yes”? Is the plugin broken?
Starting with version 2.0.0, this plugin no longer requires that a drop down is
used to indicate that an upgrade is to be performed. The plugin now can determine
if an upgrade is required automatically. This change not only streamlines the process
for many users, it also fixed compatibility issues that some users experienced with
older versions.
### How do I upgrade a theme?
1. Download the latest zip file for your theme.
2. Log into your WordPress site.
3. Go to Appearance > Themes.
4. Click the “Add New” button at the top of the page.
5. Click the “Upload Theme” button at the top of the page.
6. Select the zip file with the new theme version to install.
7. Click the “Install Now” button.
### How do I upgrade a plugin?
1. Download the latest zip file for your plugin.
2. Log into your WordPress site.
3. Go to Plugins > Add New.
4. Click the “Upload Plugin” button at the top of the page.
5. Select the zip file with the new plugin version to install.
6. Click the “Install Now” button.
### How do I access the backup of an old theme or plugin?
1. Log into your WordPress site.
2. Go to Media > Library.
3. Type “backup” into the search input and press the “Enter” key.
4. Find the desired backup from the resulting list.
5. Click the title of the desired backup.
6. The URL to the backup file is listed on the right side of the page under “File
URL”. You can copy and paste that URL into your browser’s URL bar in order to start
a download.
## Reviews
### [No longer needed](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/no-longer-needed-4/)
[Topher](https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/) September 16, 2024
This was a GREAT plugin and I used it for years, but WordPress core does this now,
so the plugin is no longer needed. Thank you for your great work all these years.
### [No issues with WP 6.4.2](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/no-issues-with-wp-6-4-2/)
[chrisbizonline](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisbizonline/) January 21, 2024
I used this plugin in the past and recently on a WordPress 6.4.2 installation without
problems. It does what it is supposed to do.
### [Useful plugin](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/useful-plugin-945/)
[Ivan William Pfeifer](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ivanabq/) March 9, 2023
Quite useful.
### [Very Bad Plugin*](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/very-bad-plugin-38/)
[Malik Waris](https://profiles.wordpress.org/warisdev5/) November 17, 2022
This plugin is very bad not working on it!
### [3 Months Now and still Stationero Problems](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/3-months-now-and-still-stationero-problems/)
[tophatcc](https://profiles.wordpress.org/tophatcc/) November 8, 2022
Add plugin results in “The plugin does not have a valid header.” Everything about
this theme is low-grade and they are slow to update. I have over 100 themes and
this is the only one that has continual update problems and even the recommended
way of updating has problems. Pfft
### [Awesome and useful for easy upgrades](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/awesome-and-useful-for-easy-upgrades/)
[andrewmwnk](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andrewmwnk/) February 11, 2022
Really helpful
[ Read all 118 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/)
## Contributors & Developers
“Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades” is open source software. The following people have
contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ Chris Jean ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisjean/)
[Translate “Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 2.0.2
* Misc: Version bump to show that this project is still active. No code changes
are needed for functionality to continue.
#### 2.0.1
* Compatibility Update: Updated to indicate compatibility with WordPress 4.9.8.
#### 2.0.0
* Enhancement: Removed the requirement for the user to select “Yes” from the drop
down in order to initiate an update. This new version does not change the appearance
of the upload form. Instead, it automatically creates a backup and performs an
upgrade if the supplied plugin or theme already exists.
* Enhancement: If a zip backup file cannot be created, the old directory is renamed
to a new name in order to still keep a backup.
* Enhancement: Updated the code to use a better way of integrating the upgrade
logic. This approach should greatly reduce the potential for conflicts with other
code or site configurations.
* Enhancement: The backup details now are found in the same format as the rest
of the upgrade messages.
#### 1.0.6
* Bug Fix: Fixed updates not working with some formats of zip files. Thanks to
the team at [Kaira](https://kairaweb.com/) for helping solve this issue.
#### 1.0.5
* Compatibility Fix: Added support for PHP 7.
#### 1.0.4
* Enhancement: Updated instructions on how to upgrade themes.
#### 1.0.3
* Compatibility Fix: Added compatibility for theme upgrades in WordPress 3.9.
#### 1.0.2
* Bug Fix: Removed a stray tag in the Install Plugins screen that caused problems
with installing plugins on WPEngine sites.
#### 1.0.1
* Bug Fix: Fixed an issue with the “The site is being updated and will be back
in a few minutes” message showing on the frontend of the site for a few minutes
after an upgrade. This only happened on multisite networks.
#### 1.0.0
* Initial release version
## Meta
* Version **2.0.2**
* Last updated **4 years ago**
* Active installations **70,000+**
* WordPress version ** 4.4 or higher **
* Tested up to **5.7.15**
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/)
* Tags
* [theme](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/theme/)[update](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/update/)
[upgrade](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/upgrade/)[upload](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/upload/)
* [Advanced View](https://co.wordpress.org/plugins/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/advanced/)
## Ratings
4.7 out of 5 stars.
* [ 108 5-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/?filter=5)
* [ 1 4-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/?filter=4)
* [ 0 3-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/?filter=3)
* [ 1 2-star review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/?filter=2)
* [ 7 1-star reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/?filter=1)
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ Chris Jean ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisjean/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/easy-theme-and-plugin-upgrades/)