- Written by Kristin Bird
One of the reasons we love Joomla! is because they consistently adapt to stay current with the fast pace of technology in today’s world. What that looks like today: Joomla 5 is currently available. Not only is interGen building all of our new client sites in Joomla 5, we are also automatically updating any of our Joomla 4 sites to the new Joomla 5 platform at no cost. Learn more
Every Joomla 4 migration that we’ve done is also compatible with Joomla 5. This means that the earliest your website might need another migration would be Fall 2027 - when Joomla 5 will no longer be supported.
- Written by Kristin Bird
PHP 7.4 reached its end of life on November 28, 2022, meaning it—along with any previous versions—no longer receives security updates or patches. Running your website on an outdated PHP version poses several risks:
- Security Vulnerabilities: Without updates, your site is more exposed to security threats and hacking attempts.
- Compatibility Issues: New software and extensions may not work with outdated PHP, causing parts of your site to break.
- Performance Problems: Older PHP versions can slow down your website, impacting speed and user experience.
To keep your site secure and fully functional, it’s essential to upgrade to Joomla 4 and run a supported PHP version (PHP 8.0 or higher).
What This Means for You:
interGen has upgraded PHP to 8.0+ for clients whenever possible. If you received a notice that your site is still on PHP 7.4, we cannot upgrade your PHP without ALSO completing the Joomla migration.
Contact us to schedule your Joomla 4 migration and PHP upgrade.
- Written by Kristin Bird
Migration can be a complicated process that almost always requires significant web developer expertise. Most extensions have a well-defined process for migrating the content and functionality of your current site to Joomla 4.
If you want to try to do the migration on your own, we can set up a development version of your site on the server where you can work on trying to migrate yourself. The cost for that dev site is $25/month (or $250/year). If you need interGen’s assistance once you get started, we would be happy to help at our hourly development rate of $150/hour.
We provide this information for transparency - we STRONGLY recommend you not attempt the migration without an experienced developer.
- Written by Kristin Bird
The terms migration, upgrade, and update are commonly used interchangeably, but they are different processes.
An Update is when you install the newest stable version of a program or extension over the top of the older version (all data and settings are retained). Updates include bug fixes, security fixes, and can include several patches. They increment update releases (sometimes called bug or patch releases) by the third digit (3.10.9 to 3.10.10) and happen ad hoc whenever needed. For example, in June, Joomla 3.10.10 was released that included a few very minor bug fixes.
We include updates as part of the weekly maintenance we do on your site.
An Upgrade is similar to an update, but will often include new features in addition to simple fixes and patches. An upgrade is when an application is moved from one minor point release to another. They increment the releases by the second digit (3.9 to 3.10) and are scheduled to happen every six months. For example, in August of 2021, Joomla 3.10.0 was released. The key new feature provided in this upgrade, was a compatibility checker that helps make the migration to Joomla 4 easier.
Upgrades are also included in the weekly maintenance we do on your site.
A Migration is the most complex as it involves “migrating” data from an old system to a new system. Migrations often include major software overhauls, and they increment releases by the first digit (Joomla 3 to Joomla 4).
Migrations involve creating a staged or sandbox version of your site (not accessible to the public) and working through the process to export all your content, extensions, templates, and data from the old software and importing it into the new software. Because of the significant software overhaul involved in migrations, the import process often causes major site errors that have to be identified and resolved. Sometimes, if sites are significantly out of date they have to be completely rebuilt in the new software version. Migrations happen years apart and have historically gotten less complicated (and less costly) with each major release of Joomla. There have only been 4 major releases (3 migrations) since Joomla was created 17 years ago.
Due to the infrequency, expertise, and time required to do migrations, these are not included in regular site maintenance. We work with our clients to plan for migrations for both Joomla and other extensions in a way that allows you to budget for the costs and causes little to no downtime for your website.
- Written by Kristin Bird
Joomla 4 was released in August 2021. Any site that we either built or redesigned after August 2021 was built in Joomla 4. If you have questions about the timeline of your website’s build and how it impacts your need for migration, please contact us.
