Should I wait for Joomla 1.6

I received the following email last week

"Should we stall new clients until 1.6 is released, or build their sites on 1.5 knowing there will be some future re-work to migrate them to 1.6?  Maybe we should build now on 1.5 and leave them on 1.5?"

As I was writing a reply I realised that it might be better to appear here on the blog for others to read (and perhaps even comment).

There are several things you need to appreciate:

1. No one knows when Joomla 1.6 will be released. Making a guess will be futile, it will be released when it's ready and not before.
2. Even when Joomla 1.6 is released there is no need to "migrate" to it unless you need some of the specific new features such as improved ACL and nested categories.
3. It is not currently possible to even be certain how, if at all, a site could be "migrated" and what that will entail. Experience moving from Joomla 1.0 to Joomla 1.5 suggests that unless your site is only using regular content it will require more than a little re-working
4. If you will be using any third party extensions then you will of course also have to rely on those developers to update their extension for Joomla 1.6 as well. How much work that will entail is still relatively unknown, for some it will be fairly minor.

Personally I would never attempt to stall a client, that just gives them the opportunity to go somewhere else.

At the start of any new project I gather all their data and then do an analysis of their requirement. With the results of that I can then start to work out what the best tools for completing the job.

1. If all their requirements can be achieved in Joomla 1.5 (with or without extensions) then I would start right away building their site.
2. If there is an essential "need" that is not possible in Joomla 1.5 but is in 1.6 then I would probably be looking at another CMS, that does satisfy their needs, rather than waiting an unknown time for a solution that may or may not be what you need.

So if I have made the decision to build the site in Joomla 1.5 will I be considering "migrating" it to 1.6 when that is released?

The simple answer to that is NO.

1. Will your client really want to pay you to build the site twice (OK maybe more like 1.5 times but you get the point)?
2. Will your client really want to learn all the different methods 1.6 will use to do the same (or similar) things that they have already invested time learning how to do in 1.5?
3. If it ain't broke then don't fix it

If anything above sounds like I am being negative about Joomla 1.6 I am not. I am looking forward to many of the new features and possibilities that it will bring, some more than others of course but who is ever totally happy?

So to answer the original email request.

If you or your client need a web site and Joomla 1.5 will satisfy the requirements then just get started building it now.