While you should always be updating your WordPress installation, there are times (like now) that it is absolutely critical that you update your site, because it corrects a security issue.  WordPress 3.0.4 is a security update.  You can read the official article here.  It took me literally seconds to update my 5 sites I have (and I filmed one of them below).

FOR MY HOSTING CLIENTS:

In regard to backing up your installation first:  if you are hosted with me, backups occur every day between approximately 1 am & 4 am (it varies).  If you upgrade your installation and something goes wrong, I can restore it from last night's at no cost–contact me asap (READ: before the next daily backup!).

You can also make a back up your entire site yourself at any time, CLICK HERE for a short video on how to use the backup option in your cPanel.  Of course I would have to restore the site for you anyway, but if you are doing big changes to your site, you may wish to keep a copy from a particular date. Remember to download and delete that backup from the server though!

It came to my attention yesterday that the widget code that LaycockDesigns.com provided for the October "Project of the Month" "Gift of the Month, etc." had an problem in them that caused issues with WordPress.*

If you place yesterday's widget code in your sidebar and save, your sidebars will disappear.  The only thing I can do for you is restore from the last backup and your site backs up every morning at 2 am (so don't delay in contacting me).

The problem is fixed now and you can cut and paste the code again at her article HERE.  If you received the information yesterday via Feedburner, don't use it… use the code on today's article.

*The 'error' wasn't Michelle's fault, the problem and how to avoid it is that sometimes WordPress's WYSIWYG changes quotes to 'curly' or fancy quotes.  This causes havoc when someone is typing code and doesn't notice it.  In regular text, it doesn't make a difference.  'Curly' quotes are the fancy ones as opposed to the straight ones. 

99% of your life it won't matter, but when copying and pasting *anything* in your widget sidebar, even plain text, you have to be careful.  A quick way to completely knock your site offline is to copy and paste anything at all from Microsoft Word into your articles or sidebar.  Microsoft loads down what looks like text with formatting codes you can't see and it will also wreak havoc.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.

Many of you by now have upgraded to 3.0.  I have not entirely moved all my sites over to 3.0 due to certain plugins that are not fully compatible yet or that I must upgrade the plugin in order for 3.0 to work properly with it (I lack the time to want to troubleshoot potential problems).

If I have set up your site for you, you'll want to read this.  Two plugins that I use very often (90% of my set ups) that may affect you are the Redirection plugin and Secure and Accessible PHP Contact Form (for which there is no fix yet, you have to use another contact form).

REDIRECTION - Since the 3.0 upgrade, several of my installations reported that their latest 'published' page became their 'home' page incorrectly redirecting the home page to the newly published page.  This can be avoided by immediately after upgrading to 3.0, you go into your Dashboard and fixing the settings on the Redirection plugin menu.  To do this, click on:

>Tools
>Redirection
>Options
> Scroll down to 'URL Monitoring' and turn it off via dropdown menu and save

If you site is already affected, do the steps above and then the following steps below to turn off the offending redirect:

>Tools
>Redirection
>Groups (you will see at least two groups)

>Modified posts – even though it is likely a page that caused it, you are looking for a ' / ' (slash) and when you view it, it is the redirect of your main domain (/) to the new page.  Delete that redirect.

I have had one occasion where it happened again and I had to repeat this.  It is annoying, however it is the price you pay for free plugins (get it? free?).  I do send $$$ in donations to plugin authors whose plugins I use extensively, pay them and they will live to write another day of code for us.  You should consider it too.

SECURE & ACCESSIBLE CONTACT FORM:  After 3.0 upgrade, the anti-spam question disappears so you can't see it at all and therefore no one will answer it properly.  There is no fix for that as of this writing, but they are aware of it.  In the meantime, I have installed Contact Form (free plugin) and am waiting for the Secure & Accessible writers to update their form plugin.  Go to >Plugins >Add plugin and search for Contact Form 7.  Install it and then configure it (and add the code required) via the 'Settings' menu that goes with the installation.

On May 1st, WordPress 3.0 will be unveiled.  Click here to read an article regarding the new features.

I have heard from many of you that your automatic postings aren't working with 2.9 and have come to understand the this was a known problem with WordPress 2.9.  As of today, you can automatically upgrade to 2.9.1 that addresses this and a few other issues.

I have personally had that problem with prior versions and haven't used the 'future post' option in a long time.  If you upgrade and still experience this problem, it is most likely a plugin conflict or a conflict with your theme and without an 'error' message would not be able to troubleshoot.  A good way to start, is to disable all plugins (except for Akismet) and try again.  A great resource for questions about WordPress is www.Wordpress.org which also has a support forum.

You can read the full article on the complete update HERE.

One of my favorite things about the new WordPress 2.7 (now 2.8) is the automatic upgrade option from the dashboard.  As of this post, 2.8.1 has just been rolled out, so most of you will be using the ‘automated upgrade’ for the second time.  Those of you slacking and haven’t done it yet… what are you waiting for?

So far the only failures with the automated upgrade have ended up being because the person was up at their server space capacity (easily fixed… my customers… call me).  My new video on upgrading and backing up covers how to check before you start.

So, this tutorial covers a few scenarios, most noteably if you are still prior to 2.7 because you haven’t been upgrading like you should be… but I go over backing up your installation before you start and checking how much space you have as well as using Fantastico for the last time to upgrade you to 2.8 for you to then go forward and upgrade regularly.

So why am I telling you to backup your site when my servers create a back up of every site, every 24 hours (usually between 1am-5am EST)?  Well there are times that you have done a lot of work since the morning and *then* you upgrade and if a site restore is needed, you lose everything you’ve done since last update.

Also, on occasion the ‘automated backup’ turns out to be corrupt (does not happen often) and you need to restore from the weekly backup. So, be safe and you probably won’t need it. 

That being said if you are at 2.3 and are upgrading to 2.8 via Fantastico, definately make a backup because the further you go between backups the better the chance something will go wrong.

As I’ve said… it’s here and better than ever.  If you have been behaving right, you are already at 2.7.1 and know that starting with 2.7 there is an automatic upgrade at the top of your screen and I updated my site in 20 seconds this morning.  If not, you’ll have to use Fantastico to upgrade to 2.7.1 and then upgrade via your WordPress dashboard manually.  The only upgrade problems I’ve seen have to do with widgets that no longer are compatible with the version you upgrade to.

To view a video (which will answer your questions about the changed options), click here.

Some of the things you will love are the ability to swap out your theme and ‘try on’ a new one right from the dashboard.  I will be updating my videos and including ‘how to’s’ on some commonly asked questions. 

Also, I am now on Twitter, and you can follow me at www.Twitter.com/websbyamy

Fantastico (on my servers) is now up to 2.6.3 so you should go and upgrade!  If you need a refresher, you can refer to my page at Support >Tutorials or below are the links:

• Upgrading WordPress with Fantastico Video
• PDF: Upgrade WordPress via Fantastico PDF Step-By-Step

Since WordPress 2.7 is going to be a major change, I can’t stress how important it is to have made the incremental upgrades.  The longer you go between version upgrades, the more of a chance that there may be a problem.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact me directly (hosting customers only).