Joomla is with good reason one of the most popular open source content management systems in the world and is trusted by many millions of websites, including notably Harvard University, Guggenheim Museum and Lipton Ice Tea.
However, for all of Joomla’s awesomeness, like everything, it needs to be maintained. Joomla, like any CMS, is a sophisticated system with a variety of complex parts that all work together in tandem, all of which need some love and attention from time to time. Much like a car, we need to give it a service from time to time to make sure it's running at its optimal level.
Joomla 3 Migration
As of February 2024, according to W3techs out of all the websites currently using Joomla, 83.1% of them are using Joomla 3 series. The support for Joomla 3 was originally due to stop in August 2023, but Joomla announced an extended long term support for site owners until February 17th 2025. This extended support is a paid for program that you can sign up for to keep on top of it yourself. Or we can take the hassle away by applying security patches for you and help you plan and migrate our site. Whilst the Joomla 3.x series has an extension on its supported lifespan, website owners should use this time to plan their migration before the support ends.
Joomla Version 1 & 2 - Migration
If you are one of the websites still using Version 1 (6.9%) or Version 2 (9.7%) talk to us about moving the site up to a later version. They are not the most straightforward upgrades but we have had lots of experience so we can make it as smooth as possible. We recommend you do this asap.
Should I migrate to Joomla 4 or Joomla 5
You should do both, as version 3 must first be migrated to version 4, then version 4 can be updated to version 5. It’s worth noting that Joomla 4 will be supported* until 14th October 2025, and Joomla 5 until 12th October 2027 (see Joomla! Project Roadmap). *End of security fixes.
Note that we talk about Joomla 3 to 4 as a “migration” rather than an “update”, as it is much more like transferring your old site from one platform to another.
However, “updating” from 4 to 5 will be just that - an update. The new update process for major versions starting from Joomla 4 is much more trouble-free than before, so updating from 4 to 5 can be completely seamless. The Joomla project has aimed to make the process much easier with these latest releases, and is committed to continuing this into versions beyond Joomla 5.
Why Migrate Joomla to a newer version
Security
Any unsupported Joomla version will have no new security patches released. This can be a big problem if you rely on third party code for any of your website features, for example Google Maps or online payment gateways, or simply if an extension you are using becomes compromised by new hacking techniques. The longer you run an unsupported Joomla series website the higher the risk your website will be hacked and your data compromised.
Changing server technologies
Like Wordpress and Concrete 5, Joomla is a PHP based CMS, which runs on a Linux based server and runs its databases via MySQL. These technologies are also constantly evolving to keep the nasty hackers away as they find new ways to be naughty and get into places they shouldn't.
Currently, there is no supported version of PHP compatible with Joomla versions 1, 2, and 3! (More details on unsupported PHP versions and Joomla technical requirements for versions below 5)
As a result of this, we have noticed many hosting companies forcing their customers to use the latestsupported version of PHP which has left sites broken with no explanation or warning. Your host may offer to continue to support legacy PHP versions, but only if you pay an additional monthly fee to do so.
At Channel we have mitigated against this for our customers by running older version Joomla sites on the legacy versions of PHP at no extra charge to ensure your websites continue to operate, but there will come a point in the very near future where we will be forced to upgrade to newer PHP versions, and those older version of Joomla sites will no longer function.
Extensions Support and easier upgrades
Most extension developers have dropped their support for older Joomla versions of extensions instead focusing on building extensions for the current Joomla versions.
Future proofing
The newer Joomla Version 4 and 5 have some great features compared to the older series. Joomla 4 has a new media manager, improved security and a more intuitive modern user interface. Joomla 5 has included some automatic Schema activation and focused on a cleaner code base and improvements on their caching.
Faster loading
Because Joomla 4 and 5 have been rebuilt from the ground up, they run much faster than previous versions both in the front end and admin area. Not only is this good for you and your visitors, a faster website keeps Google and other search engines happy which can improve your rankings!
But my website is fine, why do I need to upgrade?
This is a common question from our customers and it's logical to think "If it ain't broke don't fix it"!, but unfortunately that sentiment doesn't apply well in the world of the web.
Other common things we hear are:
- We built our site only a few years ago and don't have the budget for upgrading.
- It sounds like a lot of work, I can't be bothered with it
- My site has never been hacked, so I don't need to upgrade
- You're only telling me I need to upgrade because you want more business.
Whilst it is true there can be a fair amount of work involved, and you may have a perfectly healthy Joomla 3.x series website, it won't stay that way forever. The question to ask is if your website got hacked tomorrow, what would be the loss in revenue/reputation for your business?
If the monetary value of any disruption outweighs the cost of upgrading your site, then it's something you really should invest in. Otherwise, you will end up with a website that you cannot host, or if you do find a host who is willing to take it, it will end up repeatedly getting hacked and live a pretty sad life for the rest of its days!
So how do I upgrade and what's involved?
Every website is different. The work involved depends on how many extensions you have, how many customisations you have done, the amount of content and functionality in your site, amongst other things. At Channel we have experience of reliably upgrading Joomla 1.x, Joomla 2.x and Joomla 3.x sites and would welcome you to contact us for a free audit of your website to find out the best method for you to upgrade.
Free audit
To help our customers running older Joomla series sites and also in the interest of all of our other customers in regards to security, we are offering a free audit to help you find out what's involved in upgrading your Joomla website to the latest Joomla! version.
We don't want to see our long standing Channel elders fall by the wayside and eventually have to remove them from our servers when they become untenable security risks, so we could encourage you to get in touch with us asap to plan for your upgrade.
So if you are running an older Joomla series site, please get in touch with one of the team at Channel today who will be happy to do your free audit and quote for upgrading your Joomla site today.
Not a Channel customer? We would like to help you with a free initial no obligation consultation.
