However you heard or figured out you need to migrate your site to the current version of Joomla matters not. the fact remains that Joomla needs to keep up with other technologies to remain robust, secure and to boast new features that benefit users.
Why migrate (in a nutshell):
- To stay secure
- To keep up with other technology updates that are server and database based
- To get support for Joomla and third-party extensions
- To take advantage of new features in the core
- It's a great opportunity to clean up and reassess site/online goals
Possible migration paths:
- 1.0 to 1.5 to 3.x
- 1.5 to 3.x
- 2.5 to 3.x
Which path is taken depends on a number of factors that are different on every site. No two sites are the same, thus the approach for migration will be different for everyone and must be assessed and planned.
Planning is the number 1 step in migration and is as important as the process of migrating the site. The migration itself is essentially a new site build - it's just that the data exists and needs to be moved from one site to the other. Each and ever function of the existing site needs to be considered before moving it to the new site (version of Joomla). The exception to this is Joomla 2.5 to 3.x which is considered a "mini-migration" where only third-party extensions need be migrated. Joomla core is a "one-click update."
I've written several articles for the JUG (Joomla User Group) in this regard. Sadly, due to changes at meetup[dot]com they are no longer available. That said, I wrote the majority of the migration docs for the Joomla! Project. See Why Migrate which is a funnel that takes you through self-assessment, planning and step by step instructions on migrating from 1.5 to 3 or 2.5 to 3. There are also docs from 1.0 to 1.5 that another team member wrote. There is also an appendix I've written in Using Joomla, Second Edition (O'Reilly) specifically about migration and updating Joomla.
I've migrated many, many Joomla sites successfully. If you need to migrate your Joomla site, contact me to start the process.
