Why is Sitecats forcing these updates?

First off, we are not in control of Joomla.  To read about why Joomla is no longer supporting version 2.5.28, read here: https://docs.joomla.org/Why_Migrate

What Joomla won’t tell you is that WordPress (their largest rival) makes upgrading much easier, and that is why we’re also offering to move you to WP if you choose.

This change is worldwide.  Changing to a new hosting company will not get rid of the fact that server companies will all soon be rejecting Joomla 2.5.

Why is Sitecats making us order now?

In 2013 we were in this same situation with Joomla 1.5.27.  We waited too long and hackers were able to gain control of our server, mostly creating a nuisance and defacing pages and adding phishing directories. This time our goal is to head off the attack by making sure everyone has the latest security release of either Joomla or WordPress by August 1st.

We have to start this process now to ensure that we have this 100% addressed by August 1st. Those clients that wait until the last minute may be subjected to being taken offline, and delays in getting your site may surface because the demand for our time will be too great. We hope you will order the discounted rate as soon as possible and allow us to put your site at the top of our priority list.

What happens if we do nothing?

Your site will be converted to regular HTML, in effect stripping out all of the CMS functions, contact forms and special components.  This will leave no code that hackers can use to gain access to the server.  Your site may look identical, or a little skewed.  You must accept it as is, or request that work be performed on it at regular hourly rates.

What if we do nothing and you convert us to HTML, then we change our mind and want the CMS back?

We will certainly be backing up your old site. But we will have to reactivate your old site on another server in a protected environment, perform the upgrade and move it back to our server after it is deemed safe. This is an added charge of around $300, and no discounts will be offered.  Also, it would have to be scheduled and cannot be considered as a rush job.  The turnover could be 8-12 weeks. For these reasons we’re offering discounts now, ahead of the inevitable hacker attacks.

Which option is best for me? WordPress or Joomla?

Every website is different, but here are a few things to consider. If you absolutely prefer Joomla the new release of Joomla 3 has several improvements (see this article) and we’re happy to offer this for you.

WordPress might be your choice if:

  • -You don’t want to go through these migrations again.  WordPress offers one click upgrades for version control.
  • -Some clients find WordPress easier to work with and update articles and applications.
  • -SEO is superior with the Yoast plugin.  In fact, WordPress has taken the lead in search engine optimization.

How much will it cost?

Costs depend completely on the website at hand. Once you request an estimate, our team will look through every component and feature of your website to come up with a price.

Joomla 3 will generally cost less than a WordPress 4 conversion, however, in the long run we recommend WordPress as the better long term option in most cases.

Will my site be down while the changes are in progress?

No! We will copy your website and work on the changes in a seperate environment. There will be minimal down time once we’re ready to make the official switch.

What is our deadline for Joomla 2.5?

Worldwide, Joomla 2.5.28 (latest version of 2.5) has been unsupported since December 2014 and no further security upgrades will be issued. At Sitecats we employ extra security on your 2.5 site which may buy a little extra time.  We’re estimating August 1, 2015.  Although it is unlikely, if hackers break Joomla 2.5 worldwide before that time, immediate measures will be taken to get all 2.5 sites off the server, converted, upgraded or downgraded to HTML.  We’ve been through this upgrade hassle before, so please respect that our estimate is accurate, and your attention and decision need to be made as soon as possible.

How long will the process take?

Estimated completion timeline depending on flow of orders:

If you order by April 1 (15% off)

  • Joomla 3 Migration takes 3-4 weeks.
  • WordPress Transfer takes 4-8 weeks.

If you order by May 1 (10% off)

  • Joomla 3 Migration takes 4-5 weeks.
  • WordPress Transfer takes 6-10 weeks.

If you order by June 1 (5% off)

  • Joomla 3 Migration takes 6-8 weeks.
  • WordPress Transfer takes 8-12 weeks.

Advantages to moving to WordPress

  • One-click updates and upgrades. No more Joomla migrations!
  • Security: There is a plugin that has multiple security features to protect against hackers.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): There is a plugin called Yoast SEO that allows for specific keywords/phrases, meta descriptions and a check list for ranking the score.
  • Another advantage is that Sitecats offers Advanced SEO plans that work hand-in-hand with Yoast SEO.
  • There is a larger variety of plugins that can be incorporated in a WordPress website.
  • WordPress has come a long way since we started in web development and we believe in it’s superiority so much that we’ve made our new sitecats.com site with it.

Will my site look and work exactly the same if I switch to WordPress?

While it is our goal to keep the look and feel as similar as possible, there will most likely be some differences in feel and appearance.  But for the most part you will be happy with the design and we might also offer some new accents for free if they are easy to apply with the new technology.

Does Sitecats really keep backups of my website?

Yes. We’re dead serious about the lessons we’ve learned. Since 2013 we’ve been keeping monthly backups on the first of the month, and every weekday around 2am we save a fresh copy of your site.

So in effect we have the last 7 days of your site and up to 24 (1st day of the month) copies going back to June 2013.

This is for active hosting customers only. Past customers may be purged at any time to save room for more backups.

© 2017 Sitecats ®, Inc. All rights reserved. 'Sitecats'is owned and operated by NuCitrus

Click Me