Joomla Upgrade Guide Very important! Create a backup before you begin. Depending on your server provider, some issues may arise during the migration and when reinstalling the site. Therefore, you should have a certain amount of experience before performing a self-upgrade. Do you want to upgrade Joomla yourself? There are various options and tools for performing the upgrade. One of these is JUpgrade or JUpgrade Pro. The upgrade process also varies depending on which Joomla! version you are using. Upgrading from Joomla! 1.5 to version 3.x requires significantly more effort than upgrading from Joomla 2.5 to 3.x. Depending on the type and size of your website, expect a Joomla upgrade from version 1.5 to 3.x to take approximately 10-20 hours. An upgrade from version 2.5 to 3.x will take approximately 5-10 hours. We'll also show you how we proceed with a Joomla! Upgrade: First, determine the current PHP version First, check if you're using a current PHP version. Joomla 3.x requires at least PHP version 5.3.10. Better yet, if you're using PHP version 5.4.x or higher, check the PHP version. Identify components and plugins to be used and check for Joomla! 3.x compatibility To do this, you'll need to filter out all components and plugins you want to continue using. Some older components will no longer exist in Joomla 3.x and will therefore need to be replaced. So, check carefully to see if a Joomla! 3.x-compatible version or an equivalent replacement is available. One example is CKForms, which can easily be replaced with Chronoforms. Check the template properties. Is it a purchased template or a custom-developed template? Create backup. Create a backup of your current website e.g. with Akeeba Backup The migration with JUpgrade as described below: Install components and plugins and transfer the settings from the old Joomla Open your old website and your new one. Install the plugins and components you want to replace, go to the respective settings, and accept the values as far as possible. You can make additional settings yourself, if you want and if necessary for the component. Install or migrate the template A description of how to migrate the Joomla template from 1.5 to 3.x is too complex and would go beyond the scope of this article. This works best if you are experienced with CSS, HTML, and XML. We have selected a page for you that outlines a template migration: ************** Alternatively, you can also download or purchase another existing template. Install it in your Joomla site and reset the module positions. Beautiful templates can be purchased, for example, on Themeforest. Testing the website. After completing the upgrade, a thorough functional test follows. We've compiled a list of the most important points to test: Menu structure and items Is .htaccess present in the directory? Index.php? Is not displayed with the menu items (SEO-friendly URLs) Are additional JavaScripts that were present on the old site still present? External links and images still correct and are all displayed? Google Analytics, if used, is also integrated into the source code of the new website. Forms Converting or installing the upgraded Joomla version. If your website is functional and everything is working to your satisfaction, you can now replace the system with your existing one. There are several ways to do this. The simplest is to log in to your provider and change the executable directory of your main domain to the new directory containing your upgraded Joomla! version. Another option is to create and download a backup of your upgraded Joomla! using Akeeba Backup. Make a note of your database credentials; you will need the SQL host, SQL username, and SQL password. Now delete your existing website and download Akeeba Kickstart. Upload the unzipped version of Akeeba Kickstart to your FTP. Additionally, upload the backup of your Joomla! version to your FTP. You can launch Kickstart by visiting http://YourDomainName.com/kickstart.php. Follow the instructions by clicking on “Next” in the top right corner, enter the SQL access data and the backup will be imported. If you encounter problems with your Joomla! upgrade, please use our Joomla! Upgrade Service and request a free upgrade quote.