How to update WordPress plugins without breaking your store

Your store's admin shows several plugin updates waiting, and you keep putting them off because you cannot tell which one could stop orders coming in. You can update WordPress plugins without that worry if you run the updates in the right order and have a backup to fall back on.

Below are the risky updates, the order WooCommerce recommends, the checks to run afterwards and the way back if something breaks.

Which updates break a store and why

• Major versions. In WooCommerce, a version whose first two numbers differ from the last one (11.2 after 11.1) is a major version, and a third number (11.2.1) marks a fix release. WooCommerce ships one roughly every five weeks. Other plugins are numbered as their authors choose, so rely on the changelog.
• PHP requirements. If a new version needs a newer PHP version than your server runs, WordPress will not install it and the store stays on the old version of the plugin. For example, WooCommerce 11.6, planned for February 2027, will require PHP 8.1 or newer. Your server's PHP version is in the Server environment section of WooCommerce > Status, and the PHP version guide shows how to change it.
• The WooCommerce database. Some versions also change the database. If something stops working after that, WooCommerce advises restoring a backup, so the backup has to predate the update.
• Theme templates. Some themes carry their own copies of WooCommerce templates, which fall out of date when WooCommerce updates its own. In the Templates section of WooCommerce > Status, the outdated ones show the note "is out of date". For a lasting fix, ask the theme's author for an update.
• Payments and shipping. The Econt and Speedy modules, and a card payment module if you have one, connect to outside systems. If one of them breaks, the site can look fine while orders stop coming in. The couriers' official modules are not in the wordpress.org directory (see the Econt and Speedy guide), so check with the courier what has changed.
• The cache. After an update, the cache can keep serving old pages and files until you clear it.

What to check before you update plugins

Start with a backup of the files and the database, as described in the backup guide. If you have WP Toolkit in cPanel, its Back Up / Restore button backs up a single site.

Next, in Plugins > Installed Plugins, the View version link under a plugin opens its changelog and details. "Requires PHP Version" is the lowest PHP version the new release runs on, and "Compatible up to" is the latest WordPress version its author tested it with. In the changelog, look for lines about the cart, checkout, payments and shipping.

If your host has enabled Terminal in cPanel and WP-CLI is installed, the commands below list the plugins and their new versions. Run them in the site's folder. They only read and change nothing.

# cPanel > Terminal, in the site's folder. Read-only.
cd ~/public_html
wp plugin list
wp plugin update --all --dry-run

The first lists every plugin, and its update and update_version columns show whether a new version exists and which one. The second previews what --all would update. The WP-CLI guide covers updating from the command line.

How to test updates on a staging copy of the store

WooCommerce advises trying the whole set of updates on a staging copy first, meaning a separate installation with the same files and database, and only then on the live store. You can make the copy with Staging and Cloning in WP Toolkit if your host has the Deluxe edition (see the WP Toolkit guide), or by restoring a backup to a subdomain.

In what order to update plugins

WooCommerce suggests updating once a month and installing a version that fixes a vulnerability sooner. The WooCommerce changelog and the WooCommerce Advisories page say whether a release includes a security fix.

On update day, follow WooCommerce's order:

1. Make a fresh backup.
2. Turn on Coming soon mode in WooCommerce > Settings > Site visibility with Apply to store pages only ticked. Customers lose access to the cart and checkout, while you, as an administrator, still see the store.
3. Update WooCommerce from Plugins > Installed Plugins and let it finish before you start another update.
4. If WooCommerce asks for a database update, click "Update WooCommerce Database" and wait for "WooCommerce database update complete". "View progress" shows how it is going.
5. Only then update the extensions, the Econt and Speedy modules, the payment module and the theme, one at a time.

WooCommerce also advises against running several major updates at once unless you have tested that exact set on staging, so put major WordPress and WooCommerce versions on different days. WordPress installs its minor versions by itself, and sites created on WordPress 5.6 or later get the major ones automatically too, unless you change that in Dashboard > Updates.

