WordPress brings out many new updates every year. Some updates are very small, while others are large changes. Most have something to do with security and it’s a good idea to keep your site up-to-date.
However, you may be using a theme or plugins that are not compatible with the new updates. As WordPress updates, most theme and plugin developers will update, as well. This can take time and you may not want to use automatic updates for this reason.
If you’re not ready for the new functionality of a WordPress update, you may not want to allow it to happen yet. Disabling automatic updates will allow you to update to the new version when you’re ready, not when it’s released.
How to Disable Automatic Updates in WordPress
If you want to keep WordPress from automatically updating you need to add a line of code to your wp-config.php file. The code looks like this:
When you add this code to this file, you will no longer receive automatic updates when a new version of WordPress is released.
Accessing the wp-config.php file is done through your cPanel. Login and go to your file manager. From here, you will need to find the root file folder for your WordPress website.
Edit this file and insert the code from above. Make sure you put the code with the same section as the other code that starts with the word “define”.
After inserting the code, save your changes and you’re all set. Remember, you won’t receive the convenience of automatic updates anymore. You will need to perform all future WordPress updates manually.
Now you know how to disable automatic updates in WordPress. This isn’t recommended for a beginner using any of the standard WordPress themes and plugins. Most of the plugins and themes will release updates shortly after a WordPress update. You want to keep your site up-to-date or you could end up with issues from a hacker or a virus. If you don’t really understand WordPress updates, don’t disable them unless you have a very good reason.
