Upgrade Sitefinity CMS

RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that you always upgrade to the latest version. The procedures included in this section describe how to upgrade to version Sitefinity 15.3.

Use the upgrade procedure that corresponds to the Sitefinity CMS version you are currently running on.

Before you upgrade your Sitefinity CMS, ensure the following:

• You have backed up your project and its database.
• You are familiar with the API changes for the Sitefinity CMS release you are upgrading to. For more information, see API breaking changes in Sitefinity CMS.
• You have upgraded your Microsoft .NET framework to the respective version.
  For more information, see Reference: Sitefinity CMS and .NET framework compatibility.
• Your project is not located in a folder that has any special characters in the name, such as ~\Program Files (x86).

• If your project is on Sitefinity CMS 10.0 or newer, you must use Sitefinity CLI to upgrade.
  Sitefinity CLI upgrades the project, installs the NuGet packages automatically, and has the following advantages:
  • CLI automatically handles broken or missing references
    
  • The target framework of the upgraded project is automatically set to the relevant Sitefinity CMS framework version.
    
  • The CLI automatically fixes binding redirects
    
  • All Sitefinity projects in the solution are automatically upgraded without the need to manually go through them.
    
  • You can include it as a step in a Continuous integration pipeline.
    
• If your project is on Sitefinity CMS 8.0 to 9.2, you must use NuGet package to upgrade.
  

  IMPORTANT: When upgrading to Sitefinity 15.3 using NuGet packages you must use the NuGet package manager console and include the -IncludePrerelease flag in thecommand. For instance, Update-Package Telerik.Sitefinity.All -IncludePrerelease. 

  
  By updating the version of Telerik.Sitefinity.All package, you upgrade all Sitefinity CMS related packages in your projects.
  As of Sitefinity CMS version 11.0 NuGet takes care of updating the project references and applying the necessary web.config changes automatically.
• If your project in on Sitefinity CMS 7.3 or lower, you must use the 8.0 version of the Project Manager to upgrade it to Sitefinity CMS 8.0, then upgrade it using the NuGet package.
  The Project Manager adds the new assemblies to the bin folder, and also offers the option to automatically upgrade your web.config file and assembly references.