Upgrade Joomla 4 to Joomla 6 — Skip to the Latest Version

Joomla 4 reached end of life in October 2025. Joomla 6 launched the same month, marking a clear generational shift. If you want your website on the latest version of Joomla — with the newest features, the most modern codebase, and the strongest long-term outlook — this is your migration path.

Upgrading from Joomla 4 directly to Joomla 6 is a two-step process that passes through Joomla 5.4 as an intermediate stage. We manage both steps as a single project, delivering your website on Joomla 6 without the need to run Joomla 5 in production.

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Why Skip Joomla 5 and Go Directly to Joomla 6

Every reason to leave Joomla 4 is covered in detail on our Joomla 4 to 5 upgrade page — end of security support, extension developers moving on, and regulatory compliance concerns all apply equally here.

The question specific to this page is: why target Joomla 6 instead of Joomla 5?

Joomla 6 Is the Active Development Target

Joomla 5 is the Long Term Support release — stable, proven, and well-supported. But Joomla 6 is where the Joomla Project's primary development effort is now focused. New features, performance improvements, and architectural refinements appear in Joomla 6 first. If your organisation values being on the most current platform and wants the longest possible runway before the next major migration becomes necessary, Joomla 6 is the logical choice.

Automatic Core Updates

Joomla 6 supports automatic minor version updates — security patches and bug fixes can be applied without manual intervention. This is available in Joomla 5.4 as well, but Joomla 6 is where this feature matures and becomes the standard operational model. For organisations that want their website security managed with minimal overhead, this is a significant benefit.

Modernised Framework

Joomla 6 runs on Framework 4, which includes significant improvements over the framework powering Joomla 5. These improvements primarily benefit the extension ecosystem — developers can build faster, more secure, more capable extensions. As the Joomla 6 extension ecosystem matures, websites running on Joomla 6 will benefit from these improvements first.

Longer Time Before Next Major Upgrade

By upgrading to the latest major version now, you maximise the time before the next major migration becomes necessary. Joomla 6 will be the current supported series for several years. Upgrading to Joomla 5 means you will need to plan another upgrade to Joomla 6 (or its successor) sooner.

The Compatibility Plugin Eases the Transition

Joomla 6 includes a Compatibility Plugin that allows extensions built for Joomla 4 and 5 to function on Joomla 6 even before they receive native Joomla 6 updates. This bridge feature significantly reduces the risk of extension incompatibility during the transition period.

Why Sites Stall on Joomla 4 — and Why That Is Now Urgent

Most Joomla 4 sites did not choose to stay; they drifted. The agency that built the site moved on. The update notifications went to an unwatched inbox. One extension lacked a clear upgrade path, so the whole project waited for a "good moment" that never arrived. That drift was survivable while Joomla 4 received security patches from the project — it does not any more. Since October 2025, every vulnerability disclosed against Joomla 4 stays open forever on your site, and exploit automation does not distinguish between sites that meant to upgrade and sites that forgot. The practical translation: the question is no longer whether to leave Joomla 4, only whether you land on 5 or 6, and whether you move before or after an incident makes the decision for you. (If the incident already happened, start with recovery — the upgrade folds into it.)

The Upgrade Path: Joomla 4 → 5.4 → 6

Joomla 4 cannot upgrade directly to Joomla 6. The upgrade follows a two-step path through Joomla 5.4, which serves as the bridge release.

Step 1: Joomla 4 → Joomla 5.4

The first step upgrades your Joomla 4 installation to Joomla 5.4, the LTS release. Because Joomla 4 and 5 share the same architecture, this is a standard upgrade performed through the Joomla Update component. Extensions compatible with Joomla 4 generally work with Joomla 5 — those that require updates are handled during this stage.

Step 2: Joomla 5.4 → Joomla 6

Once on Joomla 5.4, the upgrade to Joomla 6 is performed through the same update mechanism. The Compatibility Plugin activates automatically to ensure extensions that have not yet been updated for native Joomla 6 continue to function. We then test every extension and optimise the configuration for Joomla 6.

