Without breaking your site.
THE PROCESS
Back up Update on staging first, for anything significant Update live Test
WHAT TO TEST AFTERWARDS
The homepage A content page Your contact form Your checkout, if you have one
THAT LAST ONE ESPECIALLY
Checkouts break silently after updates.
HOW OFTEN TO UPDATE
Security updates promptly.
Others on a schedule: weekly or fortnightly.
ONE AT A TIME OR TOGETHER
For important sites, individually, so you know what broke.
For simple sites, together with a backup.
IF AN UPDATE BREAKS SOMETHING
Restore the backup, or roll back that component.
Report it to the developer.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT COMPONENTS THAT CANNOT BE UPDATED
Something requiring an old version is unmaintained.
Replace it.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Leave updates pending indefinitely Update during a busy period Update without a backup
