Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation when you click on links to products in this post. For an explanation of my Advertising Policy, visit this page. Thanks for reading!
The importance of the WordPress plugin update notification to your website.
WordPress plugin updates are important as new WordPress features, bug fixes and security patches are implemented on WordPress core (a WordPress site’s “operating system”) as well as WordPress plugins (add-on software packages that can extend what WordPress can do), including WordPress themes (themes control the visual layout of your website).
If you’re not keeping WordPress plugins up-to-date, WordPress security risks are more likely to exploit vulnerabilities in outdated WordPress plugins.
Some WordPress plugin updates include new features that may improve your WordPress website or WordPress blog performance.
A WordPress plugin update notification is important for these reasons and so much more!
Who can benefit from a WordPress plugin update notification?
WordPress plugin update notifications are helpful to WordPress users who manage WordPress websites or WordPress blogs on their own.
WordPress plugin update notifications are just as important for WordPress users who manage WordPress websites or WordPress blogs for small businesses, large corporations, personal use and all other WordPress website owners!
WordPress developers who create WordPress themes and WordPress plugins can also benefit from WordPress plugin update notifications by knowing how to revise WordPress code when WordPress security risks are fixed in WordPress updates.
WordPress plugin update notifications are important for all WordPress users!
How do I get rid of the plugin update notification?
As a WordPress user, you can choose to disable WordPress plugin update notifications by disabling automatic updates of all your installed WordPress plugins.
Most antivirus software also provides an option to disable plugin updates for security reasons.
If you’ve disabled automatic updating of your installed WordPress plugins and you still see the annoying WordPress plugin update notification, or you want to be notified when a WordPress plugin is updated.
- You can also disable the WordPress plugin update notification in your WordPress plugins’ settings by unchecking “Allow users to opt out of automatically updating recommended plugins”. Then checking “Enable suggested plugin updates.”
Although for the most part, you should never disable this feature.
How often does WordPress check for plugin updates?
WordPress does not have any built in functionality to notify you when there are updates to your plugins.
It is up to the developer of the plugin, to notify WordPress that an update is available. If they do not, then their users will never know when there is an update.
How do I hide a WordPress plugin update?
WordPress makes it easy for you to update all your plugins in just one click. If there is any chance that someone with access to your site can tamper with functionality, security or privacy, then it should be obvious why you shouldn’t do this.
You have a few options when it comes to hiding plugin updates. One involves coding by editing your WordPress install, which always carries a risk of breaking the site. The other option is installing a plugin.
Hide Plugin Updates Using Plugins.
There are three plugins that will hide plugin updates from your site. They both work really well and are still actively maintained by their developers.
Hide Plugin Updates Message does exactly what it sounds like. It prevents plugin updates from being announced to your site visitors. It is very simple to use and doesn’t require any configuration beyond installation.
The other is Hide Updates which also does exactly as it says. It not only hides plugin update notifications, but updates to WordPress Core and themes except to specifically assigned users.
You can also check out Disable WP Notification.
How do I turn off WordPress plugin update notifications?
You may want to turn off plugin updates if you are having problems with plugins, or you want to install them manually.
You can easily disable plugin update notifications in your WordPress dashboard.
Go to the Plugins section and click on the settings tab under individual plugins. To disable notification for all plugins, uncheck the “Allow Plugin Updates” box at top of screen.
Alternatively, you can choose which plugins will have updates automatically applied by ticking or rotating available checkboxes.
How long do WordPress plugin updates take?
The process of updating a WordPress plugin isn’t that straightforward. It’s not as simple as copying old files and changing a version number.
There are various other steps that take place behind the scenes, which is why it can take from seconds to minutes for plugins to update.
Do I need to update WordPress plugins?
Normally yes, plugin authors should make sure their plugins are compatible with the latest version of WordPress (currently 5.8.1).
Since major releases of WordPress come out every few months, you can imagine how quickly plugin compatibility stacks up for both users and plugin authors. Plugin updates usually contain:
- Security and stability patches that fix problems in the code or underlying features.
- Support for new WordPress versions.
- Compatibility with most recent WordPress releases.
- Implementations of new best practices to improve coding.
- Convenience/functional updates such as UI changes, bug fixes, etc.
Sometimes a plugin author might choose not to update his/her plugin due to one or more of these reasons:
- Plugin is working fine, no security issues.
