First, let’s note that WordPress updates do not have to happen automatically. You can easily disable that.
But ultimately you’re going to have to upgrade for security reasons and so you don’t fall too far behind…
My web guru has been helping me fix these problems for years, but she can’t figure out the current problem — loss of the header on every page of the website. Very frustrating.
WordPress, like any actively-developed software, is evolving all the time. And sometimes changes are made in the code that may cause a theme or plugin to stop working or working properly. It’s the responsibility of theme and plugin authors (and ultimately site owners) to follow the latest changes in WordPress and update their own products as well to be sure their products (and sites) will continue to work with the latest releases.
That’s why I personally TEST all updates in a safe “staging” environment to be sure everything is OK before I apply any updates to a client’s site.
This way, I’m able to detect any potential products and find a fix, instead of blindingly clicking the update button and hoping nothing will break.
(Please Note: this is not meant to be a bash on your web guru: I’m just pointing out the process I follow on my clients’ sites to prevent the sort of problem you’re experiencing. And, of course, my clients pay me adequately for both the kind of hosting that supports this and the extra work I have to do.)
