Open Source Support Desk

We get a growing number of questions from clients about what Joomla version to use. This is not a simple question to answer, since the answer varies from site to site and can be different per client, even if they run identical versions.

In some cases a simple update or patch will help adding the latest security improvements, in other cases migrating obsolete code to a newer version might be the correct answer. Sometimes a pragmatic answer like 'sit still don't spend any money and', might be best.

It may become too costly to migrate a relatively small Joomla 1.0 site to the latest 1.7-version available, especially when it hardly gets any traffic. In the event this 1.0 site is on a server with business critical applications/sites however, we'd strongly suggest to either move the site to a different server or safeguard your investments by migrating this obsolete site to Joomla 1.7. We would say the same for an intranet based on Joomla 1.0, just to further safeguard your valuable company information.

One of the aspects to bare in mind is the Total Cost of Ownership, which is based on:

• Software Acquisition Cost (zero or minimal when using Joomla for your web project)
• Development Cost
• Maintenance Cost (like patches, upgrades, migrations, solving compatatibly issues)

Information about past, present and future Joomla versions and release dates are a bit scattered over the internet. In an effort to help you forecast your future maintenance cost for Joomla upgrades/migrations, we have created a timeline for you, based on the latest release planning available.

How To Choose Your Next Version

1. Check the current version of your site:
   Login in the administrator backend of your site, normally at www.yourdomain.com/administrator and check the footer text. You will find your current version number there.
2. In the timeline, choose the Year + Month in which you would consider to start using a newer version (if any)
3. Check in what phase of the lifecycle your version currently is.
   • General Availability (Green): Your version is considered to be 'Stable'. As long as you run the latest patches, you can consider your site to be up-to-date
   • Supported (light Green): Same here, the Joomla Project actively supports your version by releasing upgrades and security patches. As long as you run the latest patches, you can consider your site to be up-to-date,
   • End-of-life (Grey): Your version is considered to be obsolete. The Joomla Project DOES NOT actively support your version by releasing any upgrade or security patch. Consider to use the latest General Availablity-version (Green) that has been released.

Example

• If you use Joomla 1.0.x today (August 2011), consider to migrate to Joomla 1.7.0, the latest General Availability/Stable version available.
• If you use Joomla 1.5.10 today (August 2011), upgrade to 1.5.23 a.s.a.p. and consider to migrate to Joomla 2.5.0 early 2012.
• If you use Joomla 1.5.23 today (August 2011), consider to migrate to Joomla 2.5.0 early 2012.

Please note that there are always some sidenotes to make here, like the availability of extensions and templates for your newer version. Starting point would be to check if your IT Infrastructure/hosting solution supports the technical requirements of the newer version.

Conclusion

Highly simplified: as long as the Joomla version you are using isn't in a Grey area in the timeline above, you should be fine.

Migration Scan for Joomla

We will be happy to assist you in your decision making process. For this reason we have launched a Migration Scan-service, in which our qualified support staff will help you decide if, how and when to upgrade or migrate to Joomla 1.7 Joomla 2.5,  currently the latest Stable release available.

With the outcome of this Migration Scan there is no obligation to let Open Source Support Desk perform any next step. You will however have all the required input to make a decision on your next step, including an estimate and planning.

Written by Michel van Agtmaal

The Joomla User Group of NYC just announced JoomlaDay NYC, to be held October 22-23 in Microsoft Technology Center in downtown Manhatten. I am happy to be able to join a dozen speakers from all over the world. I will present 'Choosing extensions for Joomla' on Saturday October 22.

With over 8,000 extensions published in Joomla's Extensions Directory (JED), the question arises what to use when developing or extending a Joomla site. I will help you define clear criteria and methods to find and select the best possible extensions for your project.

Day 1 of the event will be a 'typical' Joomla Day with four different workshops offered at each time slot. There is a beginners track, an all levels track, a track for Joomla users with some experience, and a developers track.

