XF 2.0 I'm scared to upgrade my site to the latest XF version. Should I be?

[Hensmon]

I just saw that my license ran out in 2021. I would like to renew and upgrade my forum to the latest version, but have big concerns. I have done so much customization that I worry that loads of bugs will appear if I go for an upgrade. Not just add-ons, but custom front end stuff too. Is this concern legitimate?

Also I have no idea what version I am currently running. I cant seem to find that info in my admin panel.

 

[M@rc]

I cant seem to find that info in my admin panel.

Bottom-right of footer.

Set up a test forum and do the upgrade there first, then re-do your customizations and research if your addons/themes have 2.3 compatible versions. Once you're happy with the outcome, do the live site next.

 

[Old Nick]

This can help:

Upgrading from XenForo 2.2 to XenForo 2.3 Guide

Jul 28, 2024

How to successfully upgrade from XenForo 2.2 to XenForo 2.3.

• CedricV
• XenForo tips & guides [2.x]

 

[CedricV]

Upgrading from XenForo 2.2 to XenForo 2.3 Guide

Jul 28, 2024

How to successfully upgrade from XenForo 2.2 to XenForo 2.3.

• CedricV
• XenForo tips & guides [2.x]

 

[CedricV]

@Old Nick beat me to it with a millisecond.

 

[Old Nick]

with a millisecond

180.000 in fact.

 

[Sim]

Once you're happy with the outcome, do the live site next.

Make sure you take a backup of your existing site (files + database) before starting the upgrade, so if things do break, you can revert back to the previous version.

If you've never done backups before, spend the time to get backups set up and then test the backups by restoring one to a test server and see if you can get the site working on a test domain. Do this before you make any changes to your live site.

 

[Hensmon]

Great advice from all, thank you. I will make a backup and then also make a test forum. Wish me luck!

 

[Hensmon]

If you've never done backups before

I haven't. Is there an easy way to do this?

 

[Dragonfruit]

I haven't. Is there an easy way to do this?

Usually from the control panel. You can run a full backup into zip files.

You can also copy your database directly from the main one into a newly created one through phpmyadmin, that’ll help setup a test site quick. You then just have to copy over the files to the test site directory and update the config to the test database.