How to Disable Your WordPress Plugin Updates and Why It is a Bad Idea
April 24th, 2017 | by Ravi Chahar || 7 Comments |
When you read about your website’s security then the most common concept of keeping it updated is always at the top.
People even enable automatic updates for WordPress plugins but some of the web developers disable the updates to keep the same website design.
Would you prefer to disable your WordPress plugin updates? It’s hard to answer because you may have read to keep your website updated but never thought about using the older plugin versions.
Well, it can be controversial. Many web developers don’t take any risk with any kind of updates. It’s because a plugin update can break a website.
Why is it a Bad Idea to Use Outdated Plugins
Every plugin update brings many new features along with more security and bug fixes.
Though the chances of breaking your website with a plugin update are quite high but not if you use the genuine plugins with authentic WordPress themes.
People complain about the plugin bugs but they never realize their own fault. That’s why it’s always recommended to choose the plugin which can satisfy you.
If you disable your WordPress plugin updates then it would be a signal to the hackers. An outdated website calls to many vulnerabilities.
As Mentioned earlier, many web developers don’t update their plugins. Especially for a client’s website.
The biggest reason is because of their old coding markup can’t match with the latest coding trends. That’s why it’s always recommended to know whether the custom website you’re getting is compatible with all the latest plugins.
On readers demand, I am going to explain about disabling plugin updates.
Disabling All The WordPres Plugins Updates Together
In the WordPress repository, there are thousands of plugins. Here you will use one of them.
Install and activate Easy Updates Manager and go to Dashboard>>Update Options to open the plugin settings’ page.
There are many tabs with different settings. To enable or disable the updates for all the WordPress plugins, click on the “General” tab.
You will see the options for WordPress core, themes, and plugins. Choose the disabled radio button for plugins and save the settings.
This will disable updates for all the plugins. But many users have asked to use it only for some selected plugins. It’s because they don’t want to use the outdated SEO plugin or anyone similar.
Disable Updates Only For Particular Plugins
The plugin installed above will work the same. Instead of “General” tab, you have to click on the “Plugins” tab. It will show all the activated and deactivated plugins.
Below every plugin, you will see an option to allow and disallow option depending on its current status. You can disable updates for some selective plugins.
If you want to use the latest version of the SEO plugin then keep its update enabled and disable for all the others.
It’s the matter of choice. Many web developers disable updates only for some specific plugins which are sensitive to poor coding.
Is There Any Chance You Would Disable Your WordPress Plugin Updates
What do you think about it? Will you ever disable your WordPress plugin updates? Will you hire a web designer or a developer who does that?
It may seem to be nothing but it can be a serious issue which tends to your website security. An outdated website can get hacked easily.
Many people even enable automatic updates in WordPress. It can be used for the WordPress code, plugins, and the themes.
Can you manage automatic WordPress updates? What’s your choice? Our readers would like to know about it. If you have any question, feel free to drop a comment.
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7 comments
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Hi Ravi,
Informative post indeed ?
Yes, you are right about all that you mentioned, and it isn’t a good idea to allow auto automation of plugins. I’ve noticed my better half also do so manually, as and when required, and you get the notification in your dashboard, so it’s a reminder for you to go ahead if you wish to retain the plugin.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead ?
Hi Ravi, Though in this article you have shown us how to disable updates and why it is a bad idea but remember auto updation is also a very bad idea when you have a large customization and your WordPress installtion suddenly changes all the parameter then it is very prudent to avoid auto-update and take a back up of your whole website and think what you want to update and what you want to retain.
a very nice read, keep posting such wonderful articles for all wp community.
There is a slight chance that automatic updates can break your site. In our experience, the minor releases haven’t broken any of our sites yet.
But that’s because we are following the best practices and not modifying any core files. If you modify WordPress core files, then these automatic updates can override them.
Hello Ravi,
An outdated Plugins and Themes are vulnerable to hacking. So, It is highly recommended that everybody should update their plugins and themes to make sure that their website performs very well. Thanks for this informative post.
Hi Ravi
Very informative post.
Your selection of topic is awesome as I noticed you don’t follow the herd instinct while picking the topic.
On my blog I update all plugins manually and many times an update does break the site and I do the oldies method of deactivating or deleting the recently updated plugin to get rid of the issue.
Many thanks for sharing
Hey Muba,
That oldies method is the best. As you’re a regular blogger so you don’t need to activate the automatic updates. You can all do it yourself.
Many people don’t get much time to handle their blog but want to keep it updated.
Thanks for your appreciation.
Have a great day.
~Ravi
Hello Ravi,
WordPress core is without a doubt a safe and secure platform for building website. However, why there is still a lot of websites become a victim of hack? It’s because they don’t often update themes/plugins.
Leaving plugin outdated is vulnerable to hack.
Thanks for pointing out.
~Rod