User Documentation Every website owner should keep their site up to date – both the content and the code. Many people find this annoying and put it off.
Since AI now helps attackers find security issues faster, updating your software quickly matters more than ever. From version 5.4 and 6.0 (both released 14 October 2025), Joomla offers an easy automatic update feature, so there's no longer an excuse to skip it.
The following pages explain, step by step, how to update older Joomla sites.
Updating isn't always simple – especially when you skip several major versions and use many outdated extensions. In these cases, it may be less work to rebuild the site from scratch with the latest version.
Important: Always back up your site before updating, and make sure you test that the backup actually works. A backup that fails is worse than no backup at all. For further information, see Backup.
- Version Update – updating within a major version
- Migration Basics – Explanation of the terms
- Can I Do this Myself? – Guidance on self-assessment of one’s own ability to carry out the migration
- Joomla 5 to 6 – Step-by-step update guide
- Joomla 4 to 5 – Step-by-step update guide
- Joomla 3 to 4 – Step-by-step update guide
- Joomla 2.5 to 3 – Step-by-step update guide
- Joomla 1.5 to 4 – Step-by-step update guide
- Joomla 1.0 to 1.5 – Step-by-step update guide