Delisting WordPress?

I read that Google and Technorati (Yahoo too?) are going to unlist older, less-secure versions of WordPress. And 2.3.1 is considered older.

WP just released 2.6. Upgrading is advisable.

Judith

Hi - news to me. Can someone point me to an article or something talking about this? Thanks!

A Google search lists several related articles. Here's one:

http://technorati.com/posts/%2Bvyz3Y43cnQBWgrL%2FgpU8g7%2Fa%2BjM1hBfvloUT9bJ0QE%3D

Judith

Hmm. I suggest you upgrade to 2.6. Apparently 2.5.1 has some deficiencies or WordPress wouldn't have ungraded.

Judith

You should back up your database and files daily or weekly anyway. There is a WP plugin that does it automatically and emails you the link. Here's an articles and links. http://ithemes.com/two-quick-ways-to-backup-wordpress-blog/

After upgrading my own WP blog, I agree that you might want to outsource the work.

It's great that you're able to answer your own questions. :)

Judith

Judith - thanks for the link.

Joe - like Judith said, there are resources out there you can review if you wanted to look into it. And if you're not confident, you could outsource.

For those who wish to give it a try on their own:

I've upgraded my own and others and it's easy to do; it's about as simple as unzipping the files and uploading them. Just download the version you want from wordpress.org. It's in a .zip file.

Unzip it and store it on your computer.

Using FileZilla or a similar FTP software, download the entire directory where your blog lives. Download it to someplace on your computer. (This is so that if something goes awry, you'll have it all on your comp and can just upload it again)

Then, highlight everything in the new Wordpress folder - a clue that you're in the right place is that you'll see 'wp-admin', 'wp-content' and 'wp-plugins' folders at the top.

Once these are highlighted, upload them to your blog's directory on your server. Remember, you're upgrading, so you are going to replace some of what is there. That's OK - you need to replace them. If you don't, you're going to end up with two of some things and it's going to be messed up.

It takes awhile. Once complete, go to the blog admin using your web browser (it's whatever your blog's URL is +/wp-admin.

Immediately you'll see a message that you need to update your database. You select the option to update and then,

it's done.

I'm going to upgrade to 2.6 this week. Apparently there are some problems which makes me hesitant because I like 2.5.1, but c'est la vie!

Until the next WP update...

You should always keep upgraded, unless there is a service plugin that hasn't been upgraded to work with the new WP.

Upgrading WP always has a risk of corrupting the database. To minimize the risk, you should turn off all plugins when upgrading and then turn them back on when the upgrade is complete.

You can also use a host that has fantastico installed with Wordpress, as the fantastico system automatically saves backup files before upgrading in the case of a bad hair day. The second bonus is that upgrading WP on fantastico is only a single button click.

Wow. This is timely.

Joe: do a search on your computer for wp-content. If the folder is there, you can add a /themes folder.

To the people following this thread:

Is there any reason not to use a free blog? All I see is upsides.

It's free. They'll keep wordpress software updated. It's connected to Google. I'm not a web or marketing person, so I pay & pay for that kind of help. (Always twice, including the blog).

I just set it up:

http://radicalaccounting.blogspot.com/

It doesn't look as good. But I'm sure I don't care.

What other downsides am I missing?

Joe - thanks for the compliment!

And, yes, when you upload a theme it needs to go into the wp-themes folder inside the wp-content directory.

Madeline - Wordpress is free, but I understand what you're talking about.

The limitations are in both design and functionality. There are actually hundreds of plugins and widgets available for Wordpress blogs but only a handful are made available on Wordpress.com.

Blogger (blogspot) is a different technology from Wordpress so I can't speak about it very much but here's an article comparing them

Regarding design, using free Wordpress.com has some limitations but if you know CSS or upload a custom header it's possible to make that work well for you.

I actually support both self-hosted Wordpress and Wordpress.com blogs. They both have their merits. Some people argue that blogs hosted on Wordpress.com get better visibility but that's debatable: it's possible to optimize a self-hosted blog so that it's just as visible as a Wordpress.com blog.

Re: Barry's comment about Fantastico - I agree! Using a full-featured hosting solution that manages my Wordpress installation and upgrades has made my life a lot easier.

And it allows me to play around with blogs and create new blogs on my domain in seconds.

If you're looking for one, I use Siteground. I've been with them for years and can't say enough good things about them.

I can see why Joe is using Tia. Where do people find the time?

Tia, Thanks for the comparison chart/blog. Fabulous!

There is a risk of losing the WordPress database if you upgrade. The database is driven by MySQL and can be backed up before proceeding by some nifty little add-ons for WordPress or you can rely on a professional to manage this. If your site does not have fantastico I would urge you to go with professional help.

If you are looking for help, let me know. My rates are very reasonable and I have tons of satisfied customers.