Like all software, Joomla is regularly updated to ensure the latest security measures and CMS features are employed. Thus, ensuring that your website is utilizing the latest version is important for not only keeping things running smoothly but also for keeping your data safe and secure.

With Joomla 3 being replaced by Joomla 4, we thought it would be appropriate to provide an overview of what clients can expect when upgrading to the latest version. In this post, we’ll discuss the biggest changes and improvements in Joomla 4, why it’s necessary to upgrade, how to prepare for your upgrade, migration considerations, and much more.

The Evolution of Joomla: From 3 to 4

Joomla 3 was released in 2016, and although it was updated regularly, it has been a while since the platform has undergone a major upgrade. But that’s changing as with the latest release of Joomla 4, users can expect many new features, fixes, and security improvements in the CMS platform that they’ve come to love.

Joomla 4 is built on the latest technologies, such as PHP 7, the jQuery JavaScript library, and the Bootstrap 5 front-end framework. It features a new admin interface, a more efficient media manager, a new routing system for better SEO, as well as a completely new template framework and elevated security features, including two-factor authentication.

Joomla 4 has been redesigned to make creating and managing content easier and faster than ever. More specifically, it performs better because it has been optimized for speed and performance, so caching and loading times are faster. Scalability has also been improved, which allows it to handle more traffic, an essential benefit, especially for larger websites. It also delivers improved database performance, thus allowing it to handle large amounts of data with greater ease.

Additional enhancements included in Joomla 4 include:

• Improved codebase that makes it easier to add new features to your CMS
• Improved user interface that’s more modern and delivers improved mobile responsiveness
• Improved media manager featuring drag-and-drop simplicity
• Improved SEO features

Reasons to Upgrade: Why It’s Necessary

Whenever a new version of any piece of software is released, the number one reason for upgrading is the same – upgrading protects you and your data because the latest version utilizes the latest security measures currently available. In most cases, the security upgrades resolve weaknesses that were discovered in the previous version, and they are designed to protect against more modern threats.

Upgrading also ensures that the version you’re using will be supported for some length of time. For instance, official support for Joomla 3 ended on August 17, 2023. As a result, failing to upgrade can leave you more exposed to certain risks.

Upgrading to the latest version of Joomla 4 also provides you with a better user experience thanks to its new, updated interface and easy backend management. And because Joomla 4 is compatible with modern PHP versions and related technologies, your website will be future-proofed for the foreseeable future.

Preparing for the Upgrade

Before upgrading from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4, there are a few steps you should take to prepare, so the process can go as smoothly as possible. These steps include:

1. Backup your Joomla 3 website: This step is important because backing up your website safeguards your data should something unexpected occur
2. Check your server to make sure it meets the requirements for Joomla 4, including PHP (needs at least PHP 7.2), database, and other software
3. Make sure you have the latest Joomla 3.x version (if not update it to 3.10.11)
4. Run the Joomla 4 Pre-Update Check in Joomla 3 to make sure all installed extensions and templates are compatible with Jooma 4

Migration Considerations

When migrating to Joomla 4, there are certain considerations that should be kept in mind. For starters, you should assess your website’s complexity and functionality, as well as its original goals. If you discover that your site has deviated from your initial vision, look at the migration as a means of getting back into focus with your goals, or as a means of bringing it more up to date with your current goals if they’ve changed.

It is also important to note that some users may experience possible challenges in migrating custom code and functionalities. This is because some older extensions may not be compatible with Joomla 4. This is why it is always recommended to run the Pre-Update check in Joomla 3 prior to migrating. Leaving incompatible extensions in place could interfere with the Joomla upgrade and result in a failed upgrade that leaves the site inaccessible. You should upgrade all extensions to meet J4 compatibility or disable or uninstall these plugins before upgrading.

As with any major platform upgrade, you should test Joomla 4 on a staging environment instead of on the live site. Only once you thoroughly review it to ensure that everything is working smoothly and as expected should you copy it over to the live site.

