It is that time again.  It seems that versions of Joomla are coming out sooner that you can upgrade to the next version. Not really, but sometime it sure feels that way.  Joomla just released this month (January 2012) version 2.5 of Joomla. You may be thinking, what a leap from 1.7 to 2.5, why such a drastic version number changing.  Like the previous version 1.5, the ".5" in the version number represents a LTR (Long Term Release).  You can read about Joomla 2.5 here.

"Along with new features such as advanced search and automatic notification of Joomla core and extension updates, the Joomla CMS for the first time includes multi-database support with the addition of Microsoft SQL Server. Previous versions of Joomla were compatible exclusively with MySQL databases."  There were also some changes to the Joomla core, so just because your extension runs under Joomla 1.6/1.7 does not mean it will run under Joomla 2.5.

With the new released, should you upgrade and/or migrate? That really depends on your current version of Joomla and also the other extensions you have installed and are running on your Joomla site. Lets take a look at the possibilities with the current version you are running. If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, we are available to help.  We can do the research on your extensions for you and then advise you to either have us proceed with the upgrade or hold off.  You can purchase some support time for your account here to get started.  If you want to "do-it-yourself", you can also learn how from attending one of our online webinars held weekly, more information is here.

If your site is currently Joomla 1.6/1.7.

This would be considered an upgrade. You need to consider the following:

• Is the current template you are running compatible with Joomla 2.5?  You can usually find out by going to the template creator and asking if the current version is compatible, or if a new version is available for 2.5. If so then you can proceed to the next question, if not you need to decide either to wait or to switch templates.  If you do decide to switch templates and not wait, proceed to the next question.
• Are the current extensions you are running compatible with Joomla 2.5? You need to check the 3rd party extensions you are running, are the components, modules, and plugins are compatible with 2.5.  This can be done by either going to JED (Joomla Extensions Directory) and checking there, or check directly with the developer's website to find an answer.  There were a few changes in some of the core code of Joomla 2.5, so you really need to check this out first before upgrading. If all of the extensions are Joomla 2.5 compatible, then you are safe to upgrade, if not you need to decide either to wait for the extension to be 2.5 compatible, change extensions, or just stop using that extension.

When you are ready to proceed with the upgrade, then you can do it via the Joomla back end-->Extensions Manager-->Upgrade. Remember to backup your site and database first, just as a precaution.

If your site is currently Joomla 1.5

This would be considered a migration. You need to consider the following:

• You need to decide either to migrate to Joomla 1.7 or 2.5.
• Is the current template you are running compatible with Joomla 1.7 or 2.5?  You can usually find out by going to the template creator and asking if the current version is compatible, or if a new version is available for 1.7 or 2.5. If so then you can proceed to the next question, if not you need to decide on another template. Let's face it, if it not available for at least 1.7 as of yet, it probably will never be.
• Are the current extensions you are running compatible with Joomla 1.7 and/or2.5? You need to check the 3rd party extensions you are running, are the components, modules, and plugins are compatible with 1.7 and/or 2.5.  This can be done by either going to JED (Joomla Extensions Directory) and checking there, or check directly with the developer's website to find an answer.  If the extensions is still not available for at least 1.7, then it probably will never be, so you need to drop that extension or replace it with another one.

Depending on the information gathered above you need to decide on the following:

• Migrate directly from Joomla 1.5 to 2.5, or
• Migrate from 1.5 to 1.7, then later update to Joomla 2.5

We have recently developed a way to control access to other sites from one site running AEC (Account Expiration Control) and the sub-sites using vHTaccess plug-ins.  Now the logic flow here is fairly straight forward but there are a few things you need to know about the major components of such an integration:

• There will be one Joomla site which will sell the subscriptions and access to the other sites.
• This is where AEC is installed
• The other Joomla sites that you are selling  access to can be separate URLs or even sub-domains.
• These are the sites that will be using the vHTAccess plug-ins

The logic flow here is as follows:

The Main Site

AEC is installed and used to collect all the pertinent Membership information such as user name, password, and email address.