Day 2 is dedicated to developers only!  Each workshop will be a minimum of two hours long, so you will have enough time to really get into the topic at hand.

Feel free to contact me in case you plan to visit Joomla Day NYC and want to discuss business with me in person. I will have one or two days extra and will be happy to grab a coffee with you or setup a meeting.

Conference Snapshot

• Hosted By: Joomla User Group New York, http://www.joomlanyc.org/
• Audience: Webmasters, Designers, Developers, Business Owners
• Venue: Microsoft Technology Center, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10104 (US).
• Price: USD 90 per day or USD 160 for both days
• Information: www.joomladaynyc.com

Need to know if Magento is the best platform for your organization? What features and options (community or enterprise) you have? What the differences and (dis)advantages are? Want to learn more about the power of Marketing with Magento, or are you a developer who wants to learn how to connect with 3rd party software? If Magento is anywhere on your radar, it doesn't matter: you need to attend Meet Magento in The Netherlands.

Program

The Morning program kicks off with Keynotes from the Magento team. Explore the origins of Magento and track current happenings.
In the afternoon sessions there are 4 breakout rooms, each with sessions revolving around Marketing for Magento, In-depth technical sessions, general Magento sessions and many case studies.

Both Dutch And English Sessions

Although the event is mainly in Dutch, you're more than welcome to join us! 5 sessions will be in English. We have even set up a special page with information for our English visitors including travel information. If you still have questions, please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and the host will make sure you get the information you need.

Admission

Admissions to Meet Magento NL only costs €120,- and proceeds help to cover some of the costs of the event. Tickets are ONLY available online, before the event. No tickets are sold at the event location, so don't forget to register online. You can order your tickets here.

May 18 – Meet & Greet

Join us on May 18 in the venue for an informal Meet and Greet in the venue and meet the Magento Leadership Team and professional Magento enthusiasts before the actual event begins.

Conference Snapshot

• Hosted By: Guido Jansen, Comee and the Dutch community website Dutchento
• Audience: Designers, Developers, Business Owners
• Venue: Hotel and Congrescenter 'De ReeHorst', Bennekomseweg 24, 6717 LM Ede, The Netherlands
• Price: EUR 120
• Information: http://www.meet-magento.nl/english.html

Hagen Graf is a Joomla Expert from the beginning. As an IT Consultant and Training in the larger CMS world he wrote several books on Joomla, both 1.5 and 1.6. Hagen is now working on a new book: Joomla 1.7 - Beginners Guide.

Hagen will take the same approach as with the Joomla 1.6 Beginner's Guide, a true success story that shows the need of free available books in PDF and HTML format. (The PDF was downloaded more than 35.000 times since March 1, 2011.)

At the time Joomla 1.5 was released, I edited the Dutch translation of Hagen's Joomla 1.5 book, Essentie van Joomla 1.5. I am honored that he now invited us to sponsor his upcoming FREE Joomla 1.7 - Beginners Guide!

Together with a large number of leading players in the Joomlasphere (like Joomlart, Joomlablogger, Joomfish, Joomlaworks, Nooku, redComponent, Sigsiu and Yireo, to name a few) we will sponsor a chapter of this free Joomla 1.7 Beginner Guide. Next to that, we will discuss options with both Hagen and other sponsors to add additional value to this free Joomla 1.7 book by adding coupons to each chapter. Keep an eye on this blog, we will let you know when and how to get this free book as soon as it has been released.

Update

The Joomla 1.7 - Beginner's Guide is NOW avaliable for FREE here:

• As a pdf: http://cocoate.com/j17/pdf
• In HTML: http://cocoate.com/j17

We are proud to be a sponsor of this free Beginner's Guide for Joomla 1.7 and hope it will help you get up-to-speed with this release. Just like us, several sponors offer a discount on their products and service. Have a look at all advertisements in the PDF-version and the banners in the HTML-version. Have fun!