WordPress updates

WordPress updates are included in the Seravo premium WordPress hosting & upkeep service, so you don't need to worry about updating your site manually. We also update all plugins and themes to ensure the safety and functionality of your site.

The world's most advanced WordPress updating system

Our system automatically tests the compatibility of all updates before attempting to install them on a live site. This is done by taking a copy of the live customer site and updating the copy and all its plugins and themes to the latest version, after which the system runs a series of tests on the copy to ensure it functions perfectly. Only after the tests have been successfully run on the copy is the actual live site updated. In the event of a failure during the tests or after the live site has been updated, the system automatically reverts to a backup it took before attempting the update process.

These update cycles are regularly run on all customer sites. Each update cycle includes the following steps:

1. A copy of the customer's site is made
2. The copy is updated and the system starts running tests on the updated copy
3. If any problems arise, the update cycle on the site in question is halted. Another attempt at updating the site is made in the next update cycle, as many problems related to updates are fixed in time.
4. If the tests run successfully, the customer's production site can be updated safely by our system.

The system removes uncertainty and lack of updating the site due to fear of it breaking down. This greatly enhances the security and functionality of our customers' WordPress sites.

The customer's right to choose

If the customer doesn't want us to automatically update their sites, it is possible to remove the Seravo updates permission from the Seravo plugin's settings in under the tools – updates section in the WordPress administrator dashboard.

To prevent a single plugin or theme from being automatically updated, modify the PHP file to include version number 999. This way our automatic updates assume there are no updates available, as the current version number would be higher than the update available.

Crucial security updates

We monitor the industry closely and continuously to learn about new security breaches and updates as soon as they happen, which sometimes results in us finding out about a security flaw in WordPress or some of the plugins our customers' are using. In these fortunately rather rare cases we might be forced to apply updates that are crucial to the security of your site despite the possibility of something breaking on the site. In these cases we will inform customers whose sites were forcefully updated and encountered errors. These cases are extremely rare, and generally security patches and updates are designed not to break anything.

Additional information for developers

In addition to Seravo's own tests it is also possible for our customers to create their own tests. More information about creating a customized test can be found in our integration testing documentation. These tests are meant for critical business integrations, as monitoring basic WordPress functions with a custom test is not necessary. Seravo can also provide expert services for an additional fee to help in the development of customized automatic testing.