When to upgrade joomla and virtuemart

When do you think it is time to upgrade your current version of virtuemart or joomla?

I have joomla 1.5 and Virtuemart 1, I believe.

Is it worth it for me to upgrade both? I've heard upgrading is very hard, time consuming and expensive.

What are your thoughts?

 

Hello -

Well, it depends:

- Do you have a lot of VirtueMart customizations in your store now? Custom code will usually need to be redone. It's not going to port over to the new platform without a developer.

- Do you use a lot of different shipping options, or payment options? Not all of them are available for VM 2.0 yet, so you might need to wait or pay a developer to build any missing pieces.

- Do you have the time to spend on an upgrade? Even the smoothest upgrades will take hours of careful management and then testing before going live.

- Do you have a custom web template? It won't port over to Joomla 2.5 automatically. You may need to get a new design done for you to match your branding, or settle for a configurable professional template.

- Do you have the budget to get qualified technical support? If you run your business on Joomla ecommerce, it's a pretty big risk to hire an amateur or freelancer that isn't a Joomla expert. Even if you feel capable of doing much of the work yourself, you'll probably still need a knowledgeable web developer available to help you if (when) you get stuck.

- Is your hosting able to handle the new versions of Joomla and VirtueMart? You'll need PHP 5.3 at a minimum, and most Joomla 1.5 sites are still running on PHP 5.2

- How complex is your site overall? Do you have forums, a blog, lots of articles, social media sharing, etc.? The more "stuff" you have, the longer and more expensive it is to move.


Sounds like a lot of hassle, doesn't it? So why would you upgrade?

Security - Joomla 1.5 is end of life and security updates will be limited or non-existent in just a few months

Modern Features - the latest Joomla extensions are all being written for 2.5. If you want to improve your site and stay fresh, you will need to upgrade

Support - developers are moving away from Joomla 1.5, and putting their energy into learning and mastering 2.5. It will get harder and harder over time to get someone to help you with the site when you need it.

Resistance is Futile - at a certain point, you will be forced to upgrade by your hosting company or told to go elsewhere. Once security vulnerabilities of an unmaintained website become too great a risk, your hosting company will force you to move forward. And the time they pick to tell you to do so will almost certainly not be convenient for you. In fact, life being what it is, you will most likely be told to do this at a horrible time, like two days before you go on vacation. Control your own destiny and choose when to move, at the time and pace that work for you.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have. I'm new to the board here, so no official signature or links yet, sorry.

~ Deb Cinkus, CEO of Polished Geek

b

 

Believe me. It is quite hard to keep up with new versions coming out from Joomla & virtue mart but when there's a new version, remeber to upgrade it. Developer does not release new version for fun, you know. And I just want to say that, please remenber to back up your site as well.

 

when ever the extensions you use on your website have updated versions as well.