Both steps are performed on a staging environment. Your live Joomla 4 site continues operating normally until the final switchover.

What Changes Between Joomla 4 and Joomla 6

The changes from Joomla 4 to Joomla 6 encompass everything introduced in Joomla 5 plus the Joomla 6 additions.

Features Gained from Joomla 5

Task scheduler for automated recurring tasks
Guided tours for backend user onboarding
Child templates for safe template customisation
Mail templates for customisable system emails
Improved custom fields and content management
Enhanced media manager with better file handling
Performance optimisations in database queries and asset loading

Features Added in Joomla 6

Framework 4 — modernised developer framework for better extensions
Automatic core updates — security patches applied without manual intervention
Compatibility Plugin — backward compatibility for Joomla 4/5 extensions
Improved accessibility — continued enhancements to screen reader support, keyboard navigation, and ARIA implementation
Performance improvements — further optimisations building on Joomla 5's gains
Modernised security architecture — improved core security features

What Is Removed

Joomla 6 removes deprecated APIs and legacy compatibility layers that were still present in Joomla 5. Extensions that relied on deprecated features from Joomla 4 will need to be updated — the Compatibility Plugin covers many but not all of these cases. Our audit identifies exactly which extensions are affected.

Server Requirements

Joomla 6 requires PHP 8.1+ (8.2 or 8.3 recommended) and MySQL 8.0.13+ or MariaDB 10.4+. If your Joomla 4 hosting already supports these versions, no server changes are needed. If not, we coordinate the server upgrade as part of the project.

Extension Compatibility

The extension landscape for Joomla 6 is maturing rapidly. Most major extension providers have released Joomla 6 compatible versions or confirmed compatibility through the Compatibility Plugin.

Confirmed Joomla 6 support: Akeeba Backup and Admin Tools, HikaShop, AcyMailing, RSForm Pro, Kunena, Phoca Gallery, DOCman, JCE Editor, Membership Pro, and most major commercial extensions from established developers.

Working via Compatibility Plugin: Many smaller extensions function correctly under the Compatibility Plugin without requiring native Joomla 6 updates. The plugin adds some performance overhead, but it provides reliable backward compatibility.

Potential issues: Extensions that were built for Joomla 4 but not maintained since then may not work even with the Compatibility Plugin. Abandoned extensions need to be replaced with actively maintained alternatives.

Our free audit checks every extension on your Joomla 4 installation against both native Joomla 6 support and Compatibility Plugin compatibility, giving you a clear picture before any work begins.

The Pitfalls in a 4-to-6 Jump

Crossing two major versions in one project is entirely routine for us, but it concentrates the risks that single-step upgrades spread out:

Two waves of deprecations land at once. Code that Joomla 4 tolerated and Joomla 5 merely warned about is gone in 6. Extensions must be verified against the final target, not just the next step.
The compatibility plugin is a bridge, not a destination. It keeps Joomla 5-era extensions running on 6, but anything leaning on it needs a real upgrade path before the plugin's own retirement — we plan for native compatibility, using the bridge only as scheduling slack.
Server requirements jump. PHP 8.3+, MariaDB 10.4+/MySQL 8.0+ — frequently a hosting conversation as much as a software one, and a natural moment to land on infrastructure built for exactly this stack.
Template assumptions break twice. Overrides and template frameworks from the Joomla 4 era need verification against both transitions; this is where most "the upgrade broke our design" stories actually originate.

Our staged process (4 → 5.4 → 6, each stage verified in its own staging pass before the next begins) exists precisely so these compound risks are encountered one at a time, in a controlled environment, by people who have met every one of them before.

