Hi,
Can someone please advise which is the best way to migrate data from 1.8.3 to 2.4.1?
We have been using this version for almost 3 years.
Thanks
Gary
You have two basic choices: upgrades or start over and rebuild the content. It rather depends on how much content you have and the plugins you use which is "better". We constantly present both options so I figure I might as well do it up-front. If you have a lot of content and not many plugins, upgrades may be less work. If you have less content, many plugins or just want it to be clean, starting over may be best. That said, I generally use the upgrade approach.
So to upgrade, you'll need to do 3 upgrades:
- Upgrade to 1.9.19+ (the latest 1.9 version). This is pretty much required before jumping to a 2.x version. Failing to do this tends to cause problems converting your content.
- Upgrade to 2.2.7+ (the latest 2.2 version). This is as far forward as you can safely upgrade from 1.9.
- Upgrade to 2.4.1 (the latest 2.4 version). This is a little "bleeding edge" for me, still on 2.3.4 here, but is classified as "stable" at this point.
Notes: You will need to verify that any 3rd-party modules you've added are also available for 2.4.1. You may wish to remove the modules, upgrade, and then install the new module versions as this tends to be safer than trying to upgrade the core and modules simultaneously.
AND, please make a copy of your site and test each upgrade BEFORE you upgrade your live site. Testing gives you a good indication of the process and results and while it isn't a guarantee that your upgrade will be successful, it can help you identify serious problems before they affect everyone.
Also, if you have a customized theme, it WILL NOT WORK in any 2.x version. You will need to pick something close and change it to look similar to what you already have.
There is some learning involved but if you have a good working knowledge of CSS you can do it yourself. I have.
Hi Bret,
Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.