# SEO Panel Upgrade

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Critical - Read Before Upgrading

- **Always backup** your database and files before upgrading
- Test the upgrade on a staging environment first if possible
- Plan for maintenance window - put site in maintenance mode
- Keep the old version until you confirm the upgrade is successful
- Document your current version and target version

## Upgrade Methods

**Method 1: Quick Upgrade (Recommended for Beginners)**

Use **Bitnami / Softaculous / Installatron / Webuzo / AMPPS** one-click upgrade tools.

**Method 2: Manual Upgrade**

Follow the detailed steps below for manual upgrade with full control.

**Method 3: Docker Upgrade**

See Docker Upgrade section for containerized deployments.

## Pre-Upgrade Checklist

Before starting the upgrade, complete these essential steps:

1. **Check Current Version**  
   Log in to SEO Panel and note your current version from the dashboard.

2. **Review Release Notes**  
   Visit [https://www.seopanel.org/changelog/](/content/changelog/index.html) to review changes and breaking updates.

3. **Check PHP Compatibility**  
   Ensure your server meets the requirements for the new version:
   
   
   ```
   php -v  # Should be PHP 7.4 or higher
   ```

4. **Verify Disk Space**  
   Ensure you have enough disk space (at least 500MB free recommended).

5. **Put Site in Maintenance Mode**  
   Create a maintenance page or use your hosting control panel to enable maintenance mode.

## Complete Backup Procedure

**Critical:** Never skip this step!

1. **Backup Database**  
   
   ```
   # Using mysqldump
   mysqldump -u seopanel_user -p seopanel_db > seopanel_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql

# Or using MySQL Workbench / phpMyAdmin export feature
   ```

2. **Backup Files**  
   
   ```
   # Create complete backup of SEO Panel directory
   tar -czf seopanel_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).tar.gz /path/to/seopanel/

# Or using FTP client, download the entire seopanel folder
   ```

3. **Verify Backups**  
   
   ```
   # Check backup file exists and has content
   ls -lh seopanel_backup_*.sql
   ls -lh seopanel_backup_*.tar.gz
   ```

4. **Store Backups Safely**  
   - Copy backups to a different server or local machine
   - Do not store backups in the same directory as SEO Panel

## Manual Upgrade Steps

01. **Rename Current Installation**  
   
   ```
   # Via SSH/Terminal
   cd /var/www/html  # or your web root
   mv seopanel seopanel_old_$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Or via FTP: Rename seopanel to seopanel_old
   ```
   
   This preserves your old installation for quick rollback if needed.

02. **Download Latest Version**  
   
   ```
   # Download latest version
   wget https://www.seopanel.org/download/seo-panel-latest.zip

# Or download from: https://www.seopanel.org/download/
   ```

03. **Extract New Version**  
   
   ```
   # Extract the package
   unzip seo-panel-latest.zip

# Rename to your desired directory name
   mv seopanel-x.x.x seopanel
   ```
   
   Or extract locally and upload via FTP to your web server.

04. **Copy Configuration File**  
   
   ```
   # Copy your old config to new installation
   cp seopanel_old_*/config/sp-config.php seopanel/config/

# If that file doesn't exist, copy from sample
   cp seopanel/config/sp-config-sample.php seopanel/config/sp-config.php
   ```

05. **Update Configuration Settings**  
   Edit **config/sp-config.php** with your existing database credentials:
   
   ```
   <?php
   # The web path or url to access seo panel through browser.
   define('SP_WEBPATH', 'https://yourdomain.com/seopanel');

# DB settings - Use your existing database credentials
   define('DB_NAME', 'seopanel_db');
   define('DB_USER', 'seopanel_user');
   define('DB_PASSWORD', 'your_secure_password');
   define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

# Database type (mysqli is recommended for PHP 7+)
   define('DB_ENGINE', 'mysqli');
   ?>
   ```
   
   **Important:** Update SP_WEBPATH to use HTTPS if you have SSL enabled.

06. **Copy Custom Files and Plugins**  
   
   ```
   # Copy custom plugins
   cp -r seopanel_old_*/plugins/custom_* seopanel/plugins/

# Copy custom themes (if any)
   cp -r seopanel_old_*/themes/custom_* seopanel/themes/

# Copy any custom uploads or data
   cp -r seopanel_old_*/uploads/* seopanel/uploads/
   ```

07. **Set File Permissions**  
   
   ```
   # Set proper ownership (replace www-data with your web server user)
   chown -R www-data:www-data seopanel/

# Set directory permissions
   find seopanel/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;

# Set file permissions
   find seopanel/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

# Set tmp directory writable
   chmod 755 seopanel/tmp/
   ```

08. **Run Database Upgrade**  
   Visit the upgrade script in your web browser:

`https://yourdomain.com/seopanel/install/upgrade.php`
   
   **Follow the upgrade wizard:**
   
   - The system will detect your current version
   - Review the changes to be made
   - Click “Proceed” to start the database upgrade

09. **Complete Upgrade**  
   After successful database upgrade:
   
   ```
   # Remove install directory (Critical for security!)
   rm -rf seopanel/install/

# Or via FTP: Delete the install folder
   ```

