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Dec, Mon, 2025
Magento Upgrade Checklist – Complete 2025 Pre & Post Upgrade Guide
A Magento upgrade can break themes, extensions, checkout, APIs, and even the admin panel if not planned properly.
This 37-step Magento Upgrade Checklist ensures a safe, stable, and error-free upgrade to Magento 2.4.7 (or any version).
Bookmark this page before upgrading.
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✅ WHY YOU NEED A MAGENTO UPGRADE CHECKLIST
Magento upgrades fail mainly due to:
- Incompatible extensions
- Deprecated custom modules
- Theme conflicts
- PHP/OpenSearch version mismatch
- Poor testing
- Missing backups
This checklist prevents exactly those issues.
🟦 SECTION 1 — Pre-Upgrade Checklist (Before You Touch Anything)
This is the most important part.
Skipping pre-checks causes 90% of upgrade failures.
1. System & Server Readiness
✔ Check PHP version (Magento 2.4.7 requires PHP 8.2)
✔ Check MySQL/MariaDB version
✔ Ensure Elasticsearch → OpenSearch migration readiness
✔ Check Composer version
✔ Confirm enough disk space (minimum 10–15 GB free)
✔ Update hosting stack if needed
2. Create Full Backups (Non-Negotiable)
✔ Database backup
✔ Code backup
✔ Media backup
✔ env.php & config.php backup
✔ Store backup on external location (Drive/S3/github)
3. Audit All Extensions
✔ List every installed module
✔ Check version compatibility with Magento 2.4.7
✔ Note extensions needing subscription renewal
✔ Identify extensions that must be replaced
✔ Disable unused/outdated modules (saves cost)
4. Theme Compatibility Check
✔ Identify if theme supports 2.4.7
✔ Check for custom theme overrides
✔ Clone theme folder before upgrade
✔ Verify JS/CSS libraries for compatibility
✔ Check RequireJS patches and LESS/SASS status
5. Custom Modules Audit
✔ Review all custom modules
✔ Check deprecated classes/functions
✔ Remove unused features
✔ Document modules that need rewrite
✔ Validate observer/plugins/events
6. Third-Party Integrations
✔ Payment gateways
✔ Shipping APIs
✔ ERP/CRM connections
✔ Marketing extensions
✔ Admin dashboards
Ensure version support.
7. Create UAT/Staging Environment
✔ Copy production to staging
✔ Apply IP lock
✔ Switch to developer mode
✔ Test upgrade here first (never on live)
🟩 SECTION 2 — Upgrade Execution Checklist
8. Enable Maintenance Mode
✔ Prevent live users from accessing store
✔ Inform management/client
9. Clean the Code & Composer Setup
✔ Remove unused packages
✔ Update composer.json
✔ Ensure correct repo URLs
✔ Lock versions where needed
10. Run the Upgrade Commands
Typical commands:
composer update
php bin/magento setup:upgrade
php bin/magento setup:di:compile
php bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy -f
php bin/magento cache:flush
11. Database Upgrade & Schema Validation
✔ Fix DB warnings
✔ Check table conflicts
✔ Validate foreign keys
✔ Reindex data
12. Extension Fixing Phase
✔ Update modules
✔ Patch incompatible code
✔ Replace outdated modules
✔ Fix plugin/observer issues
13. Theme Fixing Phase
✔ Resolve JS errors
✔ Fix broken layouts
✔ Update templates
✔ Validate CSS build
✔ Test storefront pages
14. API, Payment & Shipping Testing
✔ Test checkout
✔ Test payment methods
✔ Verify API returns
✔ Check shipping methods
✔ Validate admin order create
🟧 SECTION 3 — Post-Upgrade Checklist
15. Full Functional Testing
✔ Homepage
✔ Category pages
✔ Product pages
✔ Cart / Mini cart
✔ Checkout
✔ Login / Register
✔ Contact forms
16. Admin Panel Testing
✔ Orders
✔ Invoices
✔ Credit memos
✔ Catalog updates
✔ Stock management
✔ Promotions
17. API, Webhook & Cron Validation
✔ Fix 401/403 auth issues
✔ Run cron jobs
✔ Review logs in var/log
✔ Fix failed jobs
18. Security & Performance Testing
✔ Validate reCAPTCHA
✔ Enable production mode
✔ Test speed
✔ Check server error logs
✔ Enable 2FA
19. SEO Testing
✔ Check robots.txt
✔ Check sitemap.xml
✔ Validate canonical URLs
✔ Validate structured data
✔ Run Lighthouse SEO test
20. Final Deployment Plan
✔ Prepare downtime window
✔ Backup staging
✔ Sync code
✔ Sync media
✔ Run deploy script
✔ Switch off maintenance mode
🟪 SECTION 4 — Post-Go-Live Checklist
This is after the upgrade goes live.
21. Monitor Live Logs
✔ error.log
✔ system.log
✔ debug.log
22. Verify Orders for First 24 Hours
✔ Successful transactions
✔ Failed payment logs
✔ Shipping rates
✔ Email triggers
23. Client/Admin Training
✔ New features
✔ Process changes
✔ Admin improvements
🟫 SECTION 5 — Complete 37-Point Checklist Summary
Here is the compressed 37-step list you can also turn into a PDF:
- PHP version check
- MySQL/MariaDB version check
- OpenSearch readiness
- Composer updated
- Disk space check
- Server stack updated
- DB backup
- Code backup
- Media backup
- env/config backup
- Extension list
- Extension compatibility
- Remove unused modules
- Theme compatibility review
- Theme override audit
- Custom module audit
- Deprecated code check
- Plugin/observer review
- API/integration review
- Create staging
- Maintenance mode ON
- Clean composer
- Update composer.json
- Run upgrade commands
- Database fix
- Extension fix
- Theme fix
- Checkout testing
- Payment testing
- API testing
- Full store testing
- Admin testing
- Cron jobs testing
- Security settings
- Speed testing
- Final deployment
- Post-live monitoring
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📝 FAQ (With Schema if you want)
1. Why do Magento upgrades fail?
Mostly due to incompatible extensions and outdated themes.
2. What version should I upgrade to in 2025?
Magento 2.4.7 is the latest stable version.
3. Should I upgrade directly or step-by-step?
Direct upgrade works if all modules support the target version.
4. How long does a Magento upgrade take?
1–2 days for small stores, 5–12 days for complex stores.
