Can I upgrade to Joomla #3..X and then transfer my databases from my Joomla 1.5 site?

[RobLiles+]

I have a website with VirtueMart, in Joomla 1.5.26
It is not functioning right any longer and needs updating badly.
www.parkinglotplanet.com

[sozzled]

The short answer to your question "Can I upgrade to Joomla 3.x and then transfer my databases from my Joomla 1.5.26 site?" is no (well, probably no).

You can migrate some of your J! 1.5.26 website content to J! 3.x. Extensions designed for J! 1.5 (e.g. templates, third-party components, modules, plugins) will not work with J! 3.x.

It may be possible to salvage some of your content from your J! 1.5 website.

If you don't want to spend a week or two trying to do this yourself, the best advice would be to task the job to a professional. It might cost you some money but it's probably better (and safer) to do this than to spend the money to purchase a migration tool, purchase updated extensions that will work for J! 3.x and convert the data so that it will work in the upgraded environment. It's your decision, of course.

[leolam]

With all respect for Sozzled but I partly have to disagree. You can rather easy migrate your entire Joola 1.5.26 to Joomla 3.8.5 by following the steps as outlined in my Practical Guide which is an extract of the extensive manual I co-wrote on the Joomla Migration portal (note the remarks on compatible extensions). I and my company do weekly migrations from Joomla 1.0 and Joomla 1.5 to Joomla 3.8.x without problems (some limitations with J1.0.xx) and it is always a big job but 1.5.26 to Joomla 3.8.5 can be done relatively simple while maintaining your navigation and ranking. See my Practical guide for details.

If you do not feel comfortable I do agree with Sozzled that it is more convenient to hire a pro to do this for you. Saves you a lot of headaches and tremendous time

Leo

[sozzled]

All good, @Leo. Even though I can migrate J! 1.5 websites to J! 3.x myself I would rather visit the dentist and have my teeth drilled without anaesthetic.

If a J! 1.5 website is not "functioning right any longer" at the moment, then this compounds and complicates the issues. It's probably safe to expect that merely migrating the site to J! 3.x will not resolve those existing problems. Cheers.