An out of date content management system is a recipe for trouble. Keeping WordPress and it’s plugins up to date is very easy. The developers regularly release security and maintenance releases that can be applied to your site with the click of a button. You will see a notice at the top of your dashboard page when one is released.

First find out what version of WordPress you are running. To find the version log into your admin and scroll down to the bottom of the page and look in the bottom right corner. My version is 3.5.1, the latest version as of today.

If you are running a version 2.x and older you should definitely consult a web developer for assistance. If you are running a 3.x version you can proceed.

Warning! You should make backups of all your files and your database. If you don’t know how to do this you should hire a web developer to assist you.

From the Dashboard page of your Admin there should be a link on the left that says Updates. If your WordPress site is out of date there should be a button to click that says Upgrade Automatically. A series of messages telling you what is transpiring will be displayed ending with WordPress upgraded successfully.

After this you should check to see if you have any plugins or themes that need to be upgraded. This process is as simple as upgrading your copy of WordPress.

For more information and a more thorough description visit: http://codex.wordpress.org/Dashboard_Updates_Screen.