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High Risk Plugin Updates

TLDR: Elementor, Divi, SEOPress, Rankmath, and Updraft require extra caution. Always backup first, update high-risk plugins one at a time (not batched), check changelogs for breaking changes, test on staging when possible, and verify functionality after each update.

These plugins are known to be more likely to cause layout or site errors, update them alone if possible or with related plugins.

Elementor/Elementor Pro​

  • Page builder - often updates database tables or adds breaking features
  • Some sites will have multiple "for Elementor" addons - these are the most likely source of a break
  • Update Elementor and Elementor Pro before updating add-ons.
  • If you update Elementor before pro it puts a 2-5minute "wait" on before you can update Pro - for now update Pro first.

Divi​

  • Theme/page builder with heavy database usage
  • Updates can reset customizer settings or break layouts
  • Check Divi Builder and Divi Library after updates
  • Some child theme customizations may conflict with updates
  • Update Divi theme before Divi Builder plugin

SEOPress/SEOPress Pro​

  • Has not caused issues recently but caused breaking changes in the past.

Rankmath/Rankmath Pro​

  • SEO plugin that manages meta data and schema
  • Updates can occasionally reset settings or break schema markup
  • Check SEO settings and sitemaps after major updates
  • If switching between free/pro, data migration can have issues
  • Verify schema and meta descriptions are intact post-update

Updraft​

  • Backup plugin that can occasionally cause issues after major updates
  • Database backup/restore operations can timeout on large sites
  • Test backup/restore functionality after updating - don't assume it still works
  • If backup fails post-update, check PHP memory limits and execution time
  • Premium version has more dependencies that can break

General High-Risk Update Guidelines​

  1. Always backup before updating high-risk plugins
  2. Update one high-risk plugin at a time - don't batch them
  3. Check the changelog before updating - look for "breaking changes"
  4. Test on staging first when possible
  5. Have rollback plan ready - keep previous plugin version downloaded