When to Choose Joomla 5 Instead

Joomla 5 remains the better choice in certain situations:

Your website depends on extensions that have confirmed Joomla 5 support but have not yet addressed Joomla 6 compatibility
Your organisation prioritises maximum proven stability over having the latest features
You prefer to avoid running the Compatibility Plugin and want native support for all extensions
You plan to upgrade again to Joomla 6 later, once the extension ecosystem has fully matured

We do not push one version over another. During the free audit, we assess your specific installation and recommend the target version that best suits your situation. If the audit shows that Joomla 5 is the safer choice for your extension configuration, we will tell you. Read about our Joomla 4 to 5 upgrade service →

Our Process

Free site audit — comprehensive review of your Joomla 4 installation with extension compatibility report and version recommendation (Joomla 5 or 6)
Fixed-price quotation — clear scope, timeline, and cost before work begins
Staging environment — complete copy of your site for all upgrade work
Pre-upgrade preparation — update all extensions, clean the installation, verify server requirements
Two-stage upgrade — Joomla 4 → 5.4 → 6, each stage verified before proceeding
Extension updates and testing — every extension updated, tested, and configured for Joomla 6
Template verification — your template tested and adjusted for Joomla 6 compatibility
Comprehensive testing — functional, cross-browser, mobile, performance, and SEO verification
Your review and approval — access to staging site for your own testing
Live deployment — scheduled switchover with zero downtime
30-day post-upgrade support — monitoring, adjustments, and issue resolution included

Reading the Roadmap: Why Landing on 6 Is the Stable Choice

Joomla's release rhythm is public and predictable: major versions arrive on a multi-year cadence, each supported through a defined window, with the final minor release of one series (5.4, in this case) built explicitly as the launchpad to the next. That structure is exactly why the 4-to-6 jump is well-trodden rather than adventurous — the project simply passes through the official bridge release on its way to the destination.

Landing on Joomla 6 buys you position as well as features: you start at the beginning of a major version's lifetime instead of partway through it, which pushes your next mandatory platform decision years further out. For organisations that found themselves on this page precisely because the last upgrade was deferred too long, that breathing room is worth as much as anything in the changelog — it is the difference between choosing your next upgrade window and having it chosen for you by an end-of-life date.

What Changes for Your Editors

Visitors should notice nothing except speed. Your content team notices more, and almost all of it favourably: the same fundamental admin they know, refined — better media handling, inline accessibility checks while writing, scheduled tasks replacing fragile cron workarounds, and passkey logins replacing password fatigue. We include a short orientation in every hand-over covering what moved and what is new, and the consistent feedback from editorial teams is that the adjustment takes an afternoon, not a training course. If your team currently avoids the admin because the site feels fragile, that — more than any feature — is what changes: a maintained, current platform is one people stop being afraid to touch.

The Audit Decides, Not the Sales Pitch

Everything above is the general case; your site is a specific one. The free audit resolves the question with facts: which of your extensions have native Joomla 6 builds, which need the compatibility bridge, which are abandoned and need replacement, what your template's upgrade story is, and whether your hosting meets the new requirements — or whether the project should include moving to infrastructure built for this stack. You receive the findings as a written report with a fixed quote for the specific path we recommend, whether that is the direct jump to 6 or a deliberate stop at 5. No obligation attaches to it; sites that are not ready get told so, with the reasons.

One Project, Three Compliance Boxes

Because the upgrade rebuilds and re-verifies so much of the site anyway, it is the cheapest moment you will ever have to close the European compliance gaps that accumulate on an aging installation — and most Joomla 4 sites have all three:

GDPR's "appropriate technical measures." Running an end-of-life CMS is the textbook failure of Article 32; completing the upgrade is itself a compliance act. We use the same project to verify the consent stack: that the cookie banner actually blocks before consent, that the privacy tooling works, and that nothing new the upgrade introduces starts processing data unannounced. Where deeper work is needed, our GDPR service slots in alongside.
EAA accessibility. Template work is part of every 4-to-6 project, and accessibility fixes cost a fraction as much when made during template work as they do retrofitted afterwards. Heading structure, focus visibility, contrast, and form labelling get built correctly while the files are already open — moving your site toward its EAA obligations as a side effect of the upgrade.
The maintenance regime itself. Insurers, enterprise clients, and auditors increasingly ask how the site is kept patched. Leaving the project with a documented maintenance plan in place means the answer is written down — and means this page is one you never need to read again.

None of this is mandatory scope — but bundling it is how one disruption, one testing cycle, and one deployment buy you a site that is current on every axis at once, rather than current on one and overdue on two.