AEC uses its Micro Integrator htaccess, to create the htaccess and htpassword files needed for vHTAccess to authenticate against.

The Server must have curl installed.

You can sell memberships to another sites,  more than one site, or even multiple sites.

Community Builder or Jomsocial can be installed on this site..

The Other Sites

Can be on the same server or a different server.

Server must have curl installed.

vHTaccess is used as the authentication method and user creation method

Only the Username and Password is passed to the site, all other registration information is not recorded, but is available through the main subscription site.

All links to registration, user name or password reset are redirected tot he Main Subscription site.

Jomsocial can not be installed on these sites

The access level is simple and a must: They are either registered and have access to the membership content or they are not and do not have access.

1 access level only (Registered)

For more information  Contact Us

We at WebsGold understand one thing -- Planning!  If you plan out your website from the very beginning for future growth and expansion, when the time comes, such expansion can be done with minimal effort and expense.  It is best to have the components installed from the beginning then add them later.

From our experience with websites running Joomla! CMS, with proper communication and planning we can recommend the proper installation in the beginning.  So let's take the time to plan from the beginning.

Let us start with the back end core features and components. We see a majority of problems come into play, when a site tries to expand later additional core components such as photo galleries or video delivery. Will your site have special registration, community and/or subscription requirements?

The problems do not come in that the additional components being installed, but in the integration of the components between each other as well as the permission/subscription/membership system integrations.  It is advisable if your site will be using such content now or in the future, to install the components from the very beginning.

We all know how important Search Engines play in traffic to our sites.  Why not set up your site from the beginning to be Search Engine Friendly.  This will help in your ranking and eliminate the major problems that you can run into with Joomla! and SEO, as in duplicate content problems, unfriendly URLs, and the real disaster -- the same title and meta tags on each page.  Optimize each content page for the search engines from the beginning, it pay off in the long run.

Do you think Joomla! and/or other user management alone will suffice.  Think again and think hard.  With a great subscription management component (AEC) that can handle both free and paid subscriptions, headaches can be eliminated.  Imagine trying to add subscription management at a later time.  Yes is it easy to do, but once you start restricting content based upon htaccess and group level, rebuilding and incorporating your user/password system can become tedious work.  Avoid the bottleneck now by installing the appropriate system and enabling the proper protection from the beginning. WebsGold is the contract support for AEC .

There are many more issues that come into play, such as blogging tools, administration tools, and permission and group levels.  We advise you to addresses the possibilities of these needs from the beginning and do the proper planning with a professional design/installation team, like WebsGold.

Obviously it is now time to upgrade to 1.7.x as soon as possible.  For those components not yet compatible with 1.7 that you were running under 1.5 will probably be available for 1.7.x, if not then they most likely never will be.

WAIT! I want to put my 2 cents in here.  With the release of the new Joomla 1.6 package, I am getting people asking should I move to it now, well if I were you I would wait. (Personally, I will wait 6 months before even attempting to migrate my sites.)

Remember a lot of the problems that were inherent with Joomla 1.5 when it was just released.  At that time and currently the same problems exist:

    The stable release of 1.6 had some major changes from the Beta release that developers used to make their components, plugins, and modules 1.6 compatible.  This has caused quite a few developers to go back to the drawing board to get 1.6 compatibility.
    There are NOT a lot of components, modules, or plugins released for 1.6 as of yet.

My personal recommendation is to do this:

    Keep an eye on the current components you are using and check regularly to see if they have released a Joomla 1.6 compatible version yet that is stable and not beta.
    Check to make sure that the component has a migration process or guide.

As for the components we provide support for, AEC (Account Expiration Control) is currently being tested in 1.6 and should have a new release shortly that will be compatible.  vHtaccess plugins are being re-written from scratch for the 1.6 framework and should be released by the end of March.