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One of the best things I like about WordPress is a wealth of documentation available for the platform. With WordPress 2.2 being released 2 weeks ago I have decided to make a plunge and perform in place upgrade of my blogs.

What I have learned in process is that there are a few things missing in Upgrading WordPress documentation. Although following it to the letter has helped me to overcome and possibly remove any chance of serious problems – I still managed to run into some undocumented issues. This post is to share those details.

Major change in 2.2 from 2.1.3 that I was previously using was complete integration of widgets into core code. Now you no longer need to install Sidebar Widgets plugin to be able to use plugins. But here comes gotcha #1.

Make sure that the theme you are using is supporting new code. I’m using Typo XP 2.0 and was lucky that Hadi released new version, which is fully compatible with new functions. I have actually contacted Hadi and he replied that if you are using old 2.0 version of his theme all you have to do is upload new functions.php file into theme folder from new version 2.0.1. Worked for me like a charm.

Since Widgets are integrated into core now I would highly advice that you visit your Presentation–>Widgets section in admin panel and write down what elements are placed in which order on your sidebar. Since I’m using a lot of Text widgets to integrate custom code I had to struggle on one of my sites to restore the look back to the way it was before upgrade. While this is not an issue but doing what I advise will simply save you time, which you might need for addressing our gotcha #3.

Plugin configurations. After upgrade was finished and I re-enabled all plugins as recommended in official guide I have found that some of the plugins lost its configuration options during upgrade. In my case it were couple small issues but to help you save time I would highly recommend revising options for each of your installed plugins and write down any custom information. Specifically if you are using WordPress stats plugin – it will loose API key, so make sure you have it in safe location.

Plugins compatibilities with new code. If you are following my WordPress Web 2.0 Guide you will find that most of the plugins I have listed there are fully compatible with new 2.2 version. I did discover to my great displeasure an issue with podPress plugin, which is still not fully addressed. All previously posted podcasts work but I’m currently unable to re-configure the plugin or change its settings. After visiting support forums I have discovered that other people have same issue so hopefully it will be addressed soon. But if you are using any special plugins that you rely on – I highly advise you check a list of plugins reported to be compatible with WordPress 2.2 and make sure its on the list.

Disable cache if you are using it through wp-config.php file and delete all files in cache folder. I found it to introduce small errors during upgrade. I think it is mostly a cosmetical problem since upgrade still went nicely on my first site but would still recommend disabling it to avoid any potential problems.

Other then small things I have listed above – upgrade went nice and smooth and took about 30 minutes for each site, including backup.

So there you have it – my stamp of approval for upgrade in place.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 and is filed under WordPress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.