[SOLVED] Which version should i upgrade to? (from an old 1.5)

Hi everyone,
I have seen this questions a few times in this forum, but the answers are now all more than a year old.
I have been postponing the upgrade of my old 1.5 website for a long time now, but i'm getting more and more stuck with new extensions and php versions.

I have been advised to use the 3.0.3.9, but i'm wondering why... I see that there is a 3.0.4.0 that has been released and also the v 4.1.0.2 seems to be the current version (and i guess the 4.0 wasn't stable, but most of its bugs should be fixed by now) and i'm a little hesitant to spend a lot of time, effort and money into an upgrade to a non current version. I'd love if that upgrade could last me another 10 years

Any advice on this and why?

Thanks!

Use 3.0.4.0. The OpenCart 4 branch is still buggy, and bugs aren't always fixed quickly. You will be able to get 10 years out of the 3.0 branch because it is still being maintained by volunteers. It has PHP 8 support and I'm sure they will add PHP 9 support whenever that becomes necessary.

You *can* still use OpenCart 4.1.0.2 to start a new store but it's not really recommended. You will definitely have to fix some bugs if you do that. It's getting better but then new bugs are introduced every version, which is why it's still not recommended. It has some good features, but only if you're willing to look at bugs yourself.

Thanks, I'll go with the 3.0.4.0 then!

I'm setting up a new store. Already made at 4.1 branch. But at this point I have a doubts. Its not too late to recreate at 3.0.4, but I really don't understand why 3.0.4 is recommended. 4.1 was released at January 13, 2025, 3.0.4 was released at July 24, 2024. Does it mean most of the bugs will be fixed in next few months?
I'm ok with hotfixing some bugs myself, but at some point I might want to buy some extensions. Does extension makers dont like 4.1? Are 3.0.4 are better at something like speed? Or why 3.0.4 are recommended everywhere?

3.0.4.0 is recommended because it's stable and bug-free. 4.1 is not recommended because it's buggy. The OpenCart team isn't always quick to fix bugs, so versions like 4.0.2.3 sit with bugs for months and months, and they don't get fixed until the next major version (which usually introduces its own bugs). Unfortunately, this is just the development cycle of OpenCart.

4.1 is usable, but expect to fix some bugs. If you don't want to have to do that, then just use 3.0.4.0.

simple answer is 3.0.4.0

Thanks, I'll go with the 3.0.4.0 then!!


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