RSSAlternatives to upgrading Joomla from 1.5
Oct 10
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I read with interest Jen Kramer’s article on when and how to migrate clients from Joomla! 1.5 to the next version of Joomla, due to the end of life of the product in April 2012.
Through my Joomla work, I have influence over 10,000 Joomla 1.5 sites. Of these, about 200 of those sites are direct (or nearly so) clients of mine that I’ll have to upgrade if the time comes.
Unfortunately, the migration to Joomla 1.6/1.7/2.0/2.5 is not a very compelling story. Most of these clients have sites that work today, and while they are looking for incremental improvements, they are not looking to rebuild the site – pretty much ever. They are definitely not interested in losing functionality (due to incompatible plugins) or actually paying for such an upgrade. I need help in solving this dilemma – one that lessens or eliminates the impact of migration.
The Economic Impact of Migration
Let’s assume there are around two million Joomla websites, and nearly all of them are running 1.5 and plan to upgrade. Also assume that each migration will cost the client, on average, $250 to migrate by the time all is said and done. We’re looking a 1/2 billion dollar impact to the Joomla community. Halve both numbers, and a conservative estimate is $100 million impact. Not small change in any book, I’d imagine.
Other than “security concerns” because 1.5 isn’t being supported, what are the main reasons to upgrade current systems? Amy Stephens states, in her blog post about Molajo:
Because it sets the foundation for tighter integration through common events and creates an extremely extensible layout system adding in alternative layouts and alternative menu items. That is on top of ACL and nested categories.
Many of these same benefits: An extended API, tighter event integration, better menu management, a superior ACL model to what is in 1.6+, and even a better category system can be done in a way (in many cases backporting current 1.6 code directly) that does not eliminate compatibility with the 1.5 API, keeping current extensions working and not requiring a migration or break existing sites. This is what WordPress does on every release – it moves forward without (for the most part) breaking anything, and never requires a site-rebuild or “migration”.
What I’d like to say to my client is, “no, you don’t have to move off your current platfom” – and not even mention that any upgrade is required, just an option. If I don’t have an alternative, and force the move for the clients, I’m going to lose some Joomla customers to WordPress (even a few to Drupal), and very possibly lose some customers entirely. I know from talking to other webmasters that I’m not alone in this dilemma.
As I see it, there are three related issues that need to be addressed to keep Joomla! 1.5 viable going forward:
#1) Joomla 1.5 core support needs to be extended significantly past the April 2012 date. (security patches)
#2) Extension developers would need to commit to continuing to support the 1.5 API, for now and in the future.
#3) For long term viability, I’d love to see the Joomla! 1.5 core enhanced with significant new features, in a backward compatible way. Minor changes to the API, similar to what Molajo has done with 1.6.
I’m willing to contribute however it makes sense to do so, in collaboration with others of a like mind.
Joomla is a community project. Is it possible for the community to commit to supporting the current Joomla 1.5 API and extensions, and if possible, continue to improve the 1.5 code base in a backwards compatible way? Or are there other solutions I’ve missed?