How to Disable Automatic Update Email Notification in WordPress

February 23. 2021

While most of us are aware that having regular WP updates is a must, we are also quite bored with email notifications. There is hardly a person out there that couldn’t do away with WP update email notifications, especially if you are not in the habit of reading through them. Well, to help you out, we are going to cover two ways to disable automatic update email notifications in WordPress. Then we are going to elaborate a bit about handling emails and why updates are a key part of running a website.

Disable automatic update email notification in WordPress

Disabling automatic update email notifications in WordPress is a fairly easy endeavor. So, even if you are fairly new to WP, you should be able to follow the following steps with relative ease. The one thing that we would recommend is that you make a backup of your website before you do so. Even simple alterations like this one can have unpredictable effects on the rest of your website. And, if something does go wrong, you really ought to help yourself by having a previous version to revert to. Needless to say, this is much easier than trying to revert the steps you took or looking for a professional to help you.

Using code

The first method we will outline will require you to add certain lines of code to the WP files. While this may already seem complicated to some of you, trust us that it isn’t. Even creating custom shortcodes can be a fairly easy endeavor, if you research it a bit. If you feel that adding code manually is a bit much, you can opt for using a code snippet plugin for adding custom codes. But, we would at least advise you to try, as disabling email notifications is quite easy.

The first step to do is to use your notepad program to open the funcions.php file. You can do this by right-clicking on it and choosing the notepad in the “Open With” section. Then you need to add the following code. Its sole function is to disable email notifications for core automatic updates:

add_filter( ‘auto_core_update_send_email’, ‘wpb_stop_auto_update_emails’, 10, 4 );

function wpb_stop_update_emails( $send, $type, $core_update, $result ) {
if ( ! empty( $type ) && $type == ‘success’ ) {
return false;
}
return true;
}

The following code will disable notification from WP plugins regarding automatic updates:

add_filter( ‘auto_plugin_update_send_email’, ‘__return_false’ );

And the following code will do so for themes:

add_filter( ‘auto_theme_update_send_email’, ‘__return_false’ );

All of these put together will disable core, plugin, and theme update notifications.

Using plugins

If you are truly uncomfortable with using codes, you can still opt for plugins. There are quite intuitive plugins that can help you block various update notifications and keep your email inbox clutter-free. The one we would recommend is the Manage Notification E-mails plugin. Since downloading and installing it is fairly straightforward, we won’t go into much detail on how to do so.

Once you activate it, head on to the Settings -> Notification e-mails page. Here you can manage various notifications regarding your WordPress, including automatic updates. You can simply scroll through the list on your right and choose which updates you no longer wish to be notified about. Once you’ve made your choice click on “Save Changes”.

Handling important emails regarding WordPress

While disabling automatic update notifications in WordPress can be a good idea, we do feel it necessary to warn you that not all notifications are irrelevant. Your website is a dynamic entity where things are constantly happening. Therefore, while you can ignore automatic updates, you need to be aware of other changes regarding your website. This is why it is useful to study a guide on WP email management before you start running a website. By doing so you will know which emails and important and how to handle them properly.

What you need to know about WP updates

The second subject we ought to elaborate on is WP updates. Seeing that you plan on ignoring automatic update notifications, you might be wondering if WordPress updates are necessary. In certain instances, you will have the option of not updating your website. And, if you are unaware of the importance of updates, you might choose to keep your website as-is. This is, to put it bluntly, a terrible idea.

The importance of updates

Your WP website, your plugins, and your themes are all complicated pieces of software. And, in order to function properly, they need to be optimized so that they keep up with modern internet demands. This goes both for efficiency and set internet standards, as well as safety. Furthermore, they need to function well with one another and not cause issues. As it turns out, this is easier said than done as many plugins, themes, and WP features tend to overlap.

All of these reasons are why regular updates are part of standard WP maintenance. Without them, you can hardly expect your website to function properly. Whether they are something simple, as a theme update, or something more complicated like a large-scale WP feature, you need to keep your website up to date. Without doing so you risk having a poorly functioning, mal-adjusted website. And, you risk numerous safety violations. Keep in mind that people creating these updates work long and hard to keep their products in the proper state. So make use of their hard work.

Setting up for an update

Once you disable the automatic update email notification, you will still get notifications about standard updates. Installing them right away is usually the best course of action. The only thing to do is to make a backup. There are ways to safely update WordPress. But, never the less, create a backup. As we mentioned, doing so is the best possible way to avoid considerable trouble. Furthermore, if you are unsure about an update, feel free to consult with a professional and see what the best course of action is.