What to check in the store after updating

Check the live store while it is still in Coming soon mode. The checks follow WooCommerce's documentation:

• Open the home page and a few products, including one with variations.
• Add a product to the cart and check the total.
• At checkout, choose Econt, enter an address and see whether the shipping price is calculated. Repeat with Speedy and check that cash on delivery is offered.
• Place a cash on delivery order. WooCommerce sets such orders to Processing, so the New order email should reach you and the Processing order email the address you entered as the customer.
• Look for notices in the admin and for failed actions under WooCommerce > Status > Scheduled Actions.

Finally, switch the store back to Live and clear the site's cache, and Cloudflare's too if you use it. Otherwise, WooCommerce notes, visitors may keep seeing the Coming soon page.

When to turn on automatic updates

Since WordPress 5.5, every plugin in Plugins > Installed Plugins has an "Enable auto-updates" link in the Automatic Updates column. Auto-updates are off by default, and WordPress updates a plugin on its own only in special cases the WordPress.org security team sets for critical vulnerabilities.

Since WordPress 6.6, after an automatic plugin update WordPress loads the home page with a request to the site itself. If it hits a PHP fatal error, it restores the previous version and emails the site administrator. Anything that does not break the home page goes unnoticed, so a version that breaks the shipping price or the order emails stays installed. With WooCommerce, an automatic update can also install the next major version.

So keep automatic updates off for WooCommerce, the payment and shipping modules and the theme. For plugins with no part in checkout, they are a reasonable choice as long as you keep regular backups. WP Toolkit has its own auto-update settings (see the WP Toolkit guide).

How to roll back if an update breaks the store

First put the store back into Coming soon mode so no orders come in while you look for the cause. Start with WooCommerce > Status > Logs, where WooCommerce keeps the fatal-errors log automatically. If the path in the error contains wp-content/plugins/ and a plugin's name, that plugin is the culprit.

After a critical error, WordPress sends the administrator an email titled "Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue" with a link to recovery mode, where you can log in and deactivate the plugin. The WP-CLI guide shows how to do the same from the command line.

If the trouble started after WooCommerce and its database were updated, restore the backup, as WooCommerce advises. A WP Toolkit backup is restored from Back Up / Restore with the Restore button, and the backup guide covers the other kinds.

If the store will not load and you cannot bring it back, write to us through emergency help.

Checklist

• A fresh backup of the files and the database exists.
• Changelogs and "Requires PHP Version" are checked.
• WooCommerce > Status shows no outdated templates.
• The updates were tested on a copy with its mail stopped.
• The store was in Coming soon mode during the update.
• WooCommerce and its database went first.
• Econt and Speedy shipping prices are calculated and cash on delivery is offered.
• The New order and Processing order emails arrive.
• The store is back on Live and the cache is cleared.
• Auto-updates are off for WooCommerce, the payment and shipping modules and the theme.

Do you need to update the store yourself?

If your store has few plugins and the theme carries no WooCommerce templates of its own, you can follow these steps yourself once a month. When there are many plugins or the store cannot afford to stop, it is easier to leave this to someone else. With WordPress maintenance we update WordPress, the theme and the plugins in good time, and every update goes through staging first. Tell us about your store through the inquiry form.

Sources

• WooCommerce, How to update WooCommerce
• WooCommerce, Coming soon mode
• WooCommerce, System Status Report
• WooCommerce, Cash on Delivery
• WooCommerce, Email settings
• WooCommerce, How Subscriptions handles staging sites
• WooCommerce, Release schedule
• WooCommerce, Security patch support policy
• WooCommerce, New requirement for WooCommerce 11.6, PHP 8.1+
• WordPress, Manage plugins
• WordPress, Upgrading WordPress
• WordPress, How your readme.txt works
• WordPress, install_plugin_information()
• WordPress Core, Fatal error recovery mode in 5.2
• WordPress Core, Major version auto-updates in WordPress 5.6
• WordPress Core, Merge proposal Rollback Auto-Update
• WordPress Core, WordPress 6.6 Field Guide
• WP-CLI, wp plugin list
• WP-CLI, wp plugin update
• Econt, Initial plugin setup