--- title: Update the plugin description: Update Ultimate Membership Pro automatically from the WordPress dashboard with an active license, or manually by uploading the new .zip file. url: "https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/a-new-version-was-released-how-to-update-the-plugin/" updated: "2026-10-20" category: Getting Started tags: - update --- # Update the plugin 3 minBeginnerUltimate Membership Pro 14.2+ [New versions](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/changelog/) of Ultimate Membership Pro bring features, fixes and compatibility with the latest WordPress. With an active license, WordPress tells you about each new version and installs it with one click, like any other plugin. Without one, you can still update Ultimate Membership Pro by uploading the new .zip file. Your settings, Memberships and members are kept when you update. Only the plugin files are replaced. Before you start - You have a recent [backup of your site files and database](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/backup/). Your host or a backup plugin can make one. - For automatic updates, your license is active. See [Find and activate your license key](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/where-to-find-your-license-key/). ## Choose how to update Automatic **Needs** : An active license **Where** : Dashboard*›*Updates Manual upload **Needs** : The new .zip from your account **Where** : Plugins*›*Add New Plugin ## Back up your site Always take a backup before updating, especially if you're several versions behind. If something goes wrong, you can roll back. If you are updating from a version that is several years old, try the update on a staging copy of your site first. Back up your files and database, restore them on the staging copy (see [Move your membership site to a new domain or host](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/move-your-membership-site/)), update there, and check your Memberships, a test checkout and the Member Portal. When everything works, repeat the update on your live site. ## Update automatically 1. Go to Dashboard*›*Updates, or to Plugins*›*Installed Plugins. 2. Find Ultimate Membership Pro and click **update now** (on the Plugins screen) or select it and click Update Plugins (on the Updates screen). 3. Wait for WordPress to confirm the update. The plugin asks the update server about new versions at most once every 24 hours, so a new release can take up to a day to appear on your site. ## Or update manually 1. Download the latest .zip file from your account on ultimatemembershippro.com. 2. Go to Plugins*›*Add New Plugin, click Upload Plugin, choose the file and click Install Now. 3. WordPress sees that the plugin is already installed and shows the current and uploaded versions side by side. Click Replace current with uploaded. [![WordPress screen This plugin is already installed, comparing the current and uploaded versions with the Replace current with uploaded button highlighted](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-update-plugin-01-replace-uploaded.png)](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ump-update-plugin-01-replace-uploaded.png) WordPress compares the two versions before it replaces the files. With FTP instead: unzip the file and upload the `ultimate-membership-pro` folder to `wp-content/plugins/`, replacing the old folder. You can also rename the old folder first, for example to `ultimate-membership-pro-old`, and upload the new one under the original name. Your Memberships, members, orders and settings live in the database, not in the plugin folder, so both ways keep them. If you renamed the folder, WordPress deactivates the plugin. Go to Plugins*›*Installed Plugins and activate Ultimate Membership Pro again. When the site works, remove the renamed folder over FTP. Don't activate both copies. Keep the folder name The plugin folder must stay `ultimate-membership-pro`. Otherwise WordPress treats it as a different plugin and automatic updates stop. Don't use Delete to update Don't click **Delete** on the Plugins screen to “reinstall” Ultimate Membership Pro. **Delete** is not the same as **Deactivate**: it runs the plugin's uninstall routine, which can remove plugin data from your database. To update, always replace the files, as described above. Deactivating the plugin and replacing its files never runs the uninstall routine. If you do need to delete the plugin, take a full backup of your files and database first. ## Example **Automatic update on a licensed site**The usual way to stay up to date. **License status** : License active **Notice** : A new version shows in Dashboard › Updates **Action** : update now **Backup** : Taken by the host the same day ## Troubleshooting No update shows up Check that the license is active under Licensing. Updates can take up to 24 hours to appear after a release. “Destination folder already exists.” You clicked Install Now on an older WordPress version. Update WordPress, or update with FTP. The site shows an error after the update Restore your backup, then see [Error 500 Internal Server Error is showing up](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/error-500-internal-server-error-is-showing-up/) and [Requirements](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/minimum-requirements/). My upload stopped halfway. What should I do? Don't try to run the site with half of the files. Remove the partly uploaded `ultimate-membership-pro` folder from `wp-content/plugins/` with FTP or your file manager, then upload the complete folder again and wait until your FTP program reports that every file was transferred. Use FTP or the file manager to remove the folder, not **Delete** in WordPress (see “Don't use Delete to update” above). Your data stays in the database. If WordPress deactivated the plugin in the meantime, activate it again under **Plugins › Installed Plugins**. If the site still shows an error, see [Server errors and blocked plugin files (500, 403)](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/error-500-internal-server-error-is-showing-up/). What happens to my data when I update from a much older version? The first time an admin page loads after the update, the plugin compares the version saved in your database with the version of the files. If the saved one is older, it runs its update steps for every version in between, and then saves the new version number. You don't start this yourself. The steps cover database tables and indexes, the default pages, the scheduled tasks and the registration fields. They run once, not on every page load. Your Memberships, members and settings are kept. Because the steps run in the admin, open the dashboard once after updating, then check your Memberships and a recent order. To be safe, take a backup first and try big jumps on a staging copy. ## What's next [**Activate your license key**Needed for automatic updates.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/where-to-find-your-license-key/)[**Requirements**Check your server before updating.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/minimum-requirements/)[**Server errors**Fix a 500 error after an update.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/error-500-internal-server-error-is-showing-up/)[**How it works**The main parts of the plugin.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-ultimate-membership-pro-works/)