How to Deal with Warnings and Notices from WordPress Updates

If you’re managing a website built on WordPress, you might have come across warnings or notices after an update.

This can be alarming, especially if you’re not very familiar with technical concepts.

But don’t worry—this guide is here to help you understand what these warnings mean and how to handle them without feeling overwhelmed.

By the end of this post, you’ll feel more comfortable troubleshooting these issues so your site can keep running smoothly.

What Are WordPress Warnings and Notices?

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand what we’re dealing with. In WordPress, warnings and notices are messages generated by the code.

They’re not errors that will bring your site down, but they do indicate something isn’t quite right.

Think of warnings as gentle reminders and notices as heads-up messages about potential issues.

Typically, these messages appear after a WordPress core update, plugin update, or theme update.

The goal is to make sure your site remains compatible with the latest version, and sometimes, code changes can cause slight disruptions.

Why Do These Notices Appear?

Notices and warnings can appear for a variety of reasons, such as:

1. Plugin or Theme Compatibility Issues: Some plugins or themes might not be fully compatible with the latest WordPress version, leading to minor issues.
   
   
2. Deprecated Functions: WordPress is constantly improving, and sometimes old features (called “deprecated functions”) are replaced with newer, better versions. Warnings help alert developers about this.
   
   
3. PHP Version Conflicts: WordPress runs on a programming language called PHP. If your hosting provider’s PHP version is outdated, some newer functions might throw notices.
   

Step-by-Step Guide to Dealing with WordPress Warnings and Notices

1. Stay Calm and Assess the Situation:
   The first thing to do is not panic. Warnings and notices do not typically break your site. They may only be visible to administrators, meaning your visitors probably aren’t even aware of them.
   
   
2. Turn Off Debug Mode (If Visible to Users):
   If these notices are showing on the front end of your website (i.e., where your visitors can see them), you should disable debug mode in WordPress.
   
   
   How to Do This: Access your website files via cPanel or an FTP client (like FileZilla). Locate the wp-config.php file in the root directory.
   
   Look for this line:
   define('WP_DEBUG', true);

   Change it to:
   define('WP_DEBUG', false);

   This will hide all notices and warnings from your visitors.
   
   
3. Ensure that all your plugins, themes, and WordPress core are up to date.
   
   
   
   Outdated software is the number one cause of compatibility issues.
   
   
4. Identify the Source of the Warning
   
   Sometimes, it helps to know which plugin or theme is causing the warning.
   
   The notice often includes a file path that can give you a clue.
   • Look for something like: wp-content/plugins/plugin-name/...
     
   • This will tell you which plugin or theme is causing the issue, allowing you to focus your troubleshooting efforts.
     
     
5. Disable the Problematic Plugin or Theme
   
   If you’ve identified a plugin or theme causing issues, consider deactivating it temporarily.
   • Go to Plugins or Appearance > Themes, and click Deactivate.
     
   • After deactivating, check if the warnings disappear.
     
     If they do, reach out to the developer for support or consider finding an alternative plugin.
     
     
     
6. Use a Staging Environment for Testing
   
   It’s always a good idea to have a staging environment for your website—a clone of your site that allows you to test updates without affecting your live site.
   
   Many hosting providers offer one-click staging.
   
   Here, you can test plugin and theme updates and see if they generate any warnings before applying the updates to your live site.
   
   
7. Get Help from Your Hosting Provider or a Developer
   
   If you’re unsure of how to proceed or the warnings are beyond your technical expertise, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
   
   Your hosting provider may be able to assist, or you can hire a WordPress developer to dive in and resolve the issue.
   

Preventing Warnings and Notices in the Future

• Use Reliable Plugins and Themes:
  Stick to plugins and themes that are well-maintained and have good reviews.
  
  This will reduce the likelihood of issues during updates.
  
• Regular Updates:
  Keep everything updated to ensure compatibility with the latest WordPress version.
  
• Backup, Backup, Backup:
  Always create a backup before making any updates.
  
  If anything goes wrong, you can easily restore your site to its previous state.

Explore our professional website design services to ensure your site remains user-friendly and efficient.

Warnings and notices after WordPress updates are common, but they’re not the end of the world. By understanding what they mean and following the steps outlined above, you can resolve them without any major issues.

Remember, WordPress is a dynamic platform that evolves constantly, so staying proactive with updates and troubleshooting is key to maintaining a healthy site.

Have Questions or Need Help?

If you’re still struggling with WordPress notices or need help troubleshooting your site, feel free to reach out to us at Blacktop Marketing. We’re here to help you keep your website running smoothly!