OpenCart Community

What is your best practice on upgrading a webstore?
I would like to upgrade my live store (1.4.9.6) to the current version. With the new version a lot of things have to be modified until it can go live again. Therefore it's not possible to do it with the live version.
My usual workflow is to create a copy of the entire site, then upgrade and make all the changes in the template files + adding extensions. After that I upgrade the live environment and copy all changed files to the live folders.

Is there another way, which would be easier to handle the changes? I want to keep the maintenance time as short as possible as we might loose orders during the upgrade. I guess the time needed for all changes/design work will take 3-4 weeks.

Would be happy to get some information on best practices!

Do you really plan to make UPDATES ON A WORKING Shop Software?

Why no JUST add another Shop, in another Sub, like CART, if your present Shop run's under SHOP, i.E., and work you up, step by step, until you reach the point, when you can remove the Sub, on the Server, containing the SHOP, and then RENAME the CART, to SHOP, adapt your BOTH config.php Files, and get it going, as usual !?

Everything else is just an attempt to business suicide!

my 2 cents!
Ernie
hitline.info/shop/

I don't want to do it on my working shop, but the problem is that while I'm working on the new version in another folder/subdomain several changes (orders, etc.) are done in the database.
In the same time I'm doing changes in the copy with the new version. The problem is that I then need to upgrade the database and I will lose the db-changes I've done for the new version.

I thought that someone has found another (better) solution than the described one (same way I do it).

By Nature of Things, you will make Backups, of your Database, on a regular Scale, I assume. Or then, get the Mod, doing this for you, on a daily scedule, or so. It's called:
scheduled backup, and it works up to OC v.1.5.6.5_xx
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... on_id=1899
similar solutions are here:
http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... ackup%20DB

In your PhpAdmin, you can copy/create an existing DB into another DB-Name, leaving the existing DB, as and how it is named. But it's of no use either, to start with, it would not work, in any way. You'll need to get an Upgrade-Mod/Tool to upgrade an existing DB to match OC2.x.x Definitions. STILL, depending on MOD's, you use at present, you SHOULD DISABLE ALL VqMod's, and Add-On MODULES, even (not required!) default Modules, in the Admin Section, before doing any such attempts, upgrading DB's, in the first Place. So, NO routine will even try to, for what reason ever, ADD some Custom Content onto the DB, logicalmente not prepared to take such...

http://www.opencart.com/index.php?route ... ade%20Tool

In your NEW Shop, in the CART/Sub, you could them make alle tests, with such a DB, without harming anything on ther existing setup.

Ernie

One more thing, to avoid known Problems:

You shou always use an FTP-Client, to Upload your 'unzipped' and 'checked/cleaned' Add-On's, DO NOT USE any extension installer, by UPLOADING unknown ZIP/RAR-CONTENT, EVER, onto your server. OC2 has momentarely problems with this Function anyway! Check every file first, for UNWANTED Files, usually named .SOMETHING , and mostly left be either github, or APPLE Programming, used to create a Mod, in the Apple Case, at least. Avoid, this way, to get such unwanted, and on most servers even INVISIBLE Files, onto your Server, sometimes more, than what you have planned to upload, on real files, in the first Place! You don't need NO xxx.txt files anywhere, Doc's, Install info's, even explanation/info images, all that carbage has to get OUT of your Content, before it is to be uploaded to your Server! And, if you added one too less, it will tell you...

Believe in God, but NEVER in anyone's Mod's, on Earth !It's for your own Good!

Best practice.... hire someone who knows best. I offer my upgrade service in my signature

Otherwise, be sure to follow the following threads:

Upgrade 1.4.x to 1.5.1.2:
http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=50292

Upgrade 1.5.1.2 to 2.x
http://forum.opencart.com/viewtopic.php ... 35#p546635