An announcement has been released by Concrete5 stating that version 5 of their CMS software will be left unsupported starting August 2019.
Since their initial development began in 2003, regular updates and security patches have been released to ensure a safe and state of the art CMS platform for all users.
Version updates, in particular, have eagerly been utilized by Concrete5 users until an extensive code rewrite resulted in the release of a non-backwards compatible version of the CMS.
In the wake of this announcement, we will now explore how you can navigate this Concrete5 milestone in a way that makes the most sense for your website.
Concrete5 Version History
Concrete5 has often been compared to the likes of Joomla and Drupal and is most appreciated for its user-friendly, in-context editing abilities. After launching fully Open Source under the MIT license in 2008, Concrete5 released a further 7 versions of their CMS software up to 2014.
Version 5.1 to 5.6 allowed this CMS to add more functional features and to remodel and refine their user interface. Additionally, it also allowed for commercial and non-commercial support.
However, in 2014 Concrete5 released version 7 of their software which modernized their entire interface and allowed them to stay up to date with new PHP coding standards.
The latest release following version 7 is version 8, and although 8 is backwards compatible with 7, the same cannot be said for the leap back to version 5.6. In fact, the only way to upgrade your Concrete5 CMS from version 5.6 to version 7 is to completely rebuild your website.
In light of this fact, Concrete5 promised to keep supporting version 5.6 from a security standpoint to give users enough time to make the jump.
The End Of A Legacy
In mid-2018 Concrete5 finally announced a termination date of version 5 which they are also referring to now as the legacy version.
Apart from offering to fix any major security problems that may arise until the end of life date set forth, Concrete5 is fully invested in furthering the future versions of their CMS and is now giving their users a final invitation to join them in this new venture.
As of 24 August 2019, version 5 of this CMS will not be supported by Concrete5 in any capacity which means users will have to rebuild their websites if they want to utilize version 7 or 8. Furthermore, all version 5 compatible add-ons have also been made freely available as legacy marketplace sales have already been terminated.
The Way Forward
A Manual Migration
Even though Concrete5 has made certain migration tools available to make the move from version 5.6 to version 7 a bit easier, you will still have to manually migrate content from your old website running on version 5.6 to your new website running on version 7 or 8.
You can easily upgrade from version 7 to version 8 at just a click of a button. However, rebuilding your entire website so it can run it on either of these versions will require a lot more effort.
Investing In Another CMS
Although Concrete5 developers have said that they hope to never subject their users to a non-backward compatible version of their CMS again, they didn’t exactly make any absolute promises.
As expected, this inconvenient version update has left users scrambling to either rebuild their websites so they can utilize version 7 and 8 or it got them questioning whether it is worthwhile investing further in Concrete5 at all.
A seemingly more favorable option would be to migrate your website to an entirely new CMS altogether. By doing this, you won’t have to rebuild your website from scratch which would equate to a faster and more productive CMS solution when compared to the alternative.
When scouting for a new CMS that fits the bill when it comes to your website’s unique needs, be sure to check whether it has ever made non-backwards compatible versions before.
Why Migrate To WordPress?
Compared to Concrete5, WordPress has never created a non-backwards compatible version that requires users to recreate their websites.
In fact, migrating your website to WordPress will allow you access to a wider network of CMS support, and seeing as this CMS is so user-friendly, even those with the least technical inclination can become adept at loading content onto your website.
Furthermore, WordPress has a lot more free plugins and themes readily available compared to Concrete5 which will do away with the need for custom-built themes.
Lastly, WordPress is also known for being the most popular CMS on a global scale which means you will probably end up saving more money when it comes to CMS training.
If you need professionally trained experts to manage your website’s CMS migration from Concrete5 to WordPress, give WordHerd a call for a free quote.