How to Run a WordPress Major Upgrade Safely Using WP-CLI Commands
A step-by-step WP-CLI workflow for WordPress major upgrades recommends updating core, plugins, and themes separately rather than using the dashboard's 'Update All' button. The all-in-one dashboard approach makes it difficult to isolate the cause of any breakage and can silently mask PHP warnings behind a misleading 'Updated successfully' message. WP-CLI allows administrators to update one component at a time — starting with a database backup and core version check — before proceeding through each intermediate version explicitly. Running the database migration command manually after each core update provides a clear success or failure signal, unlike the automatic migration triggered by loading the admin screen. Verifying core file checksums after each update and confirming the site returns a 200 status between steps helps catch problems early before they compound.
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