Upgrading CiviCRM for WordPress

So you need to update your CiviCRM for your WordPress to the latest stable version, so you can take advantage of bug fixes and new features. These are the steps that I followed to upgrade CiviCRM from 4.3 to 4.5 for my WordPress blog – I hope it will help you.

First, you need to download the most recent CiviCRM Package

Goto CiviCRM pages SourceForge and selects the version you want to upgrade to.

In my case, I Select the currently available civicrm-4.5 tarball for WordPress. Example: civicrm-4.5.x-wordpress.zip*

If you wish to localize your installation you also need to download the l10n tarball, for example: civicrm-4.5.x-l10n.tar.gz. (Take a look at the installation instructions regarding where these files need to be unpacked.)

Make a backup of your CiviCRM database and settings file/s

For my WordPress I use iThemes Security – that comes with a database backup function, you can either manually create a backup or schedule on.

iTheme Backup
iTheme Backup

I have my backup sent to me as an email once a day, I have configured the backup to include the CiviCRM tables.

database backup
database backup

Make a backup/copy of CiviCRM settings file:

To back up a copy of CiviCRM from my server, I use Filezilla FTP solution to copy the files from the server to my laptop, which after I zip the folder on my hard drive and store a copy on Dropbox

Take a backup copy of CiviCRM from your server, then delete the CiviCRM on the server as CiviCRM will not run properly if files from the previous version are present after the upgrade. Make sure you have a good backup of your complete previous version installation and then delete /wp-content/plugins/civicrm.

/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm.settings.php. (This will be useful for relocating.)

If you are using the /wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/settings_location.php file in your implementation, make a copy of this as well.

Make sure you have logged in to WordPress BEFORE deleting the old files. Do not log out until the entire process is complete.

Unpack the latest package and relocate settings file/s

Delete the CiviCRM plugin from your backup copy on your laptop, then unpack the CiviCRM files into /wp-content/plugins/.

Unzip CiviCRM – that creates a folder CiviCRM

civicrmzip
civicrmzip

Copy and paste CiviCRM into your plugins folder /wp-content/plugins/

Relocate (paste) the backed-up civicrm.settings.php file(in step 2) inside /wp-content/plugins/civicrm/

If you have upgraded from a CiviCRM 4.1 version, check the contents of civicrm.settings.php. Make sure at the very end of the file these 2 lines exist, and if not, add them.

        require_once 'CRM/Core/ClassLoader.php'; 
        CRM_Core_ClassLoader::singleton()->register();

If you are using the /wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/settings_location.php file in your implementation, relocate this file from your back-up.

Run the Upgrade script

This step is required for ALL upgrades.

Clear Cache
Delete all files in /wp-content/plugins/files/civicrm/templates_c/ and clear browser cache

  • Point your web browser to the following URL (you should already be logged in to WordPress with administrator-level permissions):

http:///wp-admin/admin.php?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/upgrade&reset=1

You should see the Upgrade screen.

If you are ready to upgrade, click the Upgrade Now button.

You should see the message Upgrade successful when the upgrade completes.

If you receive any errors during the process, please note down the exact error message, and check for solutions on the CiviCRM community support forum.

Now click the Return to CiviCRM home page link. This will rebuild CiviCRM menus automatically and return you to the CiviCRM home dashboard.

Download and run Database Troubleshooting Tools to test the current state of the database and provides a diagnosis. The tools suite also includes a repair facility.

The menus are wrong, the admin dashboard does not have the correct links and settings, or get an error with CRM_Core_Invoke::require_once()
You can re-build the menu/admin dashboard by visiting the following URL –

http:///wp-admin/admin.php?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/menu/rebuild&reset=


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Comments

4 responses to “Upgrading CiviCRM for WordPress”

  1. email-techsupportnumber Avatar
    email-techsupportnumber

    Hello, everything is going fine here and ofcourse every
    one is sharing information, that’s truly fine, keep up writing.

  2. tontonsamysarl Avatar
    tontonsamysarl

    Good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by accident (stumbleupon).
    I have book marked it for later!

  3. SimCity BuildIt cheats Avatar

    Have you ever thought about publishing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites?
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    1. Torbjorn Zetterlund Avatar
      Torbjorn Zetterlund

      Sure what do you have in mind

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