The Upgrade Process

Once any incompatible extensions have been disabled, the upgrade process is fairly straightforward. For the most in-depth step-by-step instruction, you should check out Joomla’s official migration documentation and use their recommended backup and migration tools.

In some cases, certain issues may arise during the upgrade, the two most common being:

• Technical Specifications not met
• Third-party extension incompatibility

Each of these issues is easily remedied by following the advice previously mentioned in this article. Two other common issues involve isClient and isAdmin errors. These errors indicate that you have third-party extensions using isClient or isAdmin, so they should be uninstalled or disabled/unpublished.

If you get a blank screen after migrating, then you should check the page source. If it looks like the complete HTML code is there, then you may have a JavaScript error. Or, if there is no code at all, then it is most likely a PHP error. Check logs/joomla_update.php to see if a proper update was completed. If the site is updated properly, then you can use phpMyAdmin to disable any third-party plugins that you may have overlooked before updating to Joomla 4.

Redesigning vs. Migration: Joomla vs. WordPress

If your site is currently using Joomla 3 and you are looking to upgrade your CMS to a newer platform, then you may be trying to decide between migrating to Joomla 4 versus doing a complete website redesign using WordPress. One thing you can do to help you come to your decision is to evaluate whether your current Joomla website meets your needs.

If you like the ease with which Joomla 3 operates, then upgrading to Joomla 4 will only provide an even better experience. But if you are wanting to try something completely different and your website doesn’t need some of the advance functions available in Joomla, then rebuilding your site in WordPress may be something to consider.

Both Joomla 4 and WordPress come with their own set of pros and cons which should be carefully considered before making your decision.

Joomla Advantages

• Has more advanced user management controls out of the box
• Is more flexible for different types of content, including non-standard content types
• Has multilingual support built-in to the core, while WordPress requires you to use a third-party plugin
• Provides users with multiple templates for different pieces of content instead of one theme

Joomla Disadvantages

• Has fewer professional extensions than WordPress
• Doesn’t offer as many customization options as some other CMSs
• Can experience compatibility issues with extensions due to the core platform undergoing frequent updates
• Has a somewhat complex update/upgrade path

WordPress Advantages

• Is easier to maintain than Joomla
• Has the largest ecosystem of WordPress exclusive plugins and themes
• Has a huge support community consisting of blogs, Facebook groups, and developers

WordPress Disadvantages

• Is so widely used that hackers and other cyber-criminals target WordPress sites most frequently
• Can be challenging to use with certain plugins
• Tends to be slower loading, which can have a negative effect on search engine rankings
• Is too dependent on third party plugins, which can hamper site performance and increase security risks

Rebuilding in WordPress: Is It Necessary?

To determine if rebuilding your website by switching from Joomla to WordPress is necessary, you should first begin by assessing your website’s structure, content, and features. What is the purpose of your website? What are your goals for your site? What type of content and features do you want to share with your audience?

While most advanced websites might be better suited for Joomla’s robust content and media management features, WordPress remains one of the best platforms for blogs.

The downside, however, is that making the migration from Joomla to WordPress doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. A lot of complications can arise during the migration process, which can lead to data loss or website downtime. As a result, the migration process should only be attempted by experienced web developers.

Retaining Joomla: Benefits and Future Prospects

Many users who are already running Joomla 3 may be best served by simply upgrading to Joomla 4. You’ll be working with a more modern version of a platform you’re already comfortable using. You’ll also enjoy the continued support of Joomla’s vast community of users and developers and receive all updates as they’re released to ensure you’re always using the latest, greatest software.

Utilizing Joomla’s unique features and functionalities allows you to create a website that is truly original, easy to manage, and powerful enough to meet all its daily demands.

