What does “automatic updates” mean in WordPress?
Automatic updates mean that WordPress installs certain updates on its own, without requiring you to take any manual action.
The feature was introduced in version 3.7 and has been continuously expanded ever since.
Today, not only core updates but also plugins and themes can be updated automatically.
This sounds like a practical solution, especially for website operators who have little time or technical expertise.
But before you enable automatic updates, you should know exactly what can and cannot be updated automatically.
After all, not every update works the same way or carries the same risks or benefits.
But let’s take a closer look at the different types of updates in WordPress.
Types of Updates
Core Updates: Security and Maintenance Updates vs. Major Releases
Core updates affect the WordPress system itself, that is, the CMS.
There are two types:
Security and maintenance updates (also known as minor releases) and so-called major versions.
Security and maintenance updates typically address known security vulnerabilities or fix minor bugs.
These minor updates are installed automatically by default, so you, as the website owner, don't need to do anything.
That makes sense; after all, this is about protecting your website and ensuring its basic operational stability.
If you ignore or disable these updates, the risk of security vulnerabilities remaining unpatched increases significantly—in the worst-case scenario, this could result in your WordPress website being hacked.
The situation is different for major versions.
These updates often include new features, design changes, or major technical updates.
By default, such updates are not installed automatically by default.
Why?
Because they can potentially cause compatibility issues, such as with plugins or themes that aren't yet ready for the new version.
So you can decide for yourself whether you want to perform these major WordPress updates manually or enable automatic updates.
Plugin Updates: Repository vs. Premium
Plugins can also be updated automatically in WordPress.
Starting with version 5.5, you can specify in the plugin overview which plugins should be updated automatically.
Whether it's a small security plugin or a complex SEO tool, the update runs in the background as soon as a new version is available.
However, it is important to distinguish between free plugins from the official WordPress repository and premium plugins from third-party providers.
With premium plugins, there is no guarantee that automatic updates will work smoothly.
Often, additional license keys, dedicated updaters, or even manual downloads are required.
In addition, new versions may not have been thoroughly tested yet, which increases the risk of errors or security vulnerabilities.
Another problem:
Automatic plugin updates could alter or even disable features on your website if, for example, a new version isn't compatible with your current version of WordPress or PHP.
That's why you should only enable automatic plugin updates for stable, regularly maintained plugins and check critical tools manually instead.
Theme Updates: Design and Layout
Themes can also be updated automatically, at least if you're using a theme from the official WordPress directory.
Starting with WordPress 5.5, you can use the backend to choose whether to enable automatic theme updates.
That sounds convenient, but it can quickly lead to problems.
Themes influence the overall design of your website and often also affect features such as navigation, widgets, and loading behavior.
A faulty update can mess up your website's layout or override CSS customizations.
It gets particularly tricky if you've been working directly on the theme and aren't using child themes.
In this case, any customizations you've made will be lost during the automatic theme update.
Premium themes are subject to similar restrictions as plugins:
Some providers have their own update systems or require manual downloads.
Here, too, caution is better than rash action.
If you want to automate theme updates, make sure you always have a backup and, ideally, a staging environment to test changes.
Why automatic updates can be useful
Automatic updates in WordPress can make your website more secure, stable, and efficient—especially when used strategically.
In this section, we’ll show you when automatic WordPress updates offer real benefits, why they make sense for many websites, and exactly what features like rollback and auto-fixes entail.
Safety & Security
Security updates are among the most important reasons for automatic updates in WordPress.
Every version of WordPress also comes with potential security vulnerabilities, especially if you use plugins or themes that aren't regularly updated.
Automatic updates quickly patch these vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
The fixes are deployed centrally and applied immediately without any action on your part.
This is particularly crucial in the case of critical vulnerabilities that become public knowledge and affect thousands of WordPress websites at the same time.
In addition:
Many security issues are not caused by the software itself, but by human error.
A missed plugin update, an outdated theme, or an untested new version—all of these are potential entry points for attacks.
Automatic updates help minimize such risks.
You reduce the risk of errors and protect your website from security issues that might otherwise be easily overlooked.
This is a real advantage, especially if you don't work on it every day.
Time and labor savings
Ongoing maintenance of a WordPress website can quickly become a burden, especially if you’re managing multiple projects or don’t have technical support.
Manual updates take time, require your attention, and often run when you need them least.
With automatic updates, you can avoid exactly that.
You don't have to check every day to see if a new version of WordPress, a plugin update, or a theme update is available.
Instead, the system handles the updates in the background, usually at night or during times when there are few visitors on the site.
This keeps your website's performance stable, allowing you to focus on other tasks.
This is a huge help, especially for smaller businesses, blogs, or beginners who don't have their own development team.
Automation saves time and reduces the risk of you applying an important update too late or not at all.
Safety net in case of errors (rollback function)
A common objection to automatic updates:
What happens if something goes wrong?
That's exactly why WordPress has stepped up its game.
Starting with version 6.6, there is a built-in rollback feature, at least for plugins.
If a serious error occurs after an automatic plugin update, WordPress detects the problem and reverts the update.
At the same time, you'll receive an email notification so you know what happened.
