It’s been a while since I moved this blog over to WordPress, and my only complaint since the move has been the periodic upgrades needed for WordPress and its plugins.

Why is that a big deal? After all, there’s this prominent link saying “Upgrade” when WordPress (or any of the plugins) detect a new version.

Well… for starters, I’m hosting this blog on a Windows IIS7 machine. To complicate matters, I’m also using GoDaddy. Rather than diving into why either of these factors is complicated (if you’re interested, do yourself a favor and Google it) I’ll simply jump into the solution for automatically updating WordPress on a GoDaddy IIS7 hosting plan.

Step One: Login to GoDaddy

Login to your GoDaddy hosting control center.

See those tabs at the top? Hover over the “Content” tab, then click on the “File Manager” option.

Step Two: Set the Correct Permissions

Using the file manager, find the directory containing your WordPress blog and check the box next to that folder. (For example: if your blog is installed at /(root)/mysite/myblog/, then  navigate to /(root)/mysite/ and click the box next to myblog).

Click the “Permissions” button from the toolbar.

When the dialogue box opens, set the permissions for this folder to “Read/Write”. Be sure to also “reset all children to inherit” these permissions.

Click “OK”.

Step Three: Click the Automatic Upgrade links

Now, login to your WordPress dashboard. Click the “Upgrade” links for WordPress and any plugins which have new versions.

Be sure to properly backup your database and other files as needed!

Step Four: Reset the Permissions

Technically, you probably don’t have to do this — but it’s good practice to never allow applications extra security clearance when they don’t need it.

Simply follow steps 1 and 2 again, only uncheck the “Write” option. Be sure to “reset all children to inherit”.

Any Questions?

This worked perfectly for me, moving from v2.8.6 to v2.9.1. I’d love to know how this works for you!