[Ed. Note: this was originally published on a now-defunct site in 2013. Republished (and back-dated) here because seven years later people are still running old versions of Joomla 1.5! Also, Joomla is still a far better CMS than WP. WordPress is like the Microsoft of CMS systems… everyone is using it, but not because it’s the best solution.]
According to W3Techs, as of the beginning of July 2013, 63% of all Joomla sites are running version 1.x. Of these, some 92% are running version 1.5. That works out to a rather large 58% of all Joomla sites running 1.5! The other 5% are mostly version 1.6 and 1.7. [Aside: if your site is one of those 5% please just upgrade now. It’s not going to be that painful and you are a sitting duck for hackers. By “now” I mean stop reading this and go upgrade. Seriously.]
So why is the number so high? There are usually a long list of factors, and most of them are valid. Here are the ones I hear regularly:
Simply porting the site is going to be a lot of work.
We just did our site a few years ago and don’t have the budget for it.
Things we rely upon didn’t make it to 2.5.
We hate change.
The site is outdated; if we’re going to update it we want to redesign it and that’s a big job.
There’s no reason to upgrade (AKA “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”).
You’re only telling me I need to upgrade because you want more business.
Every web site is different, so each of the reasons above can be more or less relevant depending on circumstances. At one end of the spectrum is the hobby site that generates no revenue, and doesn’t have much traffic. A site that could be off line for a few weeks or months and not suffer. I’m going to exclude them from this discussion.
For everyone else, the question to ask is “what’s the cost of having my site suddenly go to an ‘under construction’ page?” What’s the monetary value? What’s the value of lost reputation? Take a serious look at your situation and try to come up with a reasonable number. Compare this with the cost of upgrading your site. If the numbers are close, it’s probably a good idea to start budgeting. If the cost is significantly higher than upgrading, find the budget now because it’s time to start planning!
Here’s the key issue: the technologies that Joomla uses, most significantly PHP, are also changing over time. This chart illustrates the problem for Joomla 1.5:
PHP Version
Runs Joomla 1.5?
Status
5.2
Yes
Unsupported, past end-of-life, no updates.
5.3
Yes
End-of-Life cycle started March 2013, critical updates only.
5.4
NO
Supported.
5.5
NO
Supported (available as of June 2013).
To put it clearly: there is no currently supported version of PHP that will run Joomla 1.5! While that shouldn’t be panic-inducing, it is not something to be ignored. There’s a lot of code out there (not just Joomla) that will have problems running under PHP 5.4, and lots of hosting companies will continue to support it, including Abivia. But – and this is a big one – sooner or later your host is going to send out a notice saying that they’re moving to PHP 5.4 or 5.5. Depending on the host, you’re likely to get anywhere between a week to 90 days notice. Even at 90 days, that’s a pretty tight timeline for a mid-range site, particularly if you want to throw in a redesign at the same time.
This problem is made particularly challenging by the fact that the PHP folks chose to stick with the same major version number, even though they made some major changes to the language. There are some hosts who are just now retiring PHP 4. This was made possible because hosts could run PHP 4 in parallel with PHP 5. By not making recent versions PHP 6 and PHP 7, this mechanism is no longer available. If a host wants to support 5.4, they have to drop support for 5.3 at the same time.
So put your finger on the calendar a month from today, whatever day you happen to be reading this. Imagine that at the same moment you’re doing that, you get a notice from your host saying “PHP 5.3 will not longer supported after…” and substitute the date under your finger. If that makes you uncomfortable, then it’s time to start planning your upgrade!
Shortly after the release of “Joomla!” 1.5.8, I found myself in this release announcement on techcebu.net. It appears to be a bad case of double-translation, from English to Italian (or perhaps Hebrew) and back to English again. The text was just too hilarious to not repost.
11Nov JOOMLA 1.5.8 RELEASED
Joomla 1.5.8 Released
The Joomla Project is entertained to foretell the unmediated availability of Joomla 1.5.8 [Wohnaiki]. This promulgation contains a sort of fault fixes and digit moderate-level section fixes. It has been around digit months since Joomla 1.5.7 was liberated on Sept 9, 2008. The Development Working Group™s content is to move to wage regular, regular updates to the Joomla community. Download Click here to download Joomla 1.5.8 (Full package) » Click here to encounter an update package. »
Instructions
* New installation and technical requirements * Upgrade from an existing Joomla 1.5 version * Migration from Joomla! 1.0.x
Want to effort intend Joomla? Try the online demo. Documentation is acquirable for beginners. Release Notes
Check the Joomla 1.5.8 Post-Release Notes to wager if there are essential items and adjuvant hints unconcealed after the release.
