Upgrading Joomla: Why Staying Current Matters for Your Website’s Health

If you have a Joomla website, keeping your website up to date is more than just good practice; it is an essential part of your website’s security, speed, and overall success. Many website owners will delay upgrades or assume they are unnecessary. The reality is that each new version of Joomla brings improvements that can directly impact website performance, SEO, and compatibility with themes and extensions. In this blog, we will break down the key reasons why you should keep your Joomla website up to date. 

Security

The most important reason to keep your Joomla website up to date is that older versions of websites are more vulnerable to hackers. If your site is outdated, it is more likely to be a target of malicious attacks. If a website gets hacked, the hacker could destroy the website or compromise the data on it. 

Performance Improvements

Joomla has a great reputation in regards to performance of its websites in the developer community. Having the latest version of Joomla installed on your website is important for site speed. Even if the update brings minor changes, the new version of Joomla is performing better (and faster) than the previous version. 

Enhanced Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Google and other search engines prioritize faster, mobile-friendly, and accessible websites. This is because all of these factors directly impact user experience. If a website is slow-loading, it will likely frustrate users and cause a higher bounce rate. 

Extension and Template Compatibility 

As Joomla’s software moves forward, developers are dropping support for older versions. This could mean that new extensions and templates may not work on older versions of Joomla, your website will not benefit from updated features, or you risk conflicts and bugs from updated features. 

While upgrading your website may feel like another chore on your never-ending to-do list, it is one of the smartest moves you can make in terms of website maintenance. From stronger security, improved performance, and better SEO rankings, staying current helps you avoid risks. 

Need help upgrading your website? Give us a call today! Our Joomla developers can upgrade your site from any version of Joomla.