How to Update Theme
Updating your WordPress theme to the latest version is highly recommended, not only because it ensures you having all the latest features, but you’ll be up-to-date with any security patches.
Auto-Update:
If you want WordPress to handle theme updates automatically you need to enable this feature in the Theme Options Panel: Product Activation -> Enable Auto-update On/Off.
All the future theme updates will be available in WordPress Dashboard -> Updates. You will also see a new version of the theme in Appearance -> Themes section. To install an update, please click update theme.
Important: If you’ve modified the theme files code, all those changes will be lost because the old theme files will be overwritten with the new ones. That’s why in such cases we recommend using a child theme. How to use a child theme? Please read more here https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/01/create-customize-wordpress-child-theme/
Uploading and Replacing the Existing Theme:
Before getting started you need to back up your database and your current theme. Since we’re replacing and updating theme files, there’s a chance something could go wrong so it’s better to keep it safe and have a backup.
While using this method “uploading and replacing an existing theme”, please don’t go to Appearance -> Themes -> Add New and try to upload a new version of a theme with the same name, it will fail and you’ll get an error message stating that the destination folder already exists. The reason for this error is due to the fact you can’t have two folders in your themes directory with identical names (obviously!)
Connect to your website via FTP or log into cPanel and delete the old theme (your website data and theme settings won’t be lost, don’t worry) and then upload or add a new version. Make sure that you’ve made a backup of the old version of the theme just in case something goes wrong.
After successful update, please log in to your WordPress dashboard and check if everything is ok. Newer versions of the plugins can be required, please update them either. If you have some questions or concerns, please contact us.