The Joomla content managment system version 2.5 is scheduled to reach end of life on December 31, 2014. This means you need to upgrade to Joomla 3.x as soon as possible to avoid running unsupported software for your website. If you don't upgrade you will risk hackers getting access to the website and causing down time and malware on your website.
Unfortunately the life cycle of Joomla hasn't allowed for much overlap for upgrading. The current version is Joomla 3.3 which isn't even the next Long Term Support version (3.5). So we need to upgrade to Joomla 3.3x and then 3.5 when it becomes stable. That upgrade should be minimal as the framework will be the same and the software won't need to be migrated.
Extensions
The real power with Joomla or any other content management system lies in the huge number of extensions or add-ons that enhance features of the website. Unfortunately this has triggered extra maintenance costs because all extensions have to be re-added and formatted to work with the new version. This can make the work grow exponentially in terms of design and compatibility as well as extra work cause by re-entering any data that would need to be carried over from the previous release.
Templates
The design of the website is built using a system of templates. These templates have to be reinstalled and redesigned to match the current design. If your website is not responsive to mobile devices then you'll need to redesign for a similar look and feel. This is one of the advantages of upgrading as all new templates are responsive.
Joomla 2.5 Upgrade Options
1. Migrate to Joomla 3 - Upgrading Joomla is a simple process. The difficult part comes with converting your website design (template) and any extra features (extensions). Each website must be evaluated individually and estimated for total cost.
2. Convert to WordPress - For small business websites we've found that using WordPress has a much lower maintenance cost than Joomla in terms of upgrading. The cost is similar to the Joomla upgrade so we are converting most smaller websites to WordPress at this time.
3. Do Nothing - If you don't upgrade then your site will become vulnerable to hackers. Back when Joomla 1.5 end of life occurred there were cyber armies coming out of some countries targetting those versions. We anticipate that same event will occur in 2015.
We are in the process of contacting and converting all clients as soon as possible. We will provide an estimate for each option for you.
If you aren't a current client and would like an estimate to upgrade please contact us.
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