Post-Upgrade Tasks

Once you have successfully migrated from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4 and conducted a thorough testing of your site, there are a few other post-update activities that you should complete. These include:

• Clear the cache: Open Updates and click on Clear Cache.
• Check the database schema and fix any errors if any appear: Go to the Database Fix page and click on Extensions > Manage > Database, and then click the Fix button
• Check the website’s frontend and backend
• Go to System -> Global Configuration -> Server -> Error Reporting, to “Maximum” option into System Default. Click the “Save” button
• Move your Joomla site from Localhost to the live server – assign the staging site folder to the site domain
• Participate in user training to become familiar with Joomla 4’s exciting new features

Conclusion

In conclusion, we hope this guide has settled some of the concerns or worries you might have had when you learned that support for Joomla 3 was ending. While Joomla 3 might be heading into the sunset, Joomla 4 is here to reignite your love for your website.

With Joomla 4, you will enjoy greater performance, speed, and ease-of-use. Your website will be more secure, modern, and significantly more efficient because its CMS will be supported for years to come. Plus, you’ll continue to be a part of Joomla’s rich ecosystem and its ever expanding community of users.

The post Upgrading from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4 appeared first on Moore Tech Solutions.

When you pay for Google Ads or any other advertising method, you immediately see where you invested your money since the results start to show up almost instantly (increased traffic, for example).

With SEO, things are different – it takes time and patience – it’s a marathon, not a sprint (you probably heard this already, but it’s true).

It is challenging to say how long it will take for SEO to work because several factors influence the timeframe — competition, backlinks, and the content you’re creating.

Even when you analyze these factors and try to optimize each of them – to find gaps in the competition’s SEO strategy and overcome them, to create solid content and get backlinks from authoritative domains – it isn’t easy to estimate how long it will take until you see the first results and then the full potential of the correctly done SEO.

Still, on average, for most sites, that time frame will be between four months and a year.

Below, we will answer all the questions about the time required for a successful SEO strategy to show results.

What factors impact your SEO strategy’s success?

As we mentioned in the introduction, the factors that affect SEO the most are competition, backlinks, and content. Let’s elaborate on this:

Competition

If you’re selling breast milk candy, you probably won’t have much (if any) competition, but if you’re launching any of the existing products on the market as a new website, you’re going to face a lot of competition.

Positions on Google’s first page are held by sites that do SEO professionally and pay attention to every detail. The more competitors there are, the longer it will take you to climb to the top of the search results.

You can quickly overtake the results on Google’s second or third page, but outranking the top 10 SERP positions will take a lot of time and effort.

To overtake the competition, you will have to be better than them – analyze their activities, look for possible shortcomings, and then try to outdo them.

Backlinks

Backlinks are the basis of off-page SEO and one of the most critical factors for good ranking.

The more backlinks you get from relevant, high-authority sites, the faster you will rank on Google. Keep in mind that quality must always come before quantity. It’s better to have a few strong links than dozens of weak ones or links from suspicious sites.

High-quality links are harder to earn, and they convey part of the authority of the referring site, thus sending a message to Google – “this site is valuable and trustworthy.”

As a new site, paying attention to how fast you get backlinks is essential. You are new, small, and unknown – it will be unnatural for Google if you suddenly get multiple links from eminent authority sites. You can expect a penalty if you violate the Google Webmaster Guidelines rules. Therefore, the speed of building backlinks should be gradual and natural.

Content

Quality content is the basis of SEO, but you probably already know that – “content is king” (Bill Gates).

When it comes to content, there are no rules as to how long it should be. Don’t write meaningless sentences to reach 2,000 words. There’s also no point in posting 300-word articles on popular freelance sites without value.

Keep the content as long as it will take for your readers to get the valuable information or help they need.

Post articles regularly, especially if you have a new site. Consistency is important and signals Google to regularly send crawlers to your site in search of further information.

Interlink relevant content, make regular revisions, and improve incomplete and outdated information. It will significantly speed up your SEO efforts.

How can you tell if your SEO strategy is working?

So, you will write quality content, take care of site performance, add a Google Business Profile and build backlinks, and the results will be visible in 4 to 12 months? That’s not the best idea.

