Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

WordPress

Posted by Hope Connell
Hope Connell
20,461 Points

How Do I Update My Live Website from the Localhost?

Hey there!

After developing a WordPress template, I was able to transfer it from localhost to my live web server using Filezilla. Awesome!

Once it was up, though, I noticed some things I wanted to change. Rather than tweaking the code in the Editor option in the WordPress dashboard, I made all of the changes on the original localhost version of my website. At this point, I am ready to transfer the php files that I changed to the live site.

I'm not sure how to do this, though. I would assume I would use Filezilla again for the transfer. However, I don't need to transfer ALL of the WordPress information again, do I? Can I not just transfer the template folder?

When I opened Filezilla today to try it, I noticed that all of the PHP files on the localhost side showed a "last modified date" as the date I originally transferred the first version of the website, rather than today (the actual last date of modification).

Wow... so sorry that is kind of rambly. I'm in a situation where I need help, but I'm not 100% sure what I need help with. I just want to transfer a few updated files, and I don't know what that process looks like. Thanks!

1 Answer

William Whitworth
William Whitworth
6,117 Points
William Whitworth
William Whitworth
6,117 Points

I usually back-up the current template files on my desktop by dragging and dropping the template file to my desktop through FTP. Also export the Wordpress database usually either a plugin or just phpMyAdmin (if you are using it).

Then I either upload the updated theme, the entire folder, or just the individual files within the theme that need to be updated. I use Coda or Fetch, but any FTP program works.

Don't upload the entire Wordpress installation, this will most likely cause problems, and take forever. Just the theme and its files.

Hope Connell
Hope Connell
20,461 Points

Got it. Thanks!