I've upgrade 99% of my blogs to 5.5RC3 most went ok but there were a few hiccups that required a few manual uploads and the testing of my backup procedures but in the end we got there.
However now I have the site i left until last ..my main blog responsible for about $20,000 income in the past few months So I am loath to mess this up!
So a few basic best practice questions.
The version on the blog is 2.2.3 Sem Pro I'll need to do a manual upgrade as i haven't got the 2.3 wizards . Should I grab a slightly later version first and upgrade in steps or should i just dive straight in with 5.5 RC3?
Should I upgrade WP via fantastico before I install 5.5 or let sem handle that?
Apart from switching off all the plugins what else should i do.?
2. Yes, go directly with 5.5-RC. Denis resolved the database upgrade bug that did effect a few users in the past when upgrading older WP installations.
The first thing I would do is to make a good copy of the files on the server and download a copy of your database. Then if anything happens, you have the comfort in knowing that your site can be restored to its original condition within an hour.
Take screenshots of the homepage and the sidebar contents. SnagIt 8.0 is a great tool for this purpose. The copy makes it much easier to restore the look and feel of your cuttent layout. Do the same with the widget page in the admin area for the same reason.
Make copies of the contents of each of the text and ad widgets, and note settings within all other widgets.
Or, instead, for additional comfort, I might even consider the creation of a duplicate site and do all work on that. In this case you can eliminate the screenshots and notes referred to above since the oroginal site will be available for reference. Then when everything works, either copy everything back to the main site, or duplicate the steps you used upgrading the backup.
If all of this seems more than you want to do yourself, I would suggest contacting the vas. Expect to pay more than the standard $25.00 though since you are talking about a $20000 site.