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Upgrading CiviCRM for WordPress

Use this document to upgrade CiviCRM installations on WordPress to the latest CiviCRM release.

Before upgrading

Make sure you have done the steps listed in before upgrading first.

Download the latest code

  1. Go to the CiviCRM website

  2. Select the latest currently available CiviCRM zip file for WordPress.

    Example: civicrm-x.x.x-wordpress.zip

  3. Save this file in <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/.

If using localization, also download the latest version of the localization files. See the CiviCRM Localisation page about how to install files for running CiviCRM in languages other than American English.

Prepare WordPress

Make sure you have logged in to WordPress as an administrator. Do not log out until the entire process is complete.

Backup

CiviCRM files and database

  1. Backup your existing /wp-content/plugins/civicrm directory by creating an archive or FTPing it to your local computer.
  2. Backup your existing database using your Control Panel or other method so that you can recreate the database if required.
  3. Find your civicrm.settings.php file. CiviCRM needs to use the civicrm.settings.php file during the upgrade. The default location is <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/uploads/civicrm/civicrm.settings.php. If the file is there, please proceed. If not, the settings file may be in its legacy location <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm.settings.php. If you find it there, please move to <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/uploads/civicrm/civicrm.settings.php and then proceed.
  4. Check to see if you are using a custom settings_location.php file. This should be located at <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/settings_location.php. If so, make a copy of this file as you will need to restore it after upgrading.

Now upgrade the filesystem

Remove old CiviCRM files

CiviCRM will not run properly if files from previous version are present after the upgrade.

  1. Make sure you have a good backup of your complete previous version installation
  2. Delete <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/civicrm

Install new CiviCRM files

  1. Unpack the files.

    $ cd <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/plugins
$ unzip <civicrm_download_file>.zip

Install localization files (optional)

If your site requires the localization files, download the civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.tar.gz from civicrm.org/download

These files must be untarred under <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/. Please note the tar.gz file only contains /civicrm not /civicrm/civicrm

$ cd <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/plugins/civicrm
$ tar -xf ../civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.tar.gz

If you don't have SSH access and your IP panel does not recognize tar files, you will need to convert it to a zip file.

  1. Uncompress civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.tar.gz
  2. Uncompress civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.tar. You should now have a civicrm directory with 2 subdirectories l10n and sql.
  3. Rename civicrm to civicrm2.
  4. Create an empty civicrm directory.
  5. Move the civicrm2 directory (with the 2 subdirectories) into your new civicrm directory.
  6. Rename civicrm2 to civicrm.
  7. Zip the civicrm directory and name it civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.zip
  8. Now, you can upload civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.zip into <wordpress_root>/wp-content/plugins/
  9. Unzip civicrm-x.x.x-l10n.zip and continue with the following steps.

Clear cached files

Delete all files in your <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/uploads/civicrm/templates_c directory and if it exists, all files in <wordpress_root>/<content-dir>/plugins/files/civicrm/templates_c

Upgrade the database

  1. Point your web browser to the following URL

    http://example.org/wp-admin/admin.php?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/upgrade&reset=1

  2. You should see the Upgrade screen.

  3. If you are ready to upgrade, click the Upgrade Now button.

  4. You should see the message Upgrade successful when the upgrade completes.

    • If you receive any errors during the process, please note down the exact error message, and check for solutions on Stack Exchange or Mattermost.

  5. Now click the Return to CiviCRM home page link. This will rebuild CiviCRM menus automatically and return you to the CiviCRM home dashboard.

Post upgrade

See these steps to take after upgrading.