Timeline and Pricing

Joomla 4 to 6 upgrades typically take one to two weeks. The two-step upgrade process adds some time compared to a Joomla 4 to 5 upgrade, primarily for additional testing and Compatibility Plugin configuration.

Projects start from €800 for standard installations. Complex sites are quoted individually based on the audit. All quotations are fixed-price — no hourly billing, no surprises.

After the Upgrade

Joomla 6 with automatic core updates provides the most self-maintaining Joomla experience available. However, automatic updates cover only core minor versions — extension updates, security monitoring, backups, and performance management still require structured attention.

Our maintenance plans provide ongoing care for your Joomla 6 installation. Our managed hosting provides European server infrastructure optimised specifically for Joomla 6.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upgrade from Joomla 4 directly to Joomla 6?

Not in a single step. The upgrade passes through Joomla 5.4 as an intermediate stage. We handle both steps as a single project — your website goes from Joomla 4 to Joomla 6 without running Joomla 5 in production.

Will the Compatibility Plugin slow down my website?

The Compatibility Plugin does add some performance overhead because it loads additional compatibility layers. The impact is generally small but measurable. As extensions release native Joomla 6 versions, the plugin can be disabled for improved performance. We optimise site performance as part of the upgrade and monitor it during the post-upgrade support period.

What if I want to move to Joomla 6 later, not now?

That is a perfectly valid approach. Upgrade to Joomla 5 now to get off the unsupported Joomla 4 immediately, then plan the Joomla 5 to 6 upgrade at your own pace. The upgrade from 5.4 to 6 is a standard process that can be done whenever you are ready. Start with our Joomla 4 to 5 upgrade →

Will my Joomla 4 template work on Joomla 6?

Most Joomla 4 templates work on Joomla 5 and many work on Joomla 6 as well, since all three versions use Bootstrap 5. Some adjustments may be needed for deprecated features. Commercial templates from active developers typically receive Joomla 6 compatibility updates. We verify your specific template during the audit.

Can we keep publishing content while the upgrade runs?

Yes — your live Joomla 4 site stays fully operational throughout. We take a content synchronisation pass shortly before the final switch so everything published during the project carries across, and the only editorial pause is the brief deployment window itself, which we schedule with you in advance. For high-volume publishers we agree a short content freeze measured in hours, not days.

How disruptive is this for our editors and content team?

Far less than feared. Content, categories, menus, and user accounts carry through intact, and the Joomla 6 admin is an evolution of what your team already knows — most editors need an orientation, not retraining. We provide a short handover covering exactly what moved and what is new.

Our site is multilingual. Does the two-step path complicate that?

It adds verification work, not risk — language associations, per-language menus, and module assignments are checked at each stage in staging. Multilingual Joomla is one of our core specialties; it is a reason to use a specialist, not a reason to delay.

What does this cost compared to going to Joomla 5 only?

Modestly more than a 4-to-5 project — the second stage is the smaller part of the work — and meaningfully less than doing 4-to-5 now and a separate 5-to-6 project later, with two rounds of testing, deployment, and disruption. If you intend to end up on Joomla 6 anyway, one project is the economical route.

Start Your Upgrade to Joomla 6

Our free audit examines your Joomla 4 installation, tests extension compatibility for both Joomla 5 and Joomla 6, and delivers a clear recommendation with a fixed-price quotation. You will know exactly what is involved before making any commitment.

Get Your Free Joomla 4 Site Audit →

Weighing up your options?

If you run a Joomla site, you have three honest paths - and we can help with any of them. Keep it: a good Joomla site is often best kept, and we handle the upgrades, security, hosting and maintenance that keep it safe and current. Upgrade it: if you are on an older version, we bring it up to modern, supported Joomla. Or move it: if you would rather stop maintaining a CMS altogether, our own CMS Pros Platform gives you a site you own, found by Google and AI, with security, updates, EU hosting and backups handled for you. Read the honest, no-pressure guide to your Joomla options, see how a move to the platform works, or ask for a free audit and we will tell you which path genuinely fits.