Hello,
We’re sorry to hear that you receive the “destination folder already exists” error during the plugin installation process. That must have been disconcerting. Let’s get to the bottom of what’s going on here. The error happens when the plugin is already installed, if a file is missing or corrupt, or if you have renamed the wp-content folder or the wp-content/plugins folder.
If you are using WordPress 5.5 or newer, you will see an option to overwrite the folder with the new files below the error message. Please click ‘Replace current with uploaded‘, and WordPress will update the plugin.
If you are using WordPress 5.4 or lower, please manually update the plugin.?Before we discuss manually updating, let’s cover a few important things to be aware of beforehand. First, Yoast SEO stores SEO data and settings in the database, so manually updating is not expected to cause any data loss.
Second, we recommend creating regular backups of your site and database for your site’s health and safety. This is especially important before installing, updating, or removing plugins. It provides you with a safety net in case something were to go wrong. Learn more about the benefits of regular backups.
Thirdly, updating a severely outdated plugin may cause unexpected issues. Thus, we highly recommend using a staging or testing site to reduce the impact on your live site. Some popular web hosts offer quick setups for a staging site, so please contact your web host for assistance. They will probably be able to help you out. If your web host does not offer staging sites, the WordPress plugin repository offers staging plugins or you can create your own staging site.
Now on to your options for updating the plugin manually.
We have found that using SFTP / FTP to update an outdated plugin manually is the preferred method. This method entails removing the old plugin files and uploading the new plugin files to the same folder path. How can I manually update my plugin?
However, we understand that not all users are comfortable with FTP. You may prefer to uninstall the old version in the WordPress admin plugin list, download the new version here, and install the latest version.
