Joomla 4.x was released on 17th August 2021 followed by a security update and several bug fixes.
New Joomla 4.x Features
Some of the new features included in Joomla 4.x are:
- improved install process
- new accessible backend and frontend templates
- Bootstrap 5 integration
- new media manager
- new publishing workflow
- new web services
- improved security features
- new HTML email templates
- improved and expanded Command Line Interface (CLI)
- cleaner and more powerful codebase
It's Safe to Migrate or Upgrade to Joomla 4.x Now
Assuming all your favourite extensions are Joomla 4.x ready, now is a good time to upgrade from Joomla 3.x.
I have already updated my business website to Joomla 4.x and have completed some Joomla 3.x to Joomla 4.x updates for clients.
Using a template with Joomla 3.x and Joomla 4.x versions (such as JoomShaper Helix Ultimate) simplifies the update process considerably.
Joomla 4.x Performance
As per, "The new metrics for web performance" article by Patrick Jackson, Joomla 4 performs phenominally well. Joomla 4 has been optimised for performance and it scores well in various test tools including Google Lighthouse and GTMetrix.
Goodbye Gantry 4
Many of the websites I developed over the last 10 years were built with or were upgraded to the Gantry 4 Framework by RocketTheme. Gantry 4 was a great choice for Joomla 2.5 website owners as Gantry 4 made the transition from Joomla 2.5 to Joomla 3.x easy.
Unfortunately, there will be no Gantry 4 version for Joomla 4 and website owners currently on Gantry 4 will need to upgrade to Gantry 5 or choose a new template.
Gantry 5 is quite different to Gantry 4 and my current preference is to build websites with and to migrate websites to the JoomShaper Helix Ultimate template and framework. Helix Ultimate has all the great features that Gantry 4 has plus much more, such as multiple Google Fonts, more control over styling and layout and more control over inserting custom code. The default Helix Ultimate template is free. JoomShaper have a large user base which hopefully means that Helix Ultimate will continue to be developed and supported for a long time into the future.
Joomla 3.x Support
Joomla 3.x will be supported for two years after the Joomla 4.x release so Joomla 3.x website owners should plan to update to Joomla 4.x by August 2023. This gives Joomla website owners plenty of time. Joomla 3.x websites will, of course, still operate after August 2023 but may be more vulnerable to hackers.
Extension and Template Support for Joomla 4.x
Joomla extension and template developers are now starting to focus on the Joomla 4 versions of their extensions and templates. The Joomla 3 versions will still be supported for a while but new functionality might only be implemented in the Joomla 4 versions of their extensions and templates. This is already happening with at least one extension, Regular Labs Articles Anywhere, where the developer has taken the opportunity to rewrite the Joomla 4 versions of his extensions with many new features which will not be added to the Joomla 3 versions.
Happy updating / migrating!
Migrate My Joomla Website
Migrate from Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 3.x
The cost of migrating from Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 3.x depends on the number of third party extensions and whether there are Joomla 3.x equivalents, whether there is an equivalent Joomla 3.x template and other factors. A straightforward Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 3.x migration typically takes at least five hours and costs from around $450.
Contact me for a quote.
Migrate from Joomla 2.5 to Joomla 3.x
The cost of migrating from Joomla 2.5 to Joomla 3.x depends on the number of third party extensions and whether there are Joomla 3.x equivalents, whether there is an equivalent Joomla 3.x template and other factors. A straightforward Joomla 2.5 to Joomla 3.x migration migration typically takes at least three hours and costs from around $250.
Contact me for a quote.
Migrate from Joomla 3.x to Joomla 4.x
The cost of migrating from Joomla 3.x to Joomla 4.x depends on the number of third party extensions and whether there are Joomla 3.x equivalents, whether there is an equivalent Joomla 4.x template and other factors. A straightforward Joomla 3.x to Joomla 4.x migration migration typically takes at least three hours and costs from around $250.
Contact me for a quote.