A WordPress, theme, or plugin update can shift things visually with no functional error to alert anyone — a margin that’s quietly off, a font that reverted, spacing that’s subtly different from before — and because nothing throws an error message, these regressions often go unnoticed until a customer or visitor happens to mention it, by which point it’s been live for who knows how long. The cost of this kind of oversight compounds quietly too — a customer who notices a subtly broken layout doesn’t necessarily report it, they simply form a slightly worse impression of the site and move on, leaving you with no direct signal that anything actually changed.
Compare a screenshot from before the update
If you have any screenshot, even an old marketing image or a saved page capture, from before the recent update, compare it against how the same page looks now.
Even a rough, informal before-and-after like this can reveal an obvious regression, though the real value of this check is catching the subtler shifts a casual glance would miss.
It’s also worth checking your site on both desktop and mobile if you have any way to compare, since an update can affect responsive behaviour differently than the main desktop layout. Catching a mobile-specific regression early is particularly valuable given how much traffic now arrives that way. A regression invisible on desktop can still meaningfully affect a majority of your actual visitors. That asymmetry is easy to overlook when you’re primarily checking your own desktop browser.
Post-update visual regression check
After a core, theme, or plugin update, we compare your site's actual appearance against how it looked before, catching silent visual regressions.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
What we need from you
- Which update just happened — core, a specific theme, or specific plugins
- The key pages you most want checked for visual consistency
- Any screenshots or archived versions of the site from before the update, if available
This or something else?
| You want your site’s appearance checked for regressions after a recent update | This fix covers it |
| You already know a specific visual issue exists and want it fixed directly | A more targeted repair, not this broader check |
| You want cross-browser rendering checked generally, not specifically post-update | Cross-browser rendering audit & fix list, a different service |
| The update caused a functional break, not just a visual shift | A more urgent, targeted diagnosis |
| You haven’t updated recently and want a general visual health check | Worth discussing; this service is specifically framed around a recent update |
What we do
- Identify the key pages and templates most likely to be affected by the recent update
- Compare current appearance against archived versions or screenshots where available
- Check systematically across page types even without a prior reference, using design consistency as a guide
- Document any regression found, with the specific page and visual element involved
- Fix straightforward, low-risk regressions directly where the cause is clear
- Deliver a written report covering findings, fixes made, and anything needing a decision
What is included
- A systematic visual comparison across your key pages following the update
- Regressions documented with the specific page and element affected
- Straightforward, low-risk issues fixed directly
- A written report covering findings, fixes made, and anything needing a decision
Not included
- Fixing every regression found, if some require a larger design decision from you
- A full cross-browser audit, which is a separate, related service
- Reverting the update itself, which is a different, more drastic step
- Ongoing visual monitoring after this specific check is delivered
Questions about this fix
What if I don't have any before-and-after screenshots?
That's normal, and we can still check systematically using general design consistency as our guide, though having even one reference genuinely helps confirm findings faster.
Will this catch every subtle visual change?
We check thoroughly across representative pages, though an extremely minor change on a page outside that scope could occasionally be missed unless you point us toward it specifically.
Should I do this after every single update?
For minor plugin updates, not necessarily, but after a major theme or core update, or any update affecting a page customers actually see, it's a reasonable habit.
Will you tell me which specific update caused a given regression?
Where it's traceable, yes — knowing the specific update responsible helps you decide whether to report it to that plugin or theme's developer.
Is this the same as visually checking my site myself right after updating?
It's the same idea, but more systematic and less prone to the blind spots that come from checking your own familiar site casually rather than comparing deliberately.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.