Transition Strategy for VM2.6 -> VM3.x

[Hammerhead]

I am working on a site for a client who needs Joomla's 3.x benefits, but also wants an online store.  Since VM is not yet J3.x ready as yet, what would you guys think about a strategy that would look like this:

• Deploy a J3 install as the main site (and also for components which are currently J3 compatible)
• Deploy a parallel J2 plain vanilla VirtueMart install
• Redirect via wrapper from the J3 site to the J2 site strictly for purchases
• When VM3 is ready, migrate the tables (and media) from the J2 install to the J3 site and install VM3 as new?

Just trying to think of a way to make it happen.  Looking forward to your input...

[balai]

Hi

I think that the best strategy is to build the site in J2.5 and then migrate to J3. According to the joomla team, the migration will be smooth enough.
This is what i am doing.
I don't think that there are important functionalities offered in J3 that cannot be found in J2.5. Either as core features or by 3rd parties.

[jenkinhill]

I build VM sites on J2.5 at the moment. Migration of 2.5 sites to J3.x is easy, in most cases it is just the Joomla template that needs changing.  I have migrated several 2.5 sites to 3.x with no pain and the only issue is that generally the J3 sites run slower than J2.5

AFAIK VM will not work for purchases within an iframe (wrapper) due to url/session issues.

[Hammerhead]

Unfortunately building in J2.5 is not an option.  This client really needs the bootstrap framework because a large portion of his clients are on mobile devices, and we're already well into development by now before this need came up, so we're not going back.

If I were to build a separate site in 2.5 strictly for VM and use it as a standalone system, how would one go about moving the VM installation from a J2.5 site into a J3 site?  Will there be an export/import utility that would make such a transition possible?

As a last resort, can any of you comment on this?
http://www.rupostel.com/joomla/hacks/virtuemart-for-joomla-3

Thanks in advance.

[balai]

Come on
There is a bunch of  J2.5 templates using boostrap.

Also the libraries you will use in your templates cannot be limited by the Jooma version. You can use whichever library/framework you like

[jenkinhill]

All J2.5 sites I build now are responsive, some using bootstrap, and when VM3 is stable and they have stopped adding new gimmicks into J3.x then I will migrate all my VM sites. The migration is easy, assuming that J3 compatible modules and plugins are available, with only the Joomla template likely to be causing problems.

Rupostel provides testing builds of VM2.9 for those who don't use SVN, the more people who help testing then the sooner a J3 version of VM will be available. Public builds will be available soon on dev.virtuemart.net

[Hammerhead]

Well, for those of you who have far greater experience, perhaps it's hard to imagine that there are those of us who do work for others with even less experience than we have, and without having a crystal ball, it's often hard to know for sure what a customer is going to want before they do themselves.

So, that said, if I revert to a J2.x install (ugh!), what would you guys recommend in the way of a mobile framework for this project?  Is it strictly a matter of the template we select?  I've never had to make a J2.x site 'mobile ready' the way that J3 is now.

Thanks again!