The answer to “Should I upgrade Joomla 1.6 to 2.5?” is quite evident if considering all new possibilities that Joomla 2.5 provides its users with. Go on reading the post to know why Joomla 2.5 obtains a competitive edge over 1.6 version and find a full walk-through of the migration process across these two releases.
Just like any piece of software, Joomla is constantly evolving and changing. It’s constantly being updated and improved. Joomla 2.5 comes packed with lots of improvements – too many to list here in a short article. However, here’s a few that stand out:
1. Improved Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
2. Easier content management and productivity improvements.
3. Access to the newest features.
One more thing for you to be aware of – although the major part of the Joomla 2.5 code is the same as in 1.6 version, much of it has been written from the ground up. Therefore, due to the fact that there is no core upgrade path and the changes are really large and substantial – this is indeed a migration, not just upgrading.
For those unfamiliar, there are 2 ways to get around the problem of Joomla upgrading 1.6 to 2.5: manual (involves copy/pasting each piece of content) and assisted (expects hiring a programmer). However, all of this is now a thing of the past with CMS2CMS automated migration service which has been specifically developed to simplify the process of migration across different CMSs or their versions. The process requires just several steps to be done which are no more complicated than filling out a few texts fields. What is more, you don’t have to be concerned about lengthy website downtime – your source website will be 100% available during the migration period.
Got intrigued? Just keep reading the article and get ready to upgrade your Joomla 1.6 to 2.5 without shelling out for a developer:
Back up your current Joomla 1.6 website content. There’s lots of way to do that – you may use either plugins (which make the process one-click affair) or any external storage device (USB stick, SD card, CD, etc.). In case the procedure fails, you’ll be able to restore your site to a working condition.
Make sure you have your new Joomla 2.5 website installed. Previously, don’t forget to find the proper hosting provider.
Find FTP access details for both Joomla sites. In easier words, find out the hostname, username and a password.
Register your CMS2CMS account by providing a bit of your personal data (username, email and password). Otherwise, login through Facebook and Google+ in case you have them created.
Connect your websites
To proceed this aim download and install the bridge file on your PC. Once done, connect your Joomla websites via FTP client software. Within FTP dashboard copy the “cms2cms” folder and paste it into the root directories of your Joomla websites (current and new versions).
Specify migration preferences by activating the required migration options.
Test Free Demo Migration. It’s recommended running the free Demo Migration to see how the CMS2CMS service works and to estimate your new website visual look.
If you are completely satisfied with the results of Demo version – run Full Migration by clicking the matching button. After that click, all your Joomla 1.6 content will be upgraded to 2.5.
It’s done! What else are you hesitating about? Catch this long-awaited chance and upgrade your current Joomla 1.6 to 2.5 just now.