View instance release notes for Joomla 1.5.7 or release notes for Joomla 1.5.6. Security
* Two moderate-level section issues were immobile in this release: o Default filtering for content o Filtering for Web Link descriptions
For additional information, visit the Joomla Security Center. Components
* Articles: Remove brackets around Last Updated fellow and time, Start Publishing fellow corrections for another than UT1 00:00, impact counts precise for Articles, adding a expanse after a draped telecommunicate address * E-mail addresses: Correctly draped when presented in Section and Category descriptions * Categories: Edit picture aright shows for Articles without Title links, Print picture precise today on prototypal tender for Blog Layout * Sections: Plural and signifier modify correction, Category unification right ended, Router changes reverted to edition 1.5.6 so Article ID does not attach to the Article slug * Frontpage: Article naming correction, rectified sort of Links * Contacts: Image pass rebuke when Image Directory is configured * RSS Feed: Corrected spelling of Category in Category feed * User: Added isInternal checking on referer values * Weblinks: Language strings
Modules
* Feed: Target concept validation, module progress correction * Login: ItemID is cured on redirect * Menu: Changing Menu Link Type today functions properly, Section Language string, Article Reset fix working * Related Items: Keyword matched functions aright and filters characters appropriately * Stats: Corrected Time * Sections: No dominance constant entireness correctly * Search: Form validates aright for Transitional xHTML
Legacy
* Return evidence additional for Legacy Menu Check
Templates
* Beez: Lengthened E-mail Content Popup, Search fix today entireness when pressed, countersign set entireness correctly, corrections to Beez HTML folders, User info tender corrected * JA_Purity: Added absent module strings
Administrator
* Console: Added “Welcome to Joomla!†aggregation and Joomla Security RSS feeds to Administrator Console * Installation: Proper redaction of factor directories, choice entries for Templates and Languages are today precise for uninstall * Media Manager: Changed choice for newborn sites to alter Flash multi-file uploader cod to contradictoriness with Flash 10 * Installation: Remove unclear nonachievement communication most module files for spreading installations, Administrator Modules today aright uninstall INI files * Sample data: Updated programme feeds to saucer to liberated code accord sites, comprehensive corrections and updates to distribution content
System
* API: JFolder::files and JFolder::folders corrections for Search, absent Method additional to JRecordSet, Database Class aright quotes obloquy not using extend notation, JTableUser matches using the precise sort of fields * Cache: Correct undefinable uncertain in Cache Class * Language file: Corrected wording, precise artefact of PDF fonts autarkical of module choices, individual module progress corrections in en-GB.ini * Menu: Performance improvements for sites with some schedule items * Users: Temporary Users are today healthy to logout, bonded prescript crapper today be utilised when redaction statement details * Added PHP 4 sympathy for isInternal checking
Statistics
Statistics for the 1.5.8 promulgation period:
* Joomla 1.5.8 contains: o 71 issues immobile in SVN o 26 commits * Tracker state resulted in a gain modification of 4 astir issues: o 65 newborn reports o 130 closed o 66 immobile in SVN * At the instance the 1.5.8 promulgation was packaged, the tracker had 114 astir issues: o 44 open o 44 confirmed o 24 pending
Joomla! Bug Squad
Thanks to the Joomla Bug Squad for their sacred efforts work reports, sterilisation problems, and applying patches to Joomla. If you encounter a fault with Joomla, find discover more aggregation here on how to inform the bug.
Active members of the Joomla Bug Squad during this terminal promulgation wheel include: Ian MacLennan and Mark Dexter co-leads; Airton Torres, river Zijlstra, Akarawuth Tamrareang, Alan Langford, suffragist Ferrara, Amy Stephen, saint Eddie, Elin Waring, Ercan Ozkaya, Charl camper Niekerk, Gergo Erdosi, Hannes Papenberg, Jennifer Marriott, Jens-Christian Skibakk, Jonah Braun, carpenter LeBlanc, Kevin Devine, Marijke Stuivenberg, Mati Kochen, Mickael Maison, Robin Muilwijk, prophet Moffatt, Shantanu Bala, Toby Patterson, and Wilco Jansen.
A hearty recognize to the newest members of the Joomla Bug Squad: Dan Walker, Eduardo Diaz, and Tibor Toth.
Recent Comments