With Joomla 4 on the way, some extension developers are still working on the compatibility of their extensions. Others haven’t even started yet (guys, you really should at least have started by now). And others, like AcyMailing… well, if you use it, you may know this already: AcyMailing’s latest version (7) is fully compatible with Joomla 4. Alexandre Derocq from AcyMailing is more than happy to share his thoughts on this with us.
Could you tell us a little about your extension?
AcyMailing is a newsletter and email marketing plugin for Joomla. It allows you to efficiently manage an unlimited number of subscribers, organize them into mailing lists, send personalized newsletters (Hi {name}…) and automate them. Using AcyMailing enables you to manage everything. From the subscription form to the send process. Everything is stored inside your own Joomla website so your data remains safe.
What will happen with AcyMailing when J4 is released? Will it be compatible or will you have to provide a complete new version?
AcyMailing has always been compatible with every new Joomla version. So no big changes; our plugin will still be the same and people won’t see any changes. We’ve recently released AcyMailing 7 which was one of our biggest releases, including J4 compatibility. We can’t wait to see people use it and share their feedback!
What should users do with AcyMailing when they migrate to J4? What should they expect from their extension providers in general? And what can they expect from you?
That’s a difficult question. I think the most important thing is to reduce the risks of having an issue.
So make sure to make backups before migrating to this new version and before installing the new updates.
I think Joomla users expect us to be compatible with the new version and not to make any mistakes that might lead to creating issues on their websites. The most important thing for people is to get everything working perfectly as having issues while upgrading to a new version is probably the most frustrating thing.
As a developer, would you say it is important to start preparing extensions as soon as possible?
Definitely! Well, I think it’s pretty important to have your extension compatible as soon as the new version is available. And this can be done thanks to alpha / beta versions. By doing this people can see you’re really reactive and it helps to confirm their trust in your product.
What impact do the different types of Joomla versions (alpha, beta, RC) have on the update of extensions?
We always wait for the beta version to start developing compatibility with our plugin. As soon as it is released we start checking what improvements need to be made. Then we download every new version (beta / RC) to make sure we don’t miss anything and everything is ok.
How do you expect the launch of J4 to impact your business?
I’m definitely in love with all the new J4 features. So I can’t wait for it to be released. This is an important step for the Joomla project and I’m really excited about it!
Is there anything else you would like to advise our readers regarding extensions and Joomla 4?
I really recommend them to give this new amazing version a try. There are tons of really good features and improvements. Hopefully this will be a game changing move!
