To update to wordpress 3.9 also know as “Smith” you need to do it differently than the steps shown in a previous post.

Review what’s new before the upgrade, really exciting changes!

Before you upgrade, read this notes:

1. WARNING: The upgrade process will affect all files and folders included in the main WordPress installation. This includes all the core files used to run WordPress. If you have made any modifications to those files, your changes will be lost.
2. Akismet upgrade is included in the wordpress upgrade files. You only need to install it once.
3. Your site will be down during the upgrade process- 15 min.
4. If you have added Google analytics code manually, you will have to add it again when you update the themes. Follow this instruction on how to add your Google analytics code in wordpress.

Ok, let’s do this:

First back up all your wordpress files and databases.

Once you have done that, download the latest version of wordpress.

Unzip it and save it somewhere you have easy access.

REALLY IMPORTANT, otherwise your install will not be successful: Deactivate all your plugins: Go to Plugins >Installed plugins

Click on the check box next to Plugins:

Click on the Bulk Actions button and select Deactivate and click on the button Apply:

 

Here is where things will be made differently:

Delete all your files except:

• wp-config.php
• wp-content
• .htaccess (if you have one for your site. If you can’t see it, it means you don’t have it)
• wp-includes/language (if you are using a language file
• Custom plugins

Why Delete? It is a good idea to delete whatever is possible because the uploading process may not correctly overwrite an existing file and that may cause problems later.

Let’s do that: Log in your synology, and access FileStation and the directory where your wordpress files are stored and delete according to the previous step (I am using NetDrive to do this):

I have left the wp-content folder, my htaccess file, my favicon (not a wordpress file), my sitemaps (not a wordpress file) and my wp-config file.

Upload the wordpress files you downloaded previously, wuth the exception of the wp-content, we will do that later:

The wp-content folder holds your WordPress Themes and Plugins. If you are using wordpress original themes like onetwenty, onetwelve, ect, you will need to upload those files too. Do a copy+paste of the entire folder structure and update only the files that have changed:

NOTE: If you have custom changes to the default theme, those changes will need to be reviewed and installed after the upgrade.

Upgrade akismet, by copying the files located in the wp-content>plugins into your plugin folder in the File station:

When you login your wordpress again, you will be prompted to upgrade the database:

and if you are successful you will see:

Activate your plugins again and test that everything works fine.

If you dont see the text editor on your post or pages, you probably forgot to disable your plugins. In this case, disable all plugins and copy the folders wp-includes and wp-admin again. Check if you see the editor and activate your plugins again.

Enjoy!