{"id":20256,"date":"2026-07-20T14:21:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/?post_type=kennisbank&p=20256"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:24:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:24:52","slug":"checking-your-wordpress-version-how-do-you-know-which-version-youre-running","status":"publish","type":"kennisbank","link":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/kennisbank\/wordpress-versie-controleren-hoe-weet-je-welke-versie-je-draait\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking Your WordPress Version: How Do You Know Which Version You're Running?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A plugin says \u201crequires WordPress 6.4 or higher,\u201d a developer asks which version you\u2019re running, or you just want to know if your site is still up to date. It\u2019s a simple question\u2014and fortunately, a simple answer: you can check your WordPress version in several places, with or without access to the dashboard. We\u2019ll walk through these locations from easiest to most technical, and then discuss why that version number is more than just a piece of trivia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the dashboard: three spots<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you can log in, you\u2019ll have the answer within ten seconds. The quickest place to check is the Updates screen: click on Dashboard in the menu, then Updates, and at the top it will literally show which version you\u2019re running and whether a newer one is available. Second option: scroll all the way to the bottom of any dashboard screen; the version number is displayed in small gray text in the bottom-right corner. And the third option provides the most context right away: go to Tools, then Site Health, open the Info tab, and expand the WordPress section. There you\u2019ll find the version along with other useful information, such as your PHP version (the programming language WordPress runs on) and your database version\u2014exactly the information a developer or support representative would ask for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without the dashboard: via the files<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you can't log in\u2014for example, because the site is down\u2014and you want to know which version you're dealing with, you can check the version in a file. Open the file manager in your hosting control panel or connect via FTP (file access to your hosting), go to the wp-includes folder, and open the version.php file. At the top, you\u2019ll see a line like $wp_version = \u20186.7.1\u2019; and that\u2019s your answer. This is the most reliable source available, because this file is literally where WordPress stores its own version number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For advanced users, there\u2019s an even faster way: log in via SSH and run `wp core version` using WP-CLI (WordPress\u2019s command-line interface). This is handy if you manage multiple sites and want to check their versions all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why You Don't Want This to Be Visible from the Outside<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are also ways to determine the version from the outside, for example, via the meta-generator tag in a site\u2019s source code or the version number included in file URLs. Good to know, but above all, a word of caution: if you can do that, automated attack scripts can too. They scan the web for sites running outdated versions with known security vulnerabilities. That\u2019s why many security plugins hide the version number from external view, and that\u2019s perfectly fine. However, the real solution to that risk isn\u2019t hiding it but staying up to date: an up-to-date version has no known vulnerabilities to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the version number tells you<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress versions consist of two or three digits, and that difference is exactly what matters. The first two digits (6.7) indicate the major version, which includes new features. The third digit (6.7.1) is a maintenance release that almost always patches security vulnerabilities. Rule of thumb: if you\u2019re behind on a maintenance release, you\u2019re demonstrably running with known, published vulnerabilities, and updating is urgent. If you\u2019re behind on a major version, you\u2019ll miss out on features, and the risk increases that new plugin updates won\u2019t work with your version. In practice, outdated software is the most common cause of hacked WordPress sites we encounter, so this version number is directly linked to your site\u2019s security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress automatically installs minor updates by default, so they\u2019ll be applied automatically on a healthy site. If you do see an outdated version during your check, update it using the safe procedure: first, make a backup (a copy of your site); then update; and finally, check again. That complete procedure, including what to do if an update causes something to break, is described in our A Complete Guide to WordPress Management<\/a>, and you can read about how to set up that backup safety net in our A Complete Guide to WordPress Backups and Migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Surver: With our managed packages, we handle updates for you, including a compatibility check beforehand. The version check described in this article is therefore mainly a reassuring spot check: you should always see the latest version there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be sure to check these two as well<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re looking at the Site Health screen, take note of two key pieces of information. The PHP version should be a recent one officially recommended by WordPress; an outdated PHP version slows down your site and causes error messages. And the list of plugins and themes awaiting updates often says more about your site\u2019s health than the WordPress version number itself, because that\u2019s exactly where most security vulnerabilities originate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Surver: You can easily switch PHP versions yourself in your hosting dashboard, and we always support the versions officially recommended by WordPress. If you\u2019re unsure what\u2019s best for your site, our support team is here to help seven days a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From checking to tracking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The version check is just a snapshot; what keeps your site healthy is the routine behind it. Make the check a regular part of your maintenance routine, along with updates and backups. If you\u2019ve just started using WordPress and want to build those good habits from the start, our A Beginner's Guide to Creating a Website with WordPress<\/a> get you started.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Een plugin vermeldt “vereist WordPress 6.4 of hoger”, een developer vraagt welke versie je draait, of je wilt gewoon weten of je site nog bij de tijd is. Simpele vraag, en gelukkig ook een simpel antwoord: de WordPress-versie is op meerdere plekken af te lezen, m\u00e9t en zonder toegang tot het dashboard. We lopen de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20257,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"kennisbank_categorieen":[62],"class_list":["post-20256","kennisbank","type-kennisbank","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kennisbank_categorieen-wordpress"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kennisbank\/20256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kennisbank"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kennisbank"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kennisbank_categorieen","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surver.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kennisbank_categorieen?post=20256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}