The steps are mostly from this Codex article, Updating_WordPress#Manual_Update, but in this case a prior database backup is essential. This is what I do: Upload the latest WordPress version to a temporary folder, /public_html/new-wp This upload should not contain the folder /wp-content nor the file wp-config.php. If you can, create another database and import the … Read more
I can’t see a problem with your if-else-statement, so I’m thinking the problem origins somewhere else. You say you get no errors, I guess you have debugging enabled. Besides, did you debug and inspect – var_dump or print_r it – the $wp_query object, to see if it is really empty, has no posts. Another thing, … Read more
First, I highly recommend you get to know your data model before doing anything. For this purpose I recommend dumping the raw JSON into a linter or formatter (e.g. JSONLint) to see what you’re dealing with. That said, what Brian suggests is appropriate — you should take a look at the object you produced from … Read more
I would definitely recommend checking out the beta-tester plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/ It gives you an easy way to check it out, and switching back to stable with it is simple from the interface by clicking “Re-install Now” It will allow you to upgrade to the latest releases. It’s good to get a jump start on dev, … Read more
I sorted this out. It looks like the core team rolls out new versions of the database with their beta program. So, it’s plenty easy to get advance warning. And, the database upgrades live in wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php. There’s a sequence of functions in there named things like upgrade_500, upgrade_560, upgrade_590. They’re named for the WordPress version … Read more
Yes, it always was and still is only showing in the admin area.
Copy the entire site – including the complete wp-content and the data base – to a local server and run a test. There is no other way to know if it works. Usually you can run the automatic upgrade from any version of WordPress. Outdated themes and plugins are not safe.
There are no such plans. WordPress intentionally maintains backward compatibility.
Unfortunately you had to learn the hard way 🙁 This is not about that version 4 sucks, actually, version 4 comes with great new feature, like the new advanced orderby function in WP_Query, it is more about an outdated website. Downgrading will not solve your problem in the long run, it might even create more … Read more
Well, of course, you have a complete and full backup to start – DB and files. Has to be said if this is going to be a complete answer. It is hard to tell quickly what the problem could be when a WP upgrade produces a failure like you describe. Most likely it is the … Read more