As of November 9, 2026, an up-to-date Joomla site runs on Joomla 6.2.0 with PHP 8.3 or 8.4. Joomla 3 has not been updated since August 17, 2023, Joomla 4 since October 14, 2025, and Joomla 5 only receives security patches until October 12, 2027. The order remains unchanged, regardless of the starting point: full backup, test copy, latest version of the branch installed (3.10, 4.4, or 5.4), pre-check in the administration panel, then one major version at a time, with PHP following. On a Joomla 5 site with a custom template, this took me about ten hours in November 2026; starting from Joomla 3, the process is longer, and sometimes rebuilding takes less work.
I am a freelance developer near Rennes, and I write for Joomla site owners who are not technicians: a law firm, an association, a freelancer, a small business. Dates and versions verified on November 9, 2026, on joomla.org and php.net.
Which version of Joomla is still supported in November 2026?
Joomla 3 received its last version, 3.10.12, in July 2023, and its support ended on August 17, 2023. The project then sold eighteen months of security patches, 90 euros per site, until February 17, 2025. After that, nothing more.
Joomla 4 ended on October 14, 2025, with 4.4.14 from September 30, 2025, as the last version, which the official download page lists as no longer maintained.
Joomla 5 is nearing the end of its lifecycle. The 5.4.10 version from October 13, 2026, is announced by the Joomla team as the last bug-fix release in the 5.x series. Until October 12, 2027, Joomla 5.4 still receives security patches, after which it will also stop being supported.
Joomla 6 was released on October 14, 2025. The current version is 6.2.0, published on October 13, 2026. The official roadmap plans bug fixes until October 17, 2028, and security patches until October 16, 2029. This is the target.
Why PHP matters as much as Joomla
Joomla is written in PHP, the language your hosting provider runs on their server. Joomla 5 requires at least PHP 8.1 and recommends 8.3; Joomla 6 requires at least PHP 8.3 and recommends 8.4. Meanwhile, PHP 7.4 has not been updated since November 28, 2022, PHP 8.0 since November 26, 2023, PHP 8.1 since December 31, 2025, and PHP 8.2 ends on December 31, 2026. PHP 8.3 is patched until December 31, 2027, and PHP 8.4 until December 31, 2028. A Joomla 5 site running PHP 8.2 must therefore switch PHP versions before the end of the year anyway, and this change is made in the hosting provider’s client area, not in Joomla itself.
The database matters too. Joomla 6 requires at least MySQL 8.0.13 or MariaDB 10.4 (with 10.6 as the supported version). On older hosting, the database may be outdated, and Joomla’s administration panel won’t offer an update option. This depends on the hosting provider: you may need to request a newer database or switch plans.
In what order to update: 3.10, 4.4, 5.4, then 6
You don’t skip major versions. The official documentation outlines three transitions, each starting from the last minor version of the previous branch.
From Joomla 3 to Joomla 4. The official guide starts with a site running 3.10.x. In Joomla’s update component, the channel is set to « Joomla Next » and the pre-update check (Pre-Update Check) appears: it checks the PHP and database versions, then the compatibility declared by each extension developer for Joomla 4. The Protostar template, included with Joomla 3, is not compatible with Joomla 4: a site using it switches templates at this stage.
From Joomla 4 to Joomla 5. The guide starts with a site running 4.4.x. Same principle: System, Update, Joomla, channel « Joomla Next », then the pre-update check in three parts—required settings, recommended settings, extensions. A compatibility plugin, « Behaviour - Backward Compatibility », is automatically enabled so that extensions written for Joomla 4 continue to work.
From Joomla 5 to Joomla 6. The guide starts with a site running 5.4.x, with PHP 8.3. The Joomla team says it themselves: moving from 5.4 to 6 is an update, not a migration. The plugin « Behaviour - Backward Compatibility 6 » must be activated, and the old compatibility plugin deactivated; the pre-update check verifies both.
A caveat the official guide itself makes: the « extensions » part of the pre-update check is just an overview, and the real verification happens on a site copy.
What most often breaks on an old Joomla site
The custom graphic template. Many sites from 2012 to 2018 have a template designed by the agency of the time, built for the Joomla and PHP versions of that era. No one maintains it, so there’s no update to download: it must be manually adapted or replaced.
Abandoned extensions still installed. A form, a gallery, a social media module installed in 2014 by a now-defunct developer. As long as they’re there, they block or break the update: unused ones are uninstalled, the others are replaced.
Backups. An old site often has Akeeba backups scheduled years ago, stored on the same server, unencrypted, and never tested. A backup containing an entire database, readable by anyone who accesses it, is a problem in itself. Before touching the site, I check that a full backup exists, that it restores properly, and that it’s stored outside the server.
