WordPress Update Manager

In WordPress 3.X.X, it is very simple to update the WordPress core when a new version of WordPress is released. This is a one click process. You need never have to struggle to upgrade your version of WordPress ever. If some of the plugins used need updation, they can be automatically updated as well.

Here are a few optional but good things to do before automatically updating your WordPress core:

Check minimum requirements: It is best to check the current minimum requirements page first, to make sure that your web host has the required versions of PHP and MySQL installed.
Backup of your Website and Database: Take a backup of your Website using cPanel and use phpMyAdmin for taking database backup. The backup SQL file will contain all your Posts and Pages held in the database. This is necessary because if the update fails for any reason or causes an error, your website can be reverted back to what it was using this backup.
Disable Plugins: It’s optional. But every now and again a plugin that has not been updated to work with the latest version of WordPress, and causes a problem after the upgrade. It's best to disable all plugins then automatically upgrade the WordPress core and then re-enable the plugin’s one by one. If a plugin does not work with the updated WordPress it will simply not re-activate, that’s all. The WordPress core upgrade will go through smoothly.

There are two methods for updating:

Automatic Update: The easiest is the Automatic Update, which will work for most people.
Manual Update: If Automatic Update doesn't work you can follow the manual update process.

Automatic Update

To update your WordPress driven Blog, login to WordPress as administrator, by simply entering the url_of_your_website/wp-admin in your Browser. Enter the appropriate username and password {which was provided while installing Wordpress} and then click on Log In as shown in Diagram 1.

Diagram 1

After logging in as WordPress Admin, a Dashboard page opens as shown in Diagram 2.

All WordPress versions have inbuilt feature for Automatic Update.

From the Dashboard section you can view any Updates provided by WordPress as shown in Diagram 2.
OR
There is also a message displayed at the top of the Dashboard indicating that a new release is available, with new features & functionalities in WordPress core and/or security threats have been fixed as shown in Diagram 2.

If any plugins need updation the total number of such plugins is always indicated adjacent to the Plugins menu item as shown in Diagram 2.

Diagram 2

Click on Please update now to update the version of WordPress as shown in Diagram 3.

Diagram 3

The WordPress Updates page opens as shown in Diagram 4.

This page describes the updates that are available for WordPress driven Blog/website.

Diagram 4

At the top of the page an important message “before updating, please backup your database and files” is displayed as shown in Diagram 5.

There is an updated version of WordPress available, which can be updated automatically or can be downloaded as shown in Diagram 5.

Additionally if applicable, there is a list of all plugins that have newer versions available as shown in Diagram 5.

Diagram 5

WordPress Update:

Click on Update Automatically to start the process as shown in Diagram 6.

Diagram 6

The process continues automatically. Once WordPress is updated successfully a Go To Dashboard, message is displayed as shown in Diagram 7. Click on Go To Dashboard, to navigate to your WordPress website Admin Dashboard.

NOTE: At this moment of time the WordPress core updation has been successfully completed.

Diagram 7

Verify the new version of the WordPress core as shown in Diagram 8.

Diagram 8

Plugins Update:

Now, after updating the WordPress core update any plugin used that requires updation as follows:

In the left menu, locate the link Plugins. Click on Plugins as shown in Diagram 9.

Diagram 9

The Plugins page opens as shown in Diagram 10. A list of all plugins is displayed along with the message of newer version available (if any).

In this case, Akismet plugin has a newer version available. Hence, a message is displayed “There is a new version of Akismet available. “as shown in Diagram 10.

Diagram 10