Why Upgrading is Convenient in CS-Cart 4.3.1
CS-Cart Store admins upgrade their stores on the Administration → Upgrade center page. The Upgrade center receives data and upgrades the store automatically.
The Upgrade center in CS-Cart 4.3.1 inherited features from the one in earlier versions, including: auto-setting permissions, viewing contents of the upgrade package, etc.
We’ve also introduced new features that make the upgrade safer and faster.
The new Upgrade center features are first introduced in CS-Cart and Multi-Vendor 4.3.1. All future upgrades will benefit from these features.
Upgrading from 4.0.1+ to 4.3.1 itself will use older versions of the Upgrade center that don’t have these features.
Backup/Restore Improved
The Upgrade center backs up files and the database automatically during the upgrade. Images aren’t backed up.
You can back up files and the database manually on the Administration →Backup/Restore page. Manual backup allows you to back up images, attachments, and downloadable files:
If your store doesn’t work properly after the upgrade, restore the backup on the Administration → Backup/Restore page:
You also have an emergency restore option. This is useful if you cannot access your admin panel. During the upgrade, a restore.php file is created. A link to this file is sent to your admin email. Click this link to restore the backup.
Easy Database Actualization
During the upgrade, CS-Cart data and the database structure change. The database structure must be actualized so that the database works with a new CS-Cart version. To actualize the database structure, the Upgrade center uses migrations:
A migration is an instruction for the Upgrade center on renaming, creating, or removing database tables. Actualizing the database structure via migrations is safer and faster than removing and recreating the database from scratch.
Add-ons Upgrade
By default, the Upgrade center upgrades only CS-Cart including built-in add-ons. It doesn’t upgrade third-party add-ons, which is inconvenient.
Since CS-Cart flexibility is one of our priorities, now you can expand the functionality of the Upgrade center to upgrade third-party add-ons as well. To do this, develop a special add-on for the Upgrade center. If you are not familiar with CS-Cart add-ons development, hire a developer for this task.
Languages Installation
CS-Cart is a multi-language platform. Language variables are used to translate CS-Cart into different languages. Language variables stand for menu names, add-on names, settings names, etc.
If the upgrade adds new settings to the admin panel, the Upgrade center installs only those language variables that stand for these new settings names. It doesn’t reinstall existing variables as it did before, which makes the upgrade faster.
Do you find the Upgrade center in CS-Cart 4.3.1 convenient? Would you feel comfortable upgrading your store from 4.3.1 to newer versions? Share your thoughts in the comments section. We’d appreciate your feedback!
Get the latest CS-Cart news on Facebook and Twitter.
Follow CS-Cart news & promotions
Yan Anderson is the Head of Content Marketing at CS-Cart with over 10 years of experience in the eCommerce industry. He's passionate about explaining complicated things in simple terms. Yan has expertise in building, running and growing eCommerce marketplaces. He loves to educate people about best practices, new technologies, and trends in the global eCommerce industry.