Recently there was an upgrade from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7. If you want to update your site there are few tips that you should follow. The upgrade process is easy and the process automatically updates any functionality from Drupal 6 to 7 and updates content to use new features when possible. Before updating your site be careful to backup all data about your site. Backup site’s files and your database(if you are using MySQL you can backup your database using phpmyadmin). Be careful with contributed modules and templates because some of them will require additional steps to update them from Drupal 6 to 7.
1. The first this that you should do is to backup all of your files in the installation directory. Pay careful attention that you have a backup copy from the “sites” folder because in that folder are stored all of the configuration files, custom themes, and contributed modules. Maybe you can make one copy from the whole site and one copy just from “sites” folder.
2. The next thing that you should do is to backup your database. If you are using MySQL you can backup all of the data trough phpmyadmin or by SSH. There is “Backup and Migrate Module” module that can help you backup your data.
3. Before starting with the upgrade process be sure to put your site in maintenance mode. Go to “Site Maintenance” and change the state of your site to maintenance mode. When you put the site in maintenance mