Upgrade to WordPress 2.5 the Fast and Easy Way

WordPress 2.5 is out and the new interface and features make it a slick version to upgrade to. You should upgrade self hosted WordPress blogs for security reasons if not just for the looks and functionality. Technorati has issued an ultimatum to those who do not upgrade to help keep the spam and splogs out of their directory.

There are several methods of upgrading your WP blog including downloading and copying over your old install, using SVN to check out the upgraded files, and one of the fanciest and slickest methods I have found is to use the WordPress Automated Upgrade plugin.

The WordPress Automated Upgrade plugin does exactly what it's title says. Once you install and activate the plugin you can go to Manage in your Dashboard to prepare the upgrade through the plugin control panel. It downloads the latest version of WordPress, backs up your DB and files (don't forget to download them), puts your blog in maintenance mode, disables your plugins, then upgrades your install. After it is complete it checks your plugins before activating them.

Once you have upgraded to 2.5 you can automagically upgrade plugins from within the WordPress Dashboard to make sure you have all the latest and greatest (and patched and compatible) plugins for your install. WordPress upgrades and administration has never been so easy.

I upgraded several of my blogs using this plugin from a patched 2.3.2 version to 2.5. It was seemless and my themes worked just fine afterwards.

If you are interested in more information about WordPress 2.5 check out the FAQ posted at Weblog Tools Collection. They have compiled a great list of questions and answers about the upgrade and added a second post for the FAQ to answer even more questions readers had.