Which version of WHMCS is currently best? (features, security, stability, least bugs)

[PC-Mike]

I am interested to know which version of WHMCS people currently recommend to install.

 

I am still back on the v4.4 branch and am considering an upgrade, but unsure whether to upgrade, and if so, to which branch.

 

Please answer the poll as to which branch you recommend as best (ie most stable, best features, most secure, least bugs etc.)

 

If you recommend an exact sub-version within that branch, that is not the latest (eg v5.1.3), then post that in the thread.

 

If you currently have a different version installed than you recommend, please answer poll for recommendation, but post in thread which version you are using.

 

Thanks.

[ditto]

The security pathces caused many problems in previous 5.0.x and 5.1.x too, so there is not much of a choice here - if you know every version will break a lot of things, then you might as well choose the newest one and get it over with. Thats what I did. Upgraded from 5.0.3 to 5.2.2 - but there is problems - now I am only waiting for next release, hoping that they fix the most critical bugs. I am not happy this days.

[PC-Mike]

Oh, and one more thought.... I guess in our minds, one version might be more stable, but a different version might have best features, and yet another version have best security etc.

 

In the poll, I'm looking for the "balanced answer" that takes all these things into account for the poll result. However, if you want to discuss the detailed reasons behind the answer, you can do so on the thread, as I think that will help us all. You can also comment on the thread the breakdown of which version is most stable, and which is most feature packed, and which is most secure etc.

 

I suspect there are a range of opinions on this, and I expect there are a range of versions still in use because there hasn't been an "ideal" version for a while...

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

Mike

[PC-Mike]

Thanks for the votes, so far. Also thanks Ditto for your thoughts, that is the general vibe I was picking up from the forums.

 

Currently v4.5.x is jointly most popular with v5.2.x (with 3 votes each), although the numbers are currently too small to be statistically reliable, but it is an interesting trend. I'm guessing that the choices come down to - latest version wins on features, and v4.5.x is being rated for stability and lack of bugs. Certainly I think my personal choices come down to stay on v4.4.x for now, upgrade to v4.5.x (which seems almost pointless bothering, but has reliability in its favour), or jump to v5.5.2 (which seems risky and might cause problems I need to fix). The point is I'm going to need the features of the v5 series soon-ish, so will need to leap eventually.

 

I think that v4.5.x still being popular does show up what a mixed bag all the v5.x.x branches have been though. If any of the v5.x.x branches got a stable, bug-free release, like v4.5.x, I suspect it would easily top the charts. Encouragingly v5.5.2 is obviously heading in the right direction though, so there is hope for the future if the remaining bugs get squashed.

 

Keep voting though. I'd also love to hear some more opinions around this topic too.

[R-n-R]

Encouragingly v5.5.2 is obviously heading in the right direction though, so there is hope for the future if the remaining bugs get squashed.

 

 

Lets hope that when v5.5.2 comes in late next year or the year after, that is a lot better than 5.2.X

[PC-Mike]

Ha ha! (Whoops!). I will correct the typo above...

[PC-Mike]

Oh, it won't let me change the typo. Never mind. Everywhere I put v5.5.2 above, I obviously meant v5.2.2 !!!

 

Now.... the results look quite different already anyway!

 

v5.1.x has overtaken v4.5.x into second place, and both that and v5.2.x have left the v4 series for dust. This is understandable since I've seen many forum comments talking about v5.1.3 as their favourite (or least worst option!), in fact I was surprised that whole line only had one vote previously.

 

So current conclusion looks like, despite all the problems and noise about the v5 series, that v5.1.x and v5.2.x are still the most recommended. I am suspecting the new features are too "must have" to turn down. Still lots of grumbles around the forums about bugs on the v5 series though, so many people are desparate for less bugs and more stability. Will we get that stability in a future v5.2.x release? Or must we wait for a whole new branch v5.x.x

 

Am I right in my babbling assessments? What are your opinions?

 

Of course these stats will change and get more reliable the more people vote, and statistical anomalies will be reduced further. So keep voting too....

 

Thank you all for your input, it is most helpful!

 

Mike

[PC-Mike]

I thought some of you might be interested to see how the results looked at the point that v5.2.3 was released, in case this new release makes the v5.2.x branch much more stable and highly favoured and drastically changes the voting results in the poll from here onwards:

 

 

As can be seen, v5.2.x is already the leading branch, but looking at the release notes for v5.2.3 there are LOTS of bug fixes in there. It will be interesting to see if v5.2.x branch now pulls right away from the others as it gains popularity, or whether the new release fixes some bugs, but also just adds a stack of new bugs into the mix. Ideally it would be nice to zero the results of the poll at this point, and start the vote again from scratch now the new release available (but the Poll options doesn't let me do that in this forum!), so we could all vote again with our new opinions.

 

Mike

Edited March 29, 2013 by PC-Mike

[PC-Mike]

I've personally just moved from v4.4.2 to v5.2.3 this week (in part due to the votes here - plus my reading around the forums), and I've seen no problems in the shift. I'm glad I waited until now, but equally, I'm glad I'm not still waiting!

 

This looks to be a good branch developing... and will hopefully only get better from here onwards.

 

Mike

[Infopro]

I agree with PC-Mike.

[PC-Mike]

I was was pretty sure that with v5.2.3 a definite corner was turned for the better (which is why I finally decided to upgrade now). Sure enough, this morning, votes for v5.2.x branch have leapt up.

I think if we were to zero the poll results and start the same survey again now, we'd see an even higher preference for the latest branch emerge, as you have to remember, this survey was started in the thick of the problems in version 5.2.2 so voters had every reason to pick other branches as the best back then.

 

Poll is due to close soon anyway. Love to see a last minute flurry of opinions...

 

Mike

Edited April 4, 2013 by PC-Mike

[And then there was one les]

If you have a version installed that is working as you want it to, then hold on an upgrade until there is a feature that will benefit your clients/support team.

 

I find that incremental upgrades while pleasing to know you use the latest versions often bring with them more headaches than the increment is worth.

 

Obviously this is not always the case. Im on version 5.1 now, i noted one major change in the upgrade from 4 to 5 and that was the language files changed from .txt to .php. There were more changes but that was the notable change in my mind because it stopped certain things working as they had before in my templates.

 

I manually repaired the problem and all was right.

 

It is worth noting that the templates we use also change from time to time. Whether due a restructure of the templates by WHMCS or a Smarty engine upgrade things can suddenly go wrong in what was a previously working installation.

 

I guess the summary to my response is a very simple one, Always perform an upgrade on a development system and not on your live installation. At least that way you can iron out the bugs before you upgrade your live system and annoy all of your customers.

 

Just my two pence, for what it is worth.

 

A side note:: If you have installed any contributions from the community it might be advisable to hold on any upgrade whilst you contact the providers of those addons. There has definitely been a change in the way WHMCS handles Smarty on the backend. Many people have reported modules failing after the upgrade for that very reason.

 

Happy upgrading

Edited April 6, 2013 by CDJ Hosting