Joomla 1.6/1.7/2.5 Upgrade Tutorial
How to upgrade Joomla to the latest version
In this tutorial we will show you how to upgrade your Joomla 1.6/1.7/2.5 to the latest version. Keeping your Joomla up to date is vital for its security, so you should always upgrade your Joomla when a new version is released.
HostKnox clients can request a free Joomla upgrade and free Joomla 1.5 to 2.5 migration as part of the HostKnox Joomla hosting services.
The first and most important thing you must do before you proceed with the Joomla upgrade is to create a backup of your Joomla files and database. This way you will be able to restore your site if the upgrade breaks it. You can back up your files by downloading them using your favorite FTP client. You can backup your database by exporting it through phpMyAdmin.
If you have a very customized Joomla site with a modified template, many additional components and plugins, it may be a good idea to create a copy of your working site in a subfolder and complete the upgrade on the clone site, not on the live one. If the upgrade on the clone site is successful, you can safely upgrade the live site as well.
Once you back up your Joomla, you can proceed with the upgrade. We will show you two ways to upgrade your Joomla - one through the Joomla administration area and the other - the good old manual upgrade where you need to upload the new files, overwriting the old ones.
Joomla Update through the Joomla Extension Manager
One of the great features of Joomla 1.6/1.7/2.5 is the option to update your Joomla directly from the administration area. To do this, log in as administrator and go to Extensions > Extension Manager:
Click the Update tab to go to the Extension Manager: Update section. Here you will probably see the following notice:
There are no updates available at the moment. Please check again later.
To check for any available updates, click the Find Updates button at the top right of the page:
If there is an available update, it will show up on the screen. To apply it, tick the box next to it to select it and then click Update:
If the update completes successfully, you will see a confirmation and your Joomla will be upgraded to the latest stable version:
Manual Joomla Upgrade
The manual Joomla upgrade is quite easy. All you need to do is download the Upgrade Package for your current Joomla version from the download section of the official Joomla website. For example, if you want to upgrade Joomla 2.5.6 to 2.5.7, you should download the 2.5.x to 2.5.7 Upgrade Package archive.
Once you download the archive, you should extract it on your computer and then upload all files to the folder where your Joomla is installed (e.g. /home/your_user/public_html), overwriting any existing files. That's it, your Joomla will be upgraded once all files have been uploaded.