How I updated a psychology practice’s website in November 2026
The site was running Joomla 5.4.7 on PHP 8.2, with a custom template from 2015, a ChronoForms 7 appointment form, the JCE editor, Akeeba backups, and a caching/URL rewriting extension from the sh404SEF/4SEO family.
I always start with a full backup—files and database—kept off the server. Then I set up a test copy: the same site, at a different address, where I can break things without any visitors seeing it.
On this copy, I first updated the site to the latest version of its branch, 5.4.10, because upgrading to Joomla 6 starts from the latest 5.4, not just any 5.4. Then I ran the pre-update check. Next, PHP 8.3, since Joomla 6 requires it, and finally the update to Joomla 6.
The 2015 model required some work. PHP 8.3 flags ways of writing code that were accepted in 2015 but are no longer: nothing visible to a visitor, but warnings in the logs and, eventually, errors. I fixed them one by one without altering the appearance. ChronoForms 7, which was my main concern, was kept and tested: the appointment form works under Joomla 6. JCE and other extensions were updated one by one, with the site checked after each update.
Then came the tests: the two forms, every page, rewritten URLs, email sending. Once everything worked on the copy, I repeated the same sequence on the live site, with a fresh backup just before, and then sent a written report: versions before and after, what was changed, where the backups are.
In total, about ten hours of work. At the end, the presentation and content are identical, and the site is now on Joomla 6 and PHP 8.3, with security patches valid until October 2029 for one and until the end of 2027 for the other.
Update or rebuild the site?
The question arises especially since Joomla 3. The official documentation states it bluntly: when skipping several major versions with many obsolete extensions, rebuilding the site on the current version may require less work than updating it. My criterion: if the template is maintained or adaptable and if the key extensions still exist for Joomla 6, I update it; otherwise, I recreate the content in a clean Joomla 6 with a current template. In both cases, your texts, pages, and URLs are preserved.
What you can check yourself
Log in to your site’s administration, whose URL ends with /administrator. On Joomla 3, the version appears at the bottom of the page; on later versions, go to System then System Information to see the Joomla, PHP, and database versions. Joomla 3 or 4, or PHP 8.1 or earlier: you’re affected immediately. Joomla 5.4 and PHP 8.2: you have until the end of the year for PHP and until October 2027 for Joomla.
Without access, my free tool Test my site reads your homepage and checks eight points, including the PHP version when displayed; the tool PHP Vulnerability Check tells you if the PHP version in use has received the October 2026 patches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can update my Joomla site? The agency or freelancer who built the site, if they still exist and continue working with Joomla. Your hosting provider, but only for the PHP and database parts: they won’t touch Joomla or your extensions. Or an independent developer familiar with Joomla, remotely, using your access details. In all cases, ask for a full backup in writing before any work, testing on a copy, and a report of what was done. I offer this service remotely from Rennes for all of France.
How much does updating a Joomla site cost? A basic version upgrade is billed at my standard service rate of €190, including backup, testing on a copy, and a report. The price increases if the template needs adjustments, extensions must be replaced, or security issues need fixing, and I’ll quote after a free diagnostic. The case mentioned earlier, upgrading from 5.4 to 6 with a custom template, took about ten hours.
Can you go directly from Joomla 3 to Joomla 6? No. The official path goes through 3.10, then 4.4, then 5.4, then 6, each with its pre-checks. On a test copy, the three upgrades can be done in one session.
My Joomla 3 site still works, so why update it? Because it has not received any security updates since August 17, 2023, or since February 17, 2025 if you had paid for extended support, and because it typically runs on an unsupported PHP version as well. A site that displays is not a secure site.
Is Joomla 5 still safe in 2026? Yes, until October 12, 2027, provided you are on version 5.4.10 or the security version that follows it, and running on a patched PHP. Since Joomla 6 requires PHP 8.3 and PHP 8.2 ends support on December 31, 2026, making both updates in one go makes sense.
If you want me to handle it
Send me the address of your Joomla site. I will tell you within 24 hours which version you are running, what is blocking you, and where to start: this is the free diagnosis from my page Joomla website update, which also describes the packages starting at €190, including backup, testing on a copy, and a written report.
Sources: Joomla version roadmap and lifecycle, Joomla 6.2 announcement from October 13, 2026, Joomla 6.0 and 5.4 announcement from October 14, 2025, end of support for Joomla 4.4, end of Joomla 3 and extended support, technical requirements for Joomla 6 and Joomla 5, official guides for upgrading from 3 to 4, from 4 to 5 and from 5 to 6, supported PHP versions and end-of-life PHP versions.
