Upgrading Joomla 2.5 to Joomla 3.x.x

All of you running Joomla 2.5.x must be pretty excited to upgrade your Joomla 2.5.x to this pretty awesome and new Joomla 3. So guys, we are writing this tut for those people out there who is excited and would like to upgrade their J2.5 to J3.

Please note that Joomla! 2.5 Life ends on December 31st, 2014 and you can continue using it. But if you really want to get a taste of the new J3, then Read on!

• Backup Backup Backup. Please backup your site before continuing any of the steps mentioned below. Create a full backup of your website using Akeeba Backup or any other backup solutions that are available for Joomla!. Also you can do a manual backup(if you know how to)..
• Check if your server is compatible with Joomla 3. You can refer to this doc located at http://www.joomla.org/technical-requirements.html. If your server doesn't meet the said requirements then you should stop at this stage. But most of the decent host will meet the requirements for Joomla 3. So this is not a problem, i guess.
• Make sure you are running the latest version of Joomla 2.5. As of this writing, the current version of Joomla 2.5 is Joomla 2.5.17. Also make sure that all your extension that are installed on the site are running its latest version.
• Check if the extensions that are installed on your sites have J3 compatible version. You can do this by visiting the sites of the extension's developer. Please make sure your templates too have a J3 compatible version. Make a note of those extensions which are not compatible.
• Disable or uninstall all those extensions which are not compatible with Joomla3. Make sure you do not disable or uninstall core Joomla extensions.
• Now go to Components, then Joomla Update and then Options which is located on top right

• Now from this Pop Up window, change the Update Server from Long Term Support(recommended) to Short Term Support. Save it.

• After you save it, you must be getting a screen something like

• If You do not get the above screen and if Joomla is saying the installed version is the latest, then head to Extension Manager > Update and then hit Purge Cache(on top right) and then click on Find Updates. After this, you will be showing the above screen when you head to Components > Joomla Update
• Now, Click Install the Update. wait for a few mins/sec. Now, your site must be updated to the latest J3 version.
• Check on Extensions > Extension Manager and then Database, make sure there are no errors. If you see errors, click on Fix button on top right.
• Now install your template, which must be J3 compatible.
• Also, install the extension which have J3 compatible version.

That's it Guys.. I think that was too easy.

If you ever run into problems, make sure to write about it on the comments, we would love to help you out.