Wordpress 2.3: Don’t upgrade, INSTANT UPGRADE

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Wordpress 2.3 is now available! If you’ve been reading about it all week but didn’t want to install a beta version, only to have to upgrade again when it went live, your wait is over.

There’s been a lot of information going around about how to upgrade, how to make use of the new features, and how to backup your database. This is a very simple step-by-step you can follow if you’ve just seen too much.

First thing you should do is install the Instant Upgrade Plugin. This is, BY FAR, the easiest way to get the newest version of Wordpress installed. Upload it to your host and activate it, but don’t use it just yet.

While you’re in the plug-ins menu, make sure you disable any incompatible plugins. See yesterday’s article about some of the headaches you might face if you skip this step.

Next you should make a backup of your database. Login to your Wordpress admin menu. Click MANAGE. Click EXPORT. Click DOWNLOAD EXPORT FILE. Safe the file to your hard drive and you’re done. This file contains all of your Wordpress data. If something goes horribly wrong, you can go through the same steps to IMPORT the file and restore your database. This file does not save your plugin and configuration information, but that can be manually restored within minutes, and is trivial compared to your articles and comments.

Once your database is backed up, it’s time to run the upgrade. Click MANAGE, then INSTANT UPGRADE. Make sure the “The latest and greatest WordPress ever, please” radio button is selected, then click UPGRADE MY WORDPRESS.

Close your eyes and take a big deep breath. By time you open them, the upgrade will probably be done. Did you want it to be harder?

If you used one of the existing tagging plugins, you have one more step. Click MANAGE, then IMPORT. Click on the name of the plugin you used previously, then follow the steps to import the tags you want to carry over to the new system.