- Plugin author does not have enough time.
- Plugin update might break things (this happens quite frequently at times).
These are some valid reasons, however it would be really good if plugin updates were always performed by authors.
You might not see any need to update a plugin that is working fine, but wouldn’t you want to keep your WordPress site safe? Yes.
No one knows what problems a future version of WordPress might have with a certain plugin and the only person who can prepare for it is the plugin author.
There are many users on WordPress forums reporting issues which started after a specific plugin update because the authors decided not to keep their plugins up to date with latest WordPress releases.
If you still don’t want to update your plugins, make sure you always check what version of the plugin you are using and what the latest version is.
For example, you can quickly check if your WordPress plugins are updated by entering “plugin name” + ‘update’ in Google where “plugin name” is the actual name of your plugin. For example, if you are using Yoast SEO – WordPress SEO Plugin , search for it on Google with yoast seo update .
How do I know if a WordPress plugin is compatible with my version of WordPress?
First, find out what version of WordPress you use. You can do this by visiting your WordPress site’s Dashboard and looking near the top right corner of the screen for something like “Version x.x” where x is your WordPress version number.
Once you know what version you are running, check to see if it is compatible with your plugin.
Some plugins have a list of compatible WordPress version numbers in the readme file included with the plugin download, if not check on the support forums for your plugin or emailing the developer directly is another way to get information about plugin compatibility.
You can also check out the WordPress Plugin Directory and install or upgrade any WordPress plugins you like to see if it breaks your site.
Why would a WordPress plugin stop working on my version of WordPress?
There are several reasons why this might happen. Here are the most common ones:
- The Plugin Developer no longer works on that version of WordPress or has chosen to end support for that version of WordPress.
- The Plugin Developer has found a bug or security issue in that version of WordPress and will not release an update until it has been fixed.
How do I know if my plugin is vulnerable?
WordPress plugins should always be upgraded to the latest version to take advantage of all the new features and bug fixes that have come out since your last upgrade.
If you don’t upgrade you run the risk of finding yourself on a vulnerable plugin.
If you find that an update is available you should do this immediately!
There may be a security problem discovered in the version of WordPress you are using.
If you find that an update is available for your plugin, however, there is still no update released for the version of WordPress you use.
Please check to see if your plugin author has addressed the issue on the support forum of your plugin. If not, email them directly and ask when they expect to release an update for their plugin.
What happens if you don’t update plugins?
If you don’t update your plugins there could be a security problem discovered in the version of WordPress you are using.
An exploit may also be written for that vulnerability allowing hackers to access and modify any data you have on your site.
This can include things like usernames, passwords, email addresses or even credit card information if you are storing it for an online store.
Why does WordPress tell me to update my plugins?
Plugin Developers are constantly checking the version of WordPress you are using when they release updates to their plugin, often they provide this information in the readme file included with the download.
If they detect that your version of WordPress is out of date they will release a message letting you know the plugin needs to be updated.
The Plugin I use is on the WordPress.org Plugins A-Z list, why would it stop working?
When a plugin enters into a dormant state it doesn’t mean that the developer has stopped doing work on their plugin altogether.
Sometimes they have another full time job and can’t devote as much time to it. It doesn’t mean that they won’t come back and do an update either.
If the plugin is still available for download they may not have decided to end support for that version or found a security problem with your WordPress installation, even if it’s older than the one listed on their site.
WordPress plugin update notification FAQs for best use. Summary.
Now that you’ve learned about the ins and outs of WordPress plugin update notifications, it’s time to see if yours is turned on.
If not, take a few minutes today to check your settings so you can get alerted when an important software update becomes available for one of your plugins.
There could be security vulnerabilities in older versions or new features that improve functionality (or both!).
Your site is only as good as the plugins you have on it, so make sure to update your WordPress plugin when a new version comes out.
You can do this by going into your settings and then clicking “Updates” in the left sidebar menu.
This will give you an overview of all of the updates available for both free and premium plugins that are currently installed on your website.
Clicking a link under either category will install or upgrade those specific items with just one click!
Make sure not to skip these important steps because if something breaks due to outdated software, there could be some major consequences, like hackers doing their worst! So don’t wait until it’s too late!
Make sure your WordPress plugin update notification is turned on so you’re never left vulnerable to potential hacking and plugin conflicts.
