From Joomla 3 with K2 to Joomla 6: migration of OPA Europe

A website that has been running for many years often grows into a collection of old extensions, custom developments and technical compromises. This was also the case for OPA Europe, the European organisation where leading newspaper publishers work together on digital innovation.

The website was built with Joomla 3 and made extensive use of K2 and several outdated extensions. As a result, future updates became increasingly difficult and the website was unnecessarily complex to maintain.

The challenge

OPA Europe is not an ordinary website. The platform contains hundreds of pages, a protected members area and is used by major European media companies such as Le Monde, Le Temps, Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Telegraph, The Times and Le Figaro.

The main challenge was therefore not to renew the content, but to modernise the technology without losing existing content or user permissions. The project goals were clear:

• migrate from Joomla 3 to the latest Joomla version;
• preserve all content and user permissions;
• replace outdated extensions;
• make website management easier for editors;
• create a future-proof platform.

These objectives were also defined in the project proposal.

From an outdated platform to Joomla 6

The migration was completed in phases. First, we successfully migrated the website to Joomla 5. After that, we upgraded the website to Joomla 6, giving the organisation a modern platform with long-term support.

During the migration, all existing content was preserved while the complete technical foundation was modernised.

A new template with YOOtheme Pro

The existing look and feel of the website was well recognised and did not need a complete redesign. Therefore, we rebuilt the original template as closely as possible using YOOtheme Pro.

This allowed the familiar appearance to remain while giving editors a much more flexible way to manage pages. At the same time, we created a consistent design system with reusable layouts and centrally managed styling.

Custom development where standard features were not enough

In addition to the migration, we developed several practical custom features that make daily website management much easier.

For example, we created a custom YOOtheme element that allows editors to add photo galleries without technical knowledge. We also developed a solution to share PDF documents without exposing the direct file URL to visitors.

This keeps website management simple while providing better protection for sensitive documents.

The result

OPA Europe now has a modern Joomla 6 website that is ready for many years to come.

The website is easier to maintain, more secure, faster to update and much easier for editors to manage. At the same time, all existing content, user structures and functionality have been preserved.

This project is a good example of how a complex Joomla migration can be completed without compromising continuity or ease of use.