Title: Avoiding updates… please help! Last modified: August 20, 2016 --- # Avoiding updates… please help! * [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/) * Hi, I am new to WordPress. Dont know anything about child themes or how to make or use them I have done a lot of customization so far. I have backed up stylesheet and a couple others. Also export Mantra Settings. Is this enough to not lose anything to do upgrade? I have been avoiding theme upgrades out of fear of losing all my work. What will happen when I upgrade? What will go away? What can I do to protect my site to do upgrade? And what about Theme Options like background, header, etc… I dont thik those are all included in Mantra Settings, etc. Please help. * I cant keep avoiding updates. Thanks Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total) * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375786) * > Is this enough to not lose anything to do upgrade? * No, that may save a copy of your changes but on your actual site, changes will be lost when the update replaces any files you’ve made changes to. * Generally, theme options should be fine. * The ideal thing for you to do is make a complete back-up of your site, then create a child theme and move all of your changed files into the child theme. Then update the regular version of the theme. * Depending on which files you’ve changed, you may need to manually compare the file versions – various programs and/or text editors can help with that. * [http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes](http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes) * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375796) * Thank you very much. Sorry for the newbie question. But, hey.. thats how we all start out. 🙂 * Anyways, I am working on trying to figure out Child theme now. But you also said make a complete back up of my site. Can you elaborate? How do I go about doing this? * Thanks again! * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375797) * > But, hey.. thats how we all start out. 🙂 * Absolutely – that’s why we’re here :). * There are a bunch of plugins that will backup for you: * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search.php?q=backup+wp](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/search.php?q=backup+wp) * You should always be doing that regularly. * But in this case, I would also be saving multiple copies of the files you are changing on your local machine — you can copy them via FTP. This is really just a safeguard in case you manage to really mess up a file, it will be easy to go back to where you were a couple of hours (or minutes) earlier. * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375800) * lol. Well, I have File Manager inside my JustHost CP. But not sure where in the file structure I should be looking or where to put this new childtheme. * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375801) * The child theme folder goes inside the themes folder: * ``` site_root (www) wp-content themes (directory where all themes are) other themes may be here, including default WP ones mantra mantrachild style.css ``` * See the page about child themes if you are still unsure. * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375802) * Think i figured it out. Moving on to backup site. Do you recommend any backup solution in paticular. Especially a free and easy solution. Again, not that savvy in this yet. Looking for simple and effective * Thanks * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375804) * Look at the plugins — I’d use one that is widely used (look at number of downloads) and has decent ratings – make sure it says compatible with WP3.5. * If you use DropBox, lots of people like this one: * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-backup-to-dropbox/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-backup-to-dropbox/) * Or perhaps: * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wponlinebackup/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wponlinebackup/) * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375821) * So if I want to add others besides style.css to my child theme… can or shoudl I do that? Ones I would consider are footer, header, and functions. I am not entirely sure if I have edited those or not. will it hurt to copy them into child theme or shoudl I not do that? * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375822) * footer.php and header.php are fine to copy to the child theme. Functions works differently, so read the linked child theme page regarding how to do those. * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375824) * Damn. Well backed up my site with both Backupto Dropbox and also Online Back just in case. * Created child theme, put in style.css. and header and footer. * Some things stayed, some didn’t. * Footer is wrong. And menu navigation bar is wrong. (text color mainly) which would have been in the style.css i believe. So not sure what happened. * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375826) * Boom. Fixed it. For some reason a couple extra brackets were inserted into my custom CSS in the theme settings during the update. I removed them and everything looks good with the menu. * Although, footer still showing stuff now that I removed. Grrrr * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375828) * Hey, that sounds not bad, all things considered. And like you’ll get the rest sorted… * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375829) * Yah so far everything seems good. But i remember struggling mightily to edit things displayed on the footer by default and now cant figure it out again. * [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/) * (@wpyogi) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375830) * What are you trying to change? If you post a link to your site, someone can likely help you with it. * Thread Starter [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * (@wthomasuw) * [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375831) * looking through all my notes first. I am sure I saved or noted it somewhere, thats just me. lol * Thank you so far for all your help! Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total) The topic ‘Avoiding updates… please help!’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://i0.wp.com/themes.svn.wordpress.org/mantra/3.3.4/screenshot.png) * Mantra * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/mantra/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/mantra/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/mantra/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/mantra/reviews/) * 15 replies * 2 participants * Last reply from: [wthomasUW](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wthomasuw/) * Last activity: [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/avoiding-updates-please-help/#post-3375831) * Status: not resolved