Migrating from J2Store 3 to 4 3 to 4

This article is a guide to help you migrate your Joomla 3 / J2Store 3 website to J2Store/J2Commerce 4 Joomla 4 and 5 versions.

This article is a guide to help you migrate from J2Store 3 to J2Store / J2Commerce 4 to the latest Joomla 4 or 5.

IMPORTANT: J2Commerce is simply a rebranding of the original J2Store component, so any J2Store/J2Commerce 4 updates will work with your newly migrated J2Store 4/J2Commerce 4 sites.

The following instructions apply ONLY IF you have a Joomla 3 website with J2Store 3.

IMPORTANT: Please carefully read the instructions and try the migration in a staging/development/testing copy of your site. There are a number of breaking changes. If you attempt to migrate directly in a live environment, it may lead to the site crashing / fatal errors.

So attempt the migration in a testing/staging copy of your site first.

CAUTION:

While we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition, please note that unforeseen circumstances may arise during the migration process. Example: You might have an incompatible plugin, a third-party extension that conflicts with J2Commerce, and so on.

Though we'll make every effort to assist, we cannot be held accountable for potential issues that may occur as a result. Proceed with caution.

Step 1: BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP

Please take a FULL BACKUP of your site before you start the migration process. Since there are a number of breaking changes in J2Commerce 4, there is a chance of fatal errors.

Take a FULL BACKUP so that in case of issues, you can always restore your site from the backup.

Step 2: Install the migration helper utility

We have created a simple migration helper that checks for potential conflicts with the plugins and lets you disable them before the migration.

1. Download the utility from here: github.com/j2commerce/j2store_migration_checker/releases

2. Install it by logging into your Joomla 3 administrator > System > Install > Extensions

3. Once installed, go to Components > J2Migration checker

Step 3: Disable the Plugins / Modules and apps of J2Commerce

The migration helper will list all the J2Store / J2Commerce plugins, apps, modules, and extensions that need to be disabled before you can proceed with it.

Once you have disabled them, you will see a “green light” to proceed with the migration.

IMPORTANT: Please take note of the list of plugins you have there, as they need to be upgraded individually with their respective Joomla 4 compatible versions.

We will be publishing the Joomla 4 compatibility for the official J2Commerce plugins/apps/modules/extensions one by one. You can check our Extensions page for a list of available extensions for J2Commerce with Joomla 4 compatibility.

If you have any custom-developed extensions for J2Commerce, please reach out to the respective vendors/developers for compatibility.

We’ll not be able to support any custom-developed extensions/plugins/add-ons/modules.

Step 4: Install J2Commerce 4

Once you have disabled all the J2Commerce-related extensions, you can proceed to download J2Commerce 4 from our official J2Commerce Github repository at:

github.com/j2commerce/j2cart/releases

Download the latest version of J2Commerce 4 and install it.

Step 5: Upgrading J2Commerce plugins

Please check our extensions section to get the latest version of the J2Commerce plugins/apps/modules/extensions you have on your site.

You need to install the Joomla 4-compatible version of all the J2Commerce plugins/apps/modules/extensions you have on your site before you can upgrade to Joomla 4.

We will be publishing the Joomla 4-compatible J2Commerce plugins/extensions soon.

Step 6: Ensure all the plugins/extensions in your site are Joomla 4 compatible.

If you have other extensions/plugins/modules from third-party developers, you need to check their Joomla 4 compatibility before upgrading to Joomla 4.

Just upgrading J2Commerce 3 to J2Commerce 4 will not ensure compatibility for Joomla 4. All the extensions and plugins that you use on your site should be Joomla 4 compatible before you upgrade.

Upgrade to Joomla 4 only after ensuring all the plugins/extensions in your site are Joomla 4 compatible.