Update? Upgrade? What is the difference?

When do I update and when do I upgrade?

If you want to jump to the next shop sub-version, you usually do an update.
These are steps such as from modified E-Commerce 2.0.5.0 to 2.0.5.1.

This usually involves:

the shop is downloaded in, for example, version 2.0.5.0
The download is compared with the ORIGINAL 2.0.5.0 version - because you may have made changes to your shop.
The result will be compared with version 2.0.5.1.
The difference is incorporated into the download
The changed files are uploaded again and existing files are overwritten.

If you want to make larger steps, for example from modified E-Commerce 2.00 to 2.07, or from 2.5.0 to 3.0.0 then an UPGRADE is more worthwhile.

Then an UPGRADE is more worthwhile.

How does an upgrade work?

With an upgrade

a new shop is installed.
customers, orders, categories, products, photos are imported from the old shop
the configuration in the admin, if possible, is set again as in the old shop
Individual programming that exists in the old shop is recreated if necessary and then reinstalled (the old ones often no longer work in the new shop and can therefore not simply be copied over).
redesigning the original template of the new shop so that it looks like the old one again.

From experience, it can be said that from a version difference of 3 sub-versions, an upgrade can already make sense instead of an update - depending on how many changes you have in your shop. If you have a lot of individual programming, then an upgrade starts to be worthwhile from around 4-5 versions. Ultimately, you have to look at this individually for each shop.

In the case of a version jump from one main version to the next - e.g. from 1.0 to 2.0 - the way is ALWAYS via an upgrade. By changing the main version number, the programmer wants to tell you that this is a completely new software.

Since version 3.0.0 there is an "Auto Updater". This is useful for all those who firstly have a backup in hand and secondly have not made any changes to the store. Not for all other non-professionals.

How long will my shop be offline?

When we have prepared your new shop, we have to import all orders and products again and upgrade the database again, because you have continued to work in your old shop in the meantime. Importing the database can take a long time, depending on how big it is. A rough rule of thumb could be: for every 4,000 customers or part thereof, you should plan 1 hour of offline time. However, the database can also be inflated by tools such as "Mailbeez", "Billpay" or switching on the "Admin Log". This can lead to a multiplication of the size and thus the import simply takes longer - and requires SSH access, which you hopefully received from your hoster.

For Shopware we always need SSH access. Shopware is simply too big to work with a cheap FTP access. If you have Shopware but no SSH, you may be on the wrong hosting plan - please ask your hoster about this.

Back