Upgrading an existing web site to a newer version of a content management system can a be tricky thing: You not only have to make sure that all sections of your web site look and work like on the old system, but of course you also want to take advantage of the newer features.
My test drive of the new features
Examining and evaluating new features takes up by far most of the time in such an upgrade process. Reading about them is one thing, but adapting them to your needs and the look of your web site is another. While doing so, you learn about some restrictions that you would not have expected, and even discover some small bugs that occur in these real-life, yet rare circumstances that were not foreseen or tested before.
But it is a necessary step in the process: Once properly completed it makes planning new web sites an easier task. Knowing where the restrictions are means that you navigate around them before you start the development on a client’s site.
No transition is without a bump here or there
The actual upgrade of the existing site wasn't more complicated than previous updates. I was however, bumping into some problems with the import-export feature with my upgraded version. And once again, I must say that the support from Kentico was outstanding! I received all the help necessary to fix my problems. The support team jumped in with relish and got me over the bumps.
For everyone who is planning to upgrade their version, have a quick look at the bugtracker page that is listing all available hotfixes.
Practical, neat new features
A new feature that I found extremely helpful in this updating process was error notification. You can now specify an e-mail address that receives all errors/exceptions that your site experiences. If something is wrong with your site, you will know about it right after the first users comes across the error. This allows you to stay ahead of the curve and ahead of multiple user error issues for your clients – you’ll know the error existed long before they can come back to you with them. A great advantage for you and your clients!
I was also pleased with the new way you can handle blog comments, the automatic creation of aliases when you move or rename a page and the integration of Google sitemaps. All these are features that and will be applied to make life easier for us and our clients.
And on this site?
I must admit, there is not much new so far, except that my editor Alice O'Brien (without whom this blog would not be here) and I can now write and edit posts without logging onto the cmsdesk. And the blog post notifications are now enabled. But stay tuned, there is more to come.