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AIXTOR Technologies
AIXTOR Technologies

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How to Migrate Liferay 7 to 7.4: A Comprehensive Guide

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 is not just a technical upgrade—it's a strategic move toward modernizing your digital infrastructure. Liferay 7.4 brings enhanced low-code tools, robust headless APIs, personalized user experiences, and streamlined content delivery, making it a valuable upgrade for businesses running on Liferay 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, or 7.3.

However, a Liferay migration can be complex without proper planning, especially with custom modules, themes, and integrations in place. That’s where professional Liferay migration services help ensure a secure, error-free transition with minimal downtime.

What’s New in Liferay 7.4?

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Key Enhancements in Liferay 7.4:

  • Liferay Objects: Build and manage custom objects without code
  • Low-Code/No-Code Tools: Empower business users to configure applications
  • Enhanced Search & Filtering: Elasticsearch 7.x integration
  • Improved Accessibility: WCAG 2.1 support
  • Headless CMS Enhancements: Stronger RESTful and GraphQL APIs
  • Cloud Support & DevOps: Native support for cloud deployments

These enhancements improve development speed, security, and user engagement across your portal.

Liferay 7 to 7.4 Migration: Step-by-Step Guide

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 involves more than just deploying new code. Below is a breakdown of the essential steps to guide your transition:

1. Pre-Migration Planning

Before initiating the migration:

1. Assess Your Current Setup:

  • List custom modules, themes, portlets, and third-party integrations
  • Identify deprecated APIs and obsolete functionality

2. Set Migration Goals:

  • Performance optimization
  • UI/UX redesign
  • Feature upgrades

3. Create Backups:

  • Full backup of database, files, and custom code
  • Use Git or another version control system

4. Evaluate Hardware/Hosting Requirements:

  • Ensure the infrastructure supports Liferay 7.4

2. Analyze Breaking Changes

Review Liferay’s official documentation to understand breaking changes introduced in 7.4. Key areas include:

  • Deprecated taglibs and APIs
  • OSGi component lifecycle
  • Upgraded versions of AlloyEditor, Elasticsearch, and others

3. Upgrade Development Environment

Update your development tools and dependencies:

  • Use the latest Blade CLI version
  • Update build.gradle or pom.xml files for custom modules
  • Migrate legacy code to use supported APIs

🛠️ Tip: The Upgrade Planner Tool (available via Liferay IDE) helps detect deprecated code and dependencies.

4. Database & Theme Migration

  • Run upgrade:execute or upgrade:check to migrate database schemas
  • Update themes using the Liferay Theme Generator
  • Test all frontend components for responsiveness and accessibility

5. Testing & QA

  • Conduct unit, integration, and UI testing
  • Validate workflows, asset publishers, and permission structures
  • Use both manual and automated testing (e.g., Selenium)

6. Go Live & Monitor

  • Deploy the upgraded codebase to the production server
  • Monitor logs for errors or exceptions
  • Provide user training for updated workflows and UI features

Why Use Professional Liferay Migration Services?

Partnering with certified experts like Aixtor offers:

  • End-to-end migration support
  • Code refactoring and plugin compatibility
  • Zero data loss and minimal downtime
  • Post-migration support and performance optimization

Conclusion: Migrate Smarter, Not Harder

Migrating to Liferay 7.4 isn’t just about staying updated—it’s about embracing a smarter, more scalable platform that enables innovation. By planning carefully, understanding architectural changes, and leveraging expert Liferay migration services, you can ensure a successful transition that drives long-term business value.

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