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Joomla 1.5.x upgrade - Migration issues and solutions |
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Written by Fraser Shipsides
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009 |
 Should you migrate your website from Joomla 1.0.x to Joomla 1.5.x?
There is a lot of information online about this subject but we at 3B Digital know the answer is a resounding "YES!". We have been using Joomla as a CMS (Content Management System) for around 4 years and over this time we have been delighted with its ease of use and potential for development.
Joomla 1.5.x is a very different beast from Joomla 1.0.x and for this reason is not a straight-forward upgrade, and has to be migrated methodically and expertly. Essentially you must start with a fresh install of the site and migrate the data and the third party extensions to the new site.
We have been designing our sites using Joomla 1.5.x for just under a year now but feel that the benefits are enormous; aside from the immediate and pressing issue of security, most of the improvements in version 1.5.x come in the form of scaleability and "user-friendliness". Moreover Its' look and feel is sleeker and more modern.
The beauty of the migration from 1.0.x to 1.5.x is that it has improved on what was a solid foundation; installing the new version is just as easy as it ever was, but there are more third-party extensions and functionality.
There are simple improvements, such as a single article "box" in the CMS interface instead of two boxes ("introtext" and "maintext" in Joomla 1.0.x), and the installer is all in one place making the addition of extensions and plug-ins quicker and easier. Many of the basic functions are also easier to use (installing images/Search engine friendly URLS). We at 3B have found ways to optimise these further using extensions such as the JCE editor tool and SH404url.
Another big reason to upgrade is that the Joomla community itself has embraced Joomla 1.5.x and so many of the new third party extensions are designed only for this new platform.
Some people may be thinking that "If it ain't broken then don't fix it", but we are 3B have more of a "future proofing" stand point. Joomla 1.0.x is not going to be supported from July 22, 2009. The main issue with this is security. The framework will not be improved from this date so that if a vulnerability is found then it won't be fixed.
Some of the serious security issues are caused when the Joomla 1.0.x system architecture does not properly screen all user inputs. This means that hackers can successfully exploit these vulnerabilities and attack your site. Some examples come in the form of injecting arbitrary hostile code, hijacking a user's session or stealing authentication credentials. The hostile code that is embedded in your site could come in the form of viruses, some of which you can see and some of which you can't. One of the worst things that could happen is that you could be blacklisted from Google with no obvious reason to the client.
This means that if your site gets hacked, you're going to have to spend time and money getting it either up and running once more or upgraded to 1.5.x. Doing this on your own terms is better than having to do it whilst under attack by hackers.
Security issues, lack of support and the lack of development make upgrading a "no-brainer".
So how do you migrate to Joomla 1.5.x?
There are many factors that come into play when migrating any site from one platform to another. The biggest come in the form of the number of content items, the number of core changes that have been made (by the developers) and the number of third party extensions on the site. Migrating a simple site with no extensions could be done in a couple of hours - but we haven't come across a site yet that doesn't have at least one extension!
There have been some tools developed to help with the migration but they are not foolproof and we have found that with the larger sites we have upgraded, these tools are not always good enough for the job. Many of the extensions have a 1.5.x version equivalent but sometimes an obscure extension may have been used that just won't work on the upgraded site. This means you have to find a closely related extension and/or code one yourself. Either way... it takes time to get the functionality exactly the same as the old site.
Any changes made to the core programming behind your Joomla 1.0.x site will have to be completely re-done for the Joomla 1.5.x site. Joomla 1.5.x has the ability to use template overrides which will help in when upgrading the site in the future. The last major change will come in the form of the site template which will also need to be upgraded, with new the new Joomla 1.5.x syntax in mind. It is likely that CSS tweaks will have to be made to make the site work perfectly on all browsers. One of the best resources we have found for the migration is at the following: http://docs.joomla.org/Migrating_from_1.0.x_to_1.5_Stable
The migration process can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. In simple terms, this depends on the size and complexity of the site (as well as the number of core-hacks and plug-ins as outlined above). The methods we recommend (and that we use extensively here in the 3B studio) involve completely backing up your old site from the start and creating your new site on a sub-domain or testing server here in the office. This means you can get your new site looking exactly how you want it before switching to the new site.
In conclusion
We feel that even though the migration of a site from Joomla 1.0.x to 1.5.x can be a lengthy process it is however an essential one. We think that embracing the better technology available within 1.5.x can open doors to new possibilities. There are new and improved extensions that can make your life easier and help you grow/develop both your site and your business.
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