This automatic error detection and rollback is particularly helpful for plugins that interfere with one another or for incompatible versions.
You don't need to take immediate action or even restore a backup, since the system protects itself.
This gives you an added sense of security, even though you’re relinquishing some control over individual updates.
In the long run, this feature improves your website's stability without requiring manual intervention.
Risks and Drawbacks of Automatic Updates
There’s no question that automatic WordPress updates offer many benefits.
But they aren't the best option for every website.
Especially if your website is complex, uses many plugins or themes, or has special customizations, you should also keep the risks and drawbacks in mind.
Below, we’ll show you the most common issues that can arise from automatic updates in WordPress.
Compatibility and functionality issues
One of the biggest drawbacks of automatic updates in WordPress is the potential incompatibility between plugins, themes, or the current version of WordPress.
A plugin update may suddenly stop working with a theme.
A theme update will override any custom design changes.
A core update introduces new features that haven't yet been tested with your current plugin version.
This risk is particularly high for websites that use many WordPress plugins or heavily customized themes.
An automatic update cannot verify whether all plugins and themes work together without issues.
This results in layout errors, buttons that no longer work, or missing elements on the website.
If you've made your own changes to the code—for example, directly in the theme or in a plugin—there's also a risk that these changes will be overwritten during the update.
Many website owners forget that WordPress updates are only secure if they are accompanied by a proper setup and clean structures.
A custom system is more prone to such problems than a standard installation with few extensions.
Risk of crashes and the White Screen of Death
In the worst-case scenario, faulty automatic updates can cause your website to become completely inaccessible.
A typical scenario:
You wake up in the morning, want to post something on your page, and it's blank.
No content, no access, no login.
The so-called "White Screen of Death" is a common problem caused by failed updates in WordPress.
A single incompatible plugin update or a bug in a theme can cause your entire CMS to stop loading.
The result: downtime, stress, and lost revenue—especially if your website is a key part of your business.
On top of that, troubleshooting is often very time-consuming.
Without technical knowledge or up-to-date backups, restoring your website can quickly become a challenge.
This is particularly critical for online stores, booking sites, or company websites, where every minute counts.
In such cases, automatic updates do not guarantee stability; in fact, they can even increase the risk of outages if everything isn't properly prepared.
Loss of Control & Timing
Another drawback of automatic WordPress updates:
You have no control over when the update takes place.
This means that a core update or plugin update can be performed in the middle of the night, on the weekend, or even while you're on vacation, without you even noticing.
If problems arise, you won't find out until users point out the errors or you check your website yourself.
Timing is crucial, especially for businesses, blogs, or high-traffic websites.
An update at the wrong time can disrupt features, prevent orders from being placed, or significantly impair your site's usability.
In addition, you can't easily adapt automatic updates to planned changes.
For example, if you want to upgrade your website's PHP version or launch a new feature, simultaneous automatic updates can cause problems.
Important tests, such as those in a staging environment, are also more difficult to schedule when updates are automated.
That is why many website operators deliberately choose not to use automatic updates and prefer to rely on manual updates.
When are automatic updates a good idea, and when aren't they?
Automatic WordPress updates are a handy feature, but they aren't right for every website.
Whether you should enable automatic updates depends largely on your setup, your technical expertise, and the importance of your website.
In this section, we'll show you which websites benefit from automatic updates and when it's better to steer clear of them.
Recommended for:
Automatic updates are especially useful if your website has a simple structure and doesn't rely on many plugins or customizations.
A good example: a personal blog, a small business website, or a club website.
If you mainly use plugins from the official WordPress repository, make regular backups, and haven't made any changes to the theme or core code, automatic updates are a real lifesaver.
In such cases, automatic updates minimize security risks, ensure that software is up to date, and save time on maintenance.
You'll benefit from automatic security patches, plugin updates, and theme updates without having to constantly check everything yourself.
Automatic WordPress updates are a particularly useful option for website owners who don’t have a development team or technical expertise.
They reliably keep your WordPress version, plugins, and themes up to date—all without any manual effort on your part.
It’s also worth using for websites that aren’t mission-critical or where minor issues don’t pose a significant risk.
It's better to do it manually for:
As your website becomes more complex, you should use automatic updates with caution or avoid them altogether.
This applies especially to online stores, booking platforms, portals with login features, and highly customized themes and plugins.
Even larger corporate websites with many features or integrations with third-party systems are prone to issues during automatic updates.
The reason: Even a single faulty plugin update or an incompatible theme can cause important features of your website to stop working properly.
In such cases, every minute counts, and an outage can directly impact revenue, customer satisfaction, or your brand’s reputation.
Another point: If you’re working with a staging environment, running tests, or following a specific update strategy, automatic updates can be counterproductive.
They take control away from you and can throw your plans into disarray.
Even if you've made your own changes to the theme, plugins, or WordPress core, automatic updates pose a risk because they could overwrite your customizations.
For this type of website, manual updates combined with backups, version testing, and targeted implementation are the better choice.
This is the only way to ensure that your site works just as well as before—or even better—after every WordPress update.
How to Manage Automatic Updates
Automatic updates in WordPress don't have to follow an all-or-nothing approach.
