#1. What's new in Joomla! 3.8?
Absolutely needed! You must acquire what are strong features in Joomla version 3.8 to take advantage of these features for better Joomla site.
New Routing System
This version supports a new routing system that allows users control over their URL structure, including the often requested ability to remove IDs from URLs
Joomla! 4 Compatibility Layer
The development of Joomla! 4 has made some changes in how the core code is structured by migrating classes to use PHP namespaces. A mapping layer in Joomla! 3.8 allows developers to use the older class names while being able to take advantage of the new class name structure.
Improved Sample Data Installation
The sample data is now possible within your site backend after finishing the installation process, allows users to create their own generic datasets or extension developers to provide easy-to-install sample data for their extensions
Sodium Encryption Support
PHP 7.2 introduces the new sodium extension for processing encrypted data, through a polyfill of this library Joomla! 3.8 makes this new API available for all of our users even before they upgrade to PHP 7.2
#2. What should I do before updating?
Carefully check the technical requirements
First and foremost, you must check all the technical requirements for Joomla! 3.8.
- Recommended versions of PHP
- Database Server (e.g. MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL)
- Web server (e.g. Apache, Nginx, Microsoft IIS)
And so on
You should go the official Joomla site to check all technical requirements for Joomla! Version 3.8.
Upgrading on your localhost
You should download your site and deploy it locally. Now you can play with the local copy and you will be much confident with the live version. This way is a perfect practice to test new version how well it works on your site before you do all in real.
Update the extensions first, then update Joomla, and Test locally
Keep this strict rule: updating the extensions, templates, and plugin before updating the Joomla and you will avoid some incompatibility issues.
After updating the extensions, templates, and plugins, update the local site to Joomla 3.8. You must copy and test them locally to ensure that all of these are working fine with this version.
If you detect some incompatibility issues, feel free to contact the developer to fix them.
Backup the full live website
After getting the great experiences on the new version from the local experiments. And you are ready for the upgrade on the live site. Wait! Please take a full backup first. We don’t want you to put one foot on a mud again. Only backing up the site, you and freely do anything without worry.
List again all procedure before updating
You must ensure that:
- Your server meets all technical requirements.
- You had already tested locally.
- You had already backed up your live site.
- You had updated the extensions, templates & plugins.
Now Upgrade to Joomla! 3.8
All are ready! It’s time to click “Update” and enjoy new great feature Joomla version 3.8 created for you.
When the version Joomla! 3.8 is available, you will get a notification and the upgrade process is just a click away from the Joomla control panel update notification.
#3. Which common errors I might face after updating Joomla! 3.8?
Any updating will give your Joomla site some unexpected errors. And there is no exception with Joomla! Version 3.8
- HTTP ERROR 500 after updating Joomla! 3.8
- Image Bug in Joomla! 3.8
- Updating to Joomla! 3.8 crashes InnoDB
- Admin errors after 3.7.5 to 3.8 update
...
We will daily update the issues you might face when updating Joomla! 3.8 and the solutions. Please follow to update the latest news.
Don’t worry if you exactly follow our above checklist before updating!
