Today we would like to talk about an urgent and important topic for all those who use WordPress as a platform for their websites. WordPress version 6.4 was recently released, nicknamed “Shirley” in honor of legendary jazz artist Shirley Horn, known for her distinctive voice and extraordinary connection to the piano. Like Horn, who traveled from Washington DC jazz to international prominence, this version of WordPress also promises to bring significant innovations and improvements.
However, all that glitters is not gold. Since the update was released, we've received numerous support requests and requests to restore backups from users whose sites have experienced post-update issues. The problem seems to be particularly prevalent on installations with the "NewsPaper" theme or on sites using WooCommerce.
This brings us to a crucial point: the importance of proceeding with extreme caution when upgrading to a new version of any software, especially one as central to your online business as WordPress. We strongly recommend that you take full backups before any update and do extensive testing after the update to make sure everything is working as expected.
Since we began our IT journey in 2005, we've witnessed countless updates and changes in the technology landscape. However, we can confidently say that the recent release of WordPress 6.4 "Shirley" was probably the most problematic we've ever experienced . We encountered critical bugs that not only caused 500 server errors, but also significantly impacted site performance, slowing it down to unacceptable levels.
The WordPress 6.4 update, despite its hiccups, brings with it a number of improvements and new features. Includes a versatile default theme and a suite of updates to power every step of your creative journey. This includes improvements in writing and strengthened tools for site editing. However, given the sensitive nature of an update, it is critical that you take every precaution necessary to protect your site.
