Understanding WordPress Update and Installation

When you’re working with WordPress, sometimes you may be asked to provide your FTP (File Transfer Protocol) connection information when trying to install plugins or update WordPress itself. This can be puzzling, especially if you’re just starting out!

Why Does WordPress Ask For Your FTP Information?

WordPress only asks for your FTP information when it can’t write to the /wp-content directory on its own.

The /wp-content directory is a key part of your WordPress website. It’s where your themes, plugins, and uploads are stored. For WordPress to update itself or install plugins directly, it needs the ability to write to this directory.

If the webserver, where your WordPress website is hosted, has the appropriate write access to your WordPress files, it can automatically manage updates and installations. This process doesn’t even require you to have FTP, SFTP or SSH access. But does require your webserver to have certain file permissions, which you set up.

The ‘Direct’, ‘SSH’, ‘Ftpext’, ‘Ftpsockets’ Methods

Before giving up and asking for your FTP information, WordPress will try a couple of different methods to write to the /wp-content directory.

First, it tries to write a temporary file into the /wp-content directory. If successful, it checks the ownership of the file. When it matches its own user ID, WordPress uses what’s called the ‘direct’ method to install plugins, themes, or updates.

But what if you can’t change permissions on the /wp-content directory so that your webserver has write permissions, or for some reason, you don’t want to rely on the automatic check?

You can define a constant, 'FS_METHOD', in your wp-config.php file. The wp-config.php file is one of the most important files in your WordPress installation defining your website’s settings.

The FS_METHOD constant tells WordPress to use a specific method to write to the /wp-content directory, either 'direct', 'ssh', 'ftpext' or 'ftpsockets'.

Keep in mind, if FS_METHOD is set to ‘direct’, but your web user (the username your web server uses) doesn’t have proper write permissions, you’d get an error.

To set FS_METHOD to direct, add the following code to your wp-config.php file:

define(‘FS_METHOD’, ‘direct’);

Remember to always back up your WordPress files before making changes like these!

Understanding File Permissions

Don’t worry if you’re not sure about the specific file permissions needed. WordPress has detailed documentation that explains what you need to know. I’d recommend checking out the WordPress Codex for updating WordPress and the guide on changing file permissions.

If all this seems a bit overwhelming, don’t worry. Everyone starts somewhere, and before long, you’ll be managing your WordPress website like a pro!