You can decide for yourself which types of updates should be performed automatically and which ones you'd prefer to manage manually.
A carefully tailored update strategy is especially worthwhile if you use WordPress professionally.
In this section, we’ll show you how to configure automatic WordPress updates, which tools can help you do so, and which best practices have proven effective for website owners.
Custom configuration via wp-config.php and filters
WordPress lets you control automatic updates directly through the wp-config.php file.
By adjusting certain settings, you can choose whether to completely disable core updates, allow only security updates, or even enable all automatic updates in WordPress.
Here's an example:
This setting enables all core updates, including major versions.
Alternatively, you can set it to `false` to disable automatic updates, or to `minor` to allow only security and maintenance updates.
For even more control, you can use filters to selectively manage specific types of updates.
Examples of this include:
With these filters, you can choose, for example, to have plugin updates run automatically but not theme updates.
Translation updates can also be configured in this way.
This is a flexible solution—especially for developers, agencies, or website operators with technical expertise—for tailoring automatic updates to their specific website and operations.
Use of plugins such as "Easy Updates Manager"
If you prefer a user-friendly interface, we recommend using a specialized plugin such as Easy Updates Manager.
This plugin lets you fine-tune all automatic updates directly in the WordPress dashboard.
With this, you can:
- Enable or disable automatic updates for specific plugins or themes
- Control core updates by type (security, major, minor)
- Set up notifications for updates
- View logs to see when each update was performed
This tool is particularly useful for those who manage multiple websites or for agencies that want to apply consistent update rules without having to make any manual changes to the code.
Easy Updates Manager offers you greater transparency, a better overview, and easy-to-use functionality—even if you're not a developer.
Backups and staging as security measures
Whether you enable automatic updates or not:
A functioning backup system is essential.
Even when configured carefully, an update in WordPress can lead to unexpected problems, especially with complex plugins and themes.
So be sure to use a backup plugin or your hosting provider’s backup feature to create daily or hourly backups of your website.
This way, you can always revert to the last working version.
Even better: Use a staging environment.
This allows you to test new WordPress versions, plugin updates, or theme updates in advance without putting your live site at risk.
Don’t just use staging to identify layout or functionality issues, but also to check load times after updates—because a plugin or theme update can measurably degrade performance.
Many modern hosting providers, such as Kinsta, Raidboxes, and SiteGround, already offer built-in staging.
This way, you can take your time to check whether the automatic update runs smoothly before it takes effect on your actual website.
Conclusion & Recommendations
Automatic updates in WordPress are a great way to keep your website secure, up to date, and low-maintenance.
They offer real added value, especially for simple setups with few plugins and standard themes.
You'll benefit from automatic security updates and improved stability, and you won't have to worry about manual updates every day.
For many operators of blogs, small business websites, or informational websites, this is a definite relief.
But as convenient as automatic updates are, they aren't the best choice for every WordPress website.
If your site is mission-critical, uses a lot of plugins and themes, or includes customizations, you should take a closer look.
This is because an update here can quickly lead to compatibility issues, malfunctions, or even a complete system failure.
In such cases, it makes sense to automate specific processes rather than blindly allowing everything.
Our recommendation:
Enable automatic updates for security and maintenance updates (minor core updates).
They pose little risk but offer a lot of protection.
However, when it comes to major updates, plugin updates, or theme updates, you should take a closer look.
Use a staging environment, test new versions in advance, and make sure to perform regular backups.
If you want to enable automatic updates, use tools like "Easy Updates Manager" or customize the settings in wp-config.php and filters as needed.
This way, you stay in control, minimize risks, and stay up to date at the same time.
And all this with a website that runs smoothly, securely, and efficiently.
FAQ: Automatic WordPress Updates: Benefits, Risks, and Recommendations
1. What exactly is updated during automatic updates in WordPress?
Automatic updates in WordPress affect various areas:
Core updates, plugin updates, theme updates, and translations.
Starting with version 3.7, security updates are installed automatically.
Starting with version 5.5, you can also enable automatic updates for plugins and themes.
These updates help fix security vulnerabilities, improve performance, and keep your WordPress website up to date.
You can customize the exact settings individually, either in the backend or via the wp-config.php file.
2. What are the benefits and risks of automatic updates for my website?
The biggest advantage of automatic WordPress updates is security:
Security vulnerabilities are quickly patched, and the website stays up to date without any manual effort.
This saves time on maintenance, especially for blogs, small businesses, and non-technical website owners.
At the same time, there are risks:
Compatibility issues with plugins or themes, potential malfunctions, or even crashes.
That is why backups, testing in staging environments, and a targeted update strategy are best practices for safely using automatic updates.
3. For which websites are automatic updates useful, and when should I disable them?
Automatic updates are particularly recommended for simple websites without complex features.
If you run a blog, an informational site, or a company website with just a few well-maintained plugins, you’ll benefit from the ease of use and convenience.
For more complex websites, such as online stores, platforms, or businesses with heavily customized themes and plugins, you should install plugin updates, theme updates, and core updates manually.
This way, you minimize risks, protect your functionality, and maintain full control over every new WordPress version and its impact on your CMS.
