The Thesis theme and framework for WordPress recently released their latest version, 1.7, for download. There are several improvements in this release, and the upgrade process from Thesis 1.6 is fairly simple, but there are several steps to carry out a smooth transition to version 1.7.

Step Zero. Before you start the upgrade process, it’s a good idea to back up your WordPress database using phpMyAdmin, and if you are nervous and want to save your Thesis settings separately, use the Thesis Settings Export Plugin to save your previous settings.

1. Download thesis_1.7.zip.
2. Unzip the thesis 1.7 zip file to your Desktop or somewhere that you can easily find it. The extracted folder is called thesis_17.
3. Using FileZilla or another FTP client, log into the site you want to upgrade.
4. Navigate to the /wp-content/themes/thesis_16 directory.
5. Download the “custom” folder to your local computer to create a backup.
6. On the remote site, navigate up to wp-content/themes/.
7. Upload the new Thesis 1.7 folder (/thesis_17) to your /wp-content/themes folder.
8. Go into the Thesis_17 folder in the /wp-content/themes/ directory on the remote server.
9. Copy the “custom” directory that you downloaded earlier into the thesis_17 directory.
10. In the “custom” folder, change the file permissions for “cache” from 755 to 775.
11. Also in the “custom” folder, change the file permissions for layout.css from 644 to 666.
12. Inside your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Themes, and then activate Thesis 1.7.
13. Visit the Design Options page from the new Thesis links on the left side of your WordPress dashboard, and make sure that Thesis is not giving you a warning about the file permissions on your layout.css file.
14. Click the “Big Ass Save” button.

If it is easier for you, you can click here to view a video version of this tutorial. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.

Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. I am a Thesis affiliate because I love their product and use it daily. I only endorse and become an affiliate for products that I believe in. This site runs the Thesis framework, and I think every blog and small business website should use it as well.