WordPress 4.6

WordPress 4.6 updated the administration interface to use native system fonts, reducing reliance on downloaded web fonts. It improved editor link checking and added stronger post recovery behavior by retaining draft content in the browser when a connection or editing session is interrupted. It also refined update, import, and translation-related workflows. For developers, the cycle added resource-hint support for browsers, expanded metadata registration facilities, and introduced query classes for multisite sites and networks. WooCommerce is a plugin that runs on WordPress, so a WooCommerce store is a WordPress site and its WordPress version matters to it just as much as its WooCommerce version does.

WordPress 4.6 has reached end of life, so it should not be treated as a maintained security baseline. Remaining on it leaves the site dependent on an old core codebase while the surrounding ecosystem continues to move forward. Newer plugins, themes, hosting PHP versions, database configurations, browsers, and integrations may no longer test against or support this version. For a WooCommerce store, the risk includes not only WordPress core exposure but also pressure to retain older WooCommerce and extension versions, which can affect payment, shipping, tax, and administrative integrations. An unplanned upgrade after an incompatibility or security incident is usually more disruptive than a tested migration.

Inventory the WordPress core version, active and inactive plugins, theme and child-theme customizations, WooCommerce extensions, custom code, scheduled tasks, integrations, hosting PHP version, and database configuration. Build a non-production copy and update it through a staged path to a currently supported WordPress release, using compatible versions of WooCommerce, themes, and plugins. Test authentication, publishing, media handling, forms, search, caching, backups, email delivery, and all business-critical integrations. For WooCommerce, test the customer journey from product display through cart, checkout, payment authorization, order creation, transactional email, refunds, stock handling, taxes, shipping, and account access. Resolve deprecated-code warnings and replace abandoned extensions before production deployment, then take verified backups and prepare a rollback plan.