You’ll monitor how your SEO efforts progress by using different tools, so that you can tailor your strategy to suit your site’s specific needs.

Most of the leading SEO tools on the market are multi-functional. They will provide you with meaningful insights such as impressions, clicks, organic traffic, competitor analysis, essential keywords, number of backlinks, domain and page authority, conversions, etc.

Why doesn’t SEO give instant results?

SEO is a slow process, and when you start investing in this type of marketing, you eagerly await to see the return on your investment. However, you have to be patient. Part of the slow process comes from Google, while part is due to technical limitations.

Google has never revealed what system it uses to rank websites. Even top SEO specialists look for interpretations of Google’s announcements, and only its employees know the absolute truth.

So far, we know that the most powerful search engine expects expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) from sites. Therefore, you must strive to position yourself as a leader in your niche to be rewarded with good rankings.

Furthermore, as far as is known, quality content and backlinks play a significant role in ranking. You don’t necessarily need much time to create good content, but link-building does. Here we come to Google again – there are 1.93 billion websites on the internet – yours won’t be crawled and indexed immediately.

The slowness of Google leads us to think that it does not want to reward instant results, so there is no mass use of black hat techniques. SEO is slow – it always has been, and it seems it always will be. Its results, however, are more consistent than those obtained by any other marketing method.

Arm yourself with patience, and your efforts will pay off – of course, only if you cooperate with a reliable SEO specialist or agency (or do your SEO on your own).

Techniques that will make your SEO strategy pay off

As we mentioned in the introduction, SEO is a marathon. As a new participant in the marathon, it is good to know which running technique will surely place you closer to the goal, focused and without wasting energy. We have some tips for you:

1. Do your research. Whether you’re going to do SEO yourself or leave the job to a specialist, keyword and competition research is essential.
2. Create original and valuable content. This phrase is repeated over and over, but it’s more important than you think. It’s not enough to pick good keywords and stuff them wherever possible. You write primarily for readers, not for Google. Google uses artificial intelligence components, like natural language processing, to understand your content better. If it is helpful to the readers, you will be rewarded. If the content is a bunch of jumbled words without order or sense, Google will not value it. So, use keywords, but do so meaningfully and naturally.
3. Interlink relevant articles. Interlinks serve as a guide through your site. They give Google an idea of your ​​structure and page hierarchy. A user who reads a particular article will go to another related page through an interlink, which could answer additional questions he has.
4. Add images, infographics, and video content. This content encourages longer stays on the page and greater user engagement. A long, endless wall of text is tiring to look at, let alone read. Pictures help to enrich the text and make it more attractive. Don’t forget alt tags, so Google can understand what’s in the photos (and you can also rank in image search).
5. Build backlinks. Make an extra effort to connect with administrators of related sites with whom you could exchange links. Over time, if you publish quality content, you will establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and others will link to you without you asking them to.
6. Share content on social networks. 62 billion people use social networks in 2022. By sharing content with your followers, you increase the chances of new readers. That way, you get a new audience and more traffic, which can signal the algorithm to improve your ranking.
7. Make sure the technical aspects of your site are perfect. Today 90% of the global internet population uses a mobile phone for browsing, which leads to the conclusion that you can’t let your site not display well on mobile devices or tablets. Loading speed is also a significant factor. If a site takes more than 2 seconds to load, users will not wait. They will leave it. You can’t afford to lose clients for such negligence, so optimize these elements on your way to better rankings.

Takeaways

Now that you know what factors affect SEO and how to monitor its progress, let’s see if we can give a more concrete answer to the question that bothers everyone – how long does SEO need to start working? As we said, the optimal period is from 4 to 12 months.

Things will move faster if you target long-tail keywords with moderate competition. After 6 months, the results should be measurable – if you have chosen the right SEO strategy, the increase in traffic and conversions will be noticeable.

If there is a lot of competition in your niche, you will need dedicated work and a minimum of a year (and sometimes several years) to get to where you want to be. But the good news is that once established, SEO results last – no one will be able to dethrone yours overnight.

