3 minutes reading time (515 words)

Announcing the Update Working Group

Announcing the Update Working Group

Do you have a website that's on Joomla! 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 or 2.5, that you need to Update, Upgrade or Migrate? Need help with that? Want to help others too?

Joomla! 2.5 nearing end of life

Support for Joomla! 2.5 is scheduled to end by the end of 2014. Now is a good time for web site admins and site owners to start planning and upgrading to 3.3 (or 3.4 when it is released).

It is generally not too difficult to upgrade from 2.5 to 3.x, but with some tips and resources, we can prevent users from breaking live sites, and also remove anxiety from the upgrade process.

Waiting for 3.5

You don't have to wait for 3.5 before upgrading. The Production Leadership Team (PLT) in April 2014 announced a change in the release strategy for the Joomla CMS. Previously we had Short Term Support releases and Long Term Support releases (indicated by a .5, for example 2.5). This FAQ explains the new release strategy in detail.

What about Joomla! 1.5

All available statistics show that most known Joomla web sites are still on version 1.5.x. It is perhaps a testament to the longevity of the Joomla CMS, but also reflects the much bigger challenge that a migration from 1.5 to 3.x presents to the average (and even experienced) user.

We therefore need to provide these users with a lot more help and guidance, so that they can take informed decisions.

Update Working Group

I approached the PLT with the request to create a Working Group that would work to make Updates (of all kinds) easier. The PLT supported the idea, and so the Update Working Group was born, with Tom Hutchison and Javier Gomez volunteering to be the PLT contacts in the group. We learned that a sub-group of the Marketing team, with Patrick Jackson as lead, was also looking at how to deal with this same challenge, and we decided to combine our efforts. Patrick will be one of the Coordinators of this Working Group. (we may add a third coordinator later)

Our Roadmap and Goals

On the Joomla Docs site, at docs.joomla.org/Update_Working_Group you can find some of the goals, tasks, and also ideas (under the Roadmap heading). These goals and ideas are not set in stone, and we will aim to prioritize the ones that are most realistic and able to accomplish over the next 4 months.

How to get involved

We need input from site owners and admins, from UX experts, and those who provide training, core developers, and developers of extensions or templates.

If you are also passionate about helping to make it easier for site admins and owners to upgrade their Joomla! web sites, I invite you to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

0
Joomla! 3 - The Book for Everyone
 

Comments

Already Registered? Login Here
No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment

By accepting you will be accessing a service provided by a third-party external to https://magazine.joomla.org/