Better Handle WordPress Update Issues Related to Plugins, Plugin Updates

What I’m going to run through here will change your life enabling peaceful control if you:

• Use an and Old Theme
• Use a Ton of Plugins
• Have Issues After Updating WordPress
• Have Had an Issue After Updating Plugin(s)
• Plugin Updates Have Made Your Site Broken

This is especially helpful in issues from the update process to a WordPress to v.3.5 (3.5.1, etc.). (and into the future)

You’re actually going to do it more like the Dos Equis man…

Just updated several snazzy plugins and things seem OK (except on some pages?)  jQuery just stopped working?  Updated WordPress and now things seem different?  Plugin Devs and WordPress related posts telling you to deactivate all plugins and you’re scared? Only need some plugins on a particular page anyway?

IT WILL BE OK…(YOU WILL NOT DIE)

Fear not, fear not, here are some quick things you can try to save from having to edit and rewrite a lot of code and possibly avoid mass plugin deactivation. (From the WordPress panel with plugins)

PROBLEMS WITH DEPRECATED VERSIONS OF JQUERY

• jQuery Issues with Old Theme After WordPress Update
• Dynamic Parts of the Page No Longer Respond

1st Option: The jQuery Migratation plugin will allow a quick patch that will solve many issues with deprecated versions of jQuery.  This doesn’t really enable the user to continue into the future, knowing they have the power of running a strong WordPress installation where they can work on diagnosis of issues on the fly.  That being said, sometimes a quick easy fix isn’t that bad, if your case is very simple and not likely to be a more advanced plugin conflict.  At any rate, the plugin can be a way to determine if the issue is very simply that legacy function conflict)  If this fixes your loading issues, it might be worth if for you to continue your legacy usage of jQuery in some cases, keeping in mind that things will work a lot more fluidly with using updated themes and plugins (again, not advised for a long term strategy).  This is just a plugin and activation, there are no settings.

YOU’VE GOT A PLUGIN CONFLICT (PLUGIN MAY OR MAY NOT CALL jQuery)

• Plugin is Used Selectively, but has Issues
• You Don’t Want to Deactivate All Plugins
• Test the Results for Plugins Loading Together
• Speed Up Page Loading.

2nd Option (Enter Dos Equis Guy): Try Plugin Organizer.  If you have just one page or a group of pages where things just don’t look right, you can get a lot more specific with deactivating plugins that make jQuery calls, or otherwise have conflicts.  (an example, you have a special page or group of pages, or custom post types where you aren’t using a plugin you suspect has an issue).  You can deactivate plugins conditionally on a post or page.

The strength here is you can continue running some plugins where there are conflicts, perhaps due to them not being properly updated, and work on fixes or replacement for your future plans.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DEACTIVATING ALL PLUGINS?

You can do this, but don’t be surprised if you have settings dropped or flushed from your MySQL database.  This can be tough in the case that a plugin has a ton of custom settings.  Always note your settings before fully deactivating a plugin, especially if there are many of them.  Imagine if what you setup for a plugin in configuration changed back to default.  This is not really a pleasant experience.

AS ALWAYS

• Backup Your Database Before Updating Plugins or WordPress
• Take a Web File Backup Prior to the Above

HERE’S SOME IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE ABOVE PLUGIN (Plugin Organizer)

• NEAT FEATURE: This will also let you drag and drop the load order of your plugins.
• ENABLE SELECTIVE PLUGIN LOADING (this allows to enable and disable plugins for selective pages)
• CUSTOM POST TYPES SUPPORT (can be enabled for individual CTPs in the settings)
• NO POST ID OR NUMBER ASSIGNED (can specify URLs and turn on child page support)

You now have more time to be a Rockstar!