SEO frequently changes, so it is necessary to follow the changes and innovations in Google algorithms and adapt the strategy accordingly.

For non-specialists, it could be an extensive and challenging task because SEO is a complex matter that requires time and dedication.

Popular IT support companies with many years of experience in the optimization field can help you create a unique SEO strategy for your site’s specific needs. It’s up to you to set clear goals – professionals will take care of everything else.

The post How Long Does it Take for SEO to Work on a New Website? appeared first on Moore Tech Solutions.

How Does Page Speed Affect Your Search Engine Results?

Did you know that the speed of your hosting has an impact on your search engine position? If your website is hosted on a sluggish server, it will rank lower in Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Because of this, not only will you have faster page loads with our hosting, but also better organic traffic and a higher chance for conversions (getting customers).

Does Improved Hosting Security Improve Search Engine Rankings?

It’s no secret that hosting with a secure server is not only beneficial for your site, but also necessary for SEO purposes. With Moore Tech Solutions, we offer shared WordPress and Jooma web hosting on Litespeed servers to ensure that our client websites remain protected from attacks such as DDoS or brute force. In addition, our hosting plans come with a free SSL certificate to keep your website data safe and secure. If your website gets injected with malicious files not only could your site be removed from your hosting account, but search engines will plaster a big ugly warning across it or blacklist it altogether. Ouch!

What Is a DDoS Attack?

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a type of cyber-attack where multiple compromised systems, typically infected with a Trojan, are used to target one or more specific systems or websites. The goal of the DDoS attack is to flood the target system(s) with traffic until it can no longer handle the load and crashes, or becomes so overloaded that it can no longer provide its intended service.

DDoS attacks are becoming increasingly common and more sophisticated, making them a greater threat to businesses of all sizes. In order to protect your website from being targeted by a DDoS attack, you need a web hosting company that offers some level of DDoS protection.

How Does A Litespeed Server Prevent Security Attacks?

DDoS attacks can be a serious threat to any website, especially ones that rely on monetization or host user data, which is most sites. They can slow down or even shut down a website completely. Litespeed servers are specifically designed to prevent DDoS attacks. They use a combination of techniques that include:

-Preventing large volumes of traffic from reaching your website

-Blocking malicious traffic before it can do damage

-Identifying and blocking suspicious packets of data

-Monitoring server health to ensure that the server is not overloaded

-And more!

Five Questions to Ask Your Hosting Company:

1. – What type of security measures do you have in place?
2. – How many sites do you allow on a single server?
3. – Do you offer any type of automated backups if my site goes down?
4. – Do you provide a free SSL certificate to keep my site data safe and secure?
5. – What is your server’s uptime?

Common Security Issues Found With Low Quality Hosting Plans

The most common security issues with low quality hosting plans are the lack of protection against DDoS attacks and the lack of virus protection. These security issues can leave your website vulnerable to attack and can cause data loss or theft. In addition, low quality hosting plans often do not offer SSL encryption, which can compromise the security of your website’s data.

What is the problem with too many hosting accounts on a single server?

The problem with too many hosting accounts on a single server is that it can overload the server and slow down the websites hosted on that server. This can also cause problems for the search engine ranking of those websites.

If a website is hosted on a server that has hundreds of other websites, it can take a long time for the search engine bots to crawl and index your site.

What are some signs of low quality web hosting?

Here are some common issues you might see with cheap or low quality web hosting:  – Slow page load times

– Lack of security features, such as DDoS protection and virus scanning

– No SSL encryption

– Poor customer service

The best way to avoid these problems is to do your research and compare different hosting plans before you make a purchase.

Why Are Automated Backups Important for a Hosting Account?

Automated backups are important for a hosting account because they provide a way to restore your website if there is a problem with the server. They can also help you to recover lost data, or to migrate your website to a new server. Automated backups are an important part of website security, and they should be included in every hosting plan.

How Does an SSL Security Certificate Help My Website?

