How do I upgrade my existing Joomla! installation?

The developers of Joomla! regularly issue patches that upgrade existing installations to the latest stable version.  These patches do not involve any changes to the structure of your database tables.

To patch your installation:

  1. Log into your Joomla! installation
  2. Take your Joomla! offline temporarily:
    1. Click Site
    2. Click Global Configuration
    3. Click Site Settings
    4. Click Site Offline
    5. Click Yes
    6. Do not log out of Joomla! while the site is offline
  3. Log into your eXtend Control Panel and back up your website and database:
    1. Click Backup/Restore
    2. Click Create Full Backup
    3. The backup will download onto your computer
    4. Click the link above the Create Full Backup button to go to the databases page
    5. Scroll down to Manage MySQL Databases
    6. Click Backup
    7. The database will also download onto your computer
  4. If your patch installation fails at any time, you can restore your site to this point by restoring the backups through the eXtend Control Panel
  5. Go to the Joomla! website: www.joomla.org
  6. Click Download
  7. Click Upgrade Packages
  8. Select the tar.bz2, tar.gz, or .zip file that is appropriate for your update (refer to the version number in your current installation of Joomla! to determine which you should download)
  9. Return to your eXtend Control Panel
  10. Click File Manager
  11. Select the directory that is the root of your Joomla! installation
  12. Click the Upload Up Arrow icon
  13. Upload the upgrade package you downloaded from the Joomla! website
  14. Select the uploaded package
  15. Click the Unpack Box icon
  16. The upgrade package will be installed
  17. Return to your Joomla! administrative page.
  18. Click Refresh in your browser
  19. The new version number should appear at the top right of the window
  20. Bring your site back online through the Site Settings page

Article ID: 451
Created On: Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Last Updated On: Thu, Apr 23, 2015 at 12:35 PM

Online URL: https://www.heartinternet.uk/support/article/how-do-i-upgrade-my-existing-joomla-installation.html