10. **Verify Upgrade**  
   - Log in to SEO Panel admin panel
   - Check the version number in the dashboard
   - Test key functionality:
     \- Check websites are listed correctly
     \- Run a quick rank check
     \- Verify reports are accessible
     \- Test user permissions

## Post-Upgrade Tasks

1. **Clear Cache**  
   
   ```
   # Clear application cache
   rm -rf seopanel/tmp/cache/*
   ```

2. **Test All Features**  
   - Verify all plugins are working
   - Check scheduled tasks/cron jobs
   - Test API integrations (MOZ, Google, etc.)
   - Verify email notifications

3. **Update Cron Jobs**  
   Check if cron job paths need updating:
   
   ```
   # Edit crontab
   crontab -e

# Ensure paths point to new installation
   */30 * * * * php /var/www/html/seopanel/cron.php
   ```

4. **Disable Maintenance Mode**  
   Remove maintenance page and restore normal operation.

5. **Monitor for Issues**  
   - Check error logs: `seopanel/tmp/logs/`
   - Monitor server logs for any PHP errors
   - Watch for user-reported issues

6. **Keep Old Version Temporarily**  
   Keep `seopanel_old_*` directory for 7-14 days before deleting, in case rollback is needed.

## Docker Upgrade

For Docker-based installations:

1. **Backup Database**  
   
   ```
   # Backup database from Docker container
   docker exec seopanel_mysql mysqldump -u seopanel_user -pYOUR_PASSWORD seopanel_db > backup.sql
   ```

2. **Update docker-compose.yml**  
   Update the SEO Panel image version or rebuild with new code:
   
   ```
   services:
        seopanel:
          image: php:8.1-apache  # Update PHP version if needed
          # ... rest of configuration
   ```

3. **Pull New Images**  
   
   ```
   docker-compose pull
   ```

4. **Stop Containers**  
   
   ```
   docker-compose down
   ```

5. **Update Application Files**  
   
   ```
   # Download and extract new version to mounted volume
   cd /path/to/docker/volumes/seopanel
   wget https://www.seopanel.org/download/seo-panel-latest.zip
   unzip seo-panel-latest.zip
   # Copy files to mounted directory
   ```

6. **Start Containers**  
   
   ```
   docker-compose up -d
   ```

7. **Run Upgrade Script**  
   Access upgrade.php through your browser and follow the wizard.

8. **Remove Install Directory**  
   
   ```
   docker exec seopanel rm -rf /var/www/html/install
   ```

## Rollback Procedure

If the upgrade fails or causes issues:

1. **Stop Web Server** (if possible)  
   
   ```
   sudo systemctl stop apache2  # or nginx
   ```

2. **Restore Database**  
   
   ```
   # Drop current database and restore backup
   mysql -u root -p -e "DROP DATABASE seopanel_db;"
   mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE seopanel_db CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
   mysql -u seopanel_user -p seopanel_db < seopanel_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.sql
   ```

3. **Restore Files**  
   
   ```
   # Remove failed upgrade
   rm -rf seopanel/
   
   # Restore old version
   mv seopanel_old_YYYYMMDD seopanel
   ```

4. **Restart Web Server**  
   
   ```
   sudo systemctl start apache2  # or nginx
   ```

5. **Verify Rollback**  
   - Access SEO Panel and confirm it’s working
   - Check that you’re back to the previous version

## Troubleshooting Upgrade Issues

**Issue: Database upgrade fails**

- Check database user has ALTER, CREATE, DROP privileges
- Verify database connection settings in sp-config.php
- Check MySQL/PHP error logs for specific errors
- Try running upgrade.php again (it should be safe to re-run)

**Issue: White screen after upgrade**

- Enable PHP error display temporarily
- Check file permissions (644 for files, 755 for directories)
- Verify PHP version compatibility
- Check Apache/Nginx error logs

**Issue: Plugins not working**

- Deactivate and reactivate plugins
- Check plugin compatibility with new version
- Update plugins to latest versions
- Check plugin directory permissions

**Issue: Missing data after upgrade**

- This should not happen if upgrade completed successfully
- Restore from backup and try upgrade again
- Check database tables are present: `SHOW TABLES LIKE 'seopanel_%';`

**Issue: Performance degraded after upgrade**

- Clear all caches: `rm -rf seopanel/tmp/cache/*`
- Optimize database tables
- Check PHP memory_limit and max_execution_time
- Review new version’s system requirements

## Version-Specific Upgrade Notes

**Upgrading from very old versions (3.x to 4.x)**

- Major version upgrades may require intermediate upgrades
- Review all changelogs between versions
- Expect longer upgrade time for database migrations
- Consider fresh install + data migration for very old versions

**PHP Version Upgrades**

If upgrading PHP version alongside SEO Panel:

- Test compatibility thoroughly
- Update PHP extensions as needed
- Review deprecated PHP functions in custom code
- Update configuration files if needed

## Support Resources

If you encounter issues during upgrade:

- Official Documentation: [https://www.seopanel.org/docs/](/content/docs/index.html)
- GitHub Issues: [https://github.com/seopanel/seopanel](https://github.com/seopanel/seopanel)
- Support System: Open a ticket through the official website

**Before contacting support, gather:**

- Current SEO Panel version
- Target upgrade version
- PHP version (`php -v`)
- MySQL version (`mysql -V`)
- Error messages from logs
- Steps you’ve already tried