A SSL security certificate is important for website hosting because it provides a way to encrypt the data that is sent between the website and the user. This helps to protect the data from being intercepted by hackers. In addition, a SSL security certificate can help to improve the search engine ranking of a website. This is because Google and other search engines place a higher priority on websites that have a SSL security certificate.

Server Down Time Can Be Costly

One of the most important factors when choosing a hosting plan is the server uptime. A server that is constantly down can be very frustrating for website owners, and it can also have a negative impact on the search engine ranking of the website. Moore Tech Solutions guarantees a server uptime of 99.9%. This means that your website will be up and running 99.9% of the time.

There are a number of tools that you can use to check the server uptime of a hosting plan. Here are five tools that you can use to check your hosting account’s uptime:

1. Uptime Robot

2. Web Hosting Hub Availability Monitoring

3. Pingdom

4. Uptime Checker

5. Monitor Uptime

Trust Your Website Hosting to Moore Tech Solutions

Moore Tech Solutions provides the best in web hosting. Our hosting is faster, more reliable, and more secure than any other hosting provider. We only use Litespeed servers to host your website, which deflects DDoS attacks and makes your website faster. Contact us today to learn more about our hosting plans and how we can help you get the most out of your website.

The post Website Hosting That is Better, Faster, and More Secure appeared first on Moore Tech Solutions.

Founded in 2004, we have been serving businesses big and small all over the US from our headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Our team of seasoned developers and designers can help you with all your digital needs, whether you want to develop or expand your presence online. We will make sure that your site is beautiful, secure, and fast for multiple devices.

We recently received a new review at Clutch that demonstrates our commitment to helping businesses grow online. A B2B ratings and reviews firm in the heart of Washington, D.C., Clutch connects businesses with the best-fit agencies or consultants they need to tackle their next big business challenge.

The review was about our work for a hunting outfitter. We developed their website and integrated a live chat widget with it. The client used the site for over six years until, in 2020, they decided to reboot the platform. We implemented updates and upgraded its hosting service. We also integrated Zoom and Facebook webinar functions to the site, allowing the client to host virtual trade shows.

The client was pleased with our work, and they liked the look, feel, and functionality of the site. The virtual trade show was a success, with no issues or downtimes. Because of the positive outcome of the event, the client gained insight and asked us to partner with them as they improved the trade show. Ultimately, they were impressed with our team. Here’s what they had to say:

“I find Moore Tech Solutions’ development work impressive. The team has done a lot in terms of integrations and UX. They brought in a lot of experience from the sites they’ve previously developed and worked with components that beautifully complete the system.” – Owner, American Sportsman Expo

We are delighted that the client gave us an across-the-board five-star review for this engagement!

Another client had also reviewed our work. They are a training course company, and we helped them revamp their website. We made it interactive, colorful, and eye-catching, but at the same time beneficial for the client’s accounting purposes. We developed the site on WordPress and WooCommerce.

Feedback for the new website had been positive. Users praised its professional look and its easy-to-navigate interface. The client, meanwhile, praised our collaboration, as we delivered on time and gave them excellent customer service. According to them: “The customer service that they do is top-notch in a day and age where we don’t really get great customer service. They have set the standard again for us and renewed our confidence that customer service is still out there.” – Managing Partner, Btrained HVAC Training

Similar to the previous review, the client gave us five-star ratings for all metrics.

In addition to that, we are proud to announce that the Manifest included us in their 2021 list of top bigcommerce developers. Clutch’s sister company, the Manifest is a business news and insight website that compiles and analyzes practical business wisdom for innovators, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-market businesses. We consider it a great honor to be listed on their platform.

We thank everyone who took the time to review our work. Your positive feedback validates our team’s hard work, and at the same time, it inspires us to improve and innovate.

Do you have an IT project in mind? Contact us today for a free 30-minute phone consultation, and let’s discuss how we can help your business grow online.

The post Moore Tech Solutions receives new Clutch reviews appeared first on Moore Tech Solutions.