As of now, there is no one sure way to do it, and version 1.6 itself is still a little like any new technology – you might want to wait a few months for the bugs to be ironed out, before you get it.
Not that 1.6 is buggy. In fact, it's a fantastic upgrade that makes Joomla even easier to use than before. Its biggest shortcoming is that the extension community is still playing catch-up. Components, modules and plugins for 1.5 often won't work on 1.6, and that means that if developers want to migrate from 1.5 to 1.6, they essentially have to recreate their site.
Migrating your site's template from 1.5 to 1.6 also presents some difficulties, as the code structure has changed.
Today, we’ll talk about finding 1.6-specific extensions.
Finding extensions for Joomla 1.6
Happily, the Joomla extensions directory lets users filter their search by Joomla version number. You can find the advanced search here:
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/advanced-search
Just tick the "Joomla 1.6" box and click search.
You can also follow this link to pull up all Joomla 1.6 extensions directly:
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/advanced-search-results/258643
Popular extensions
Needless to say, some extensions are more popular than others. Here are some of the more popular Joomla extensions that already have 1.6-ready versions:
- Community Builder
- Kunena web forum
- JomSocial
- uddeIM
- AllVideos
- Simple Image Gallery
Converting your template
Here's our first piece of advice for converting your Joomla 1.5 template to 1.6:
Don't.
Just kidding – but not entirely. The Joomla team made some significant changes to the core template code, and it can be tricky to make all the proper adjustments. We'll discuss the steps needed to fully convert a file in another tutorial, but for now, the important point to remember is that a template for 1.5 will not work in 1.6.
For now, we recommend that if you're going to upgrade your site, go ahead and give it a new look. There are many great companies that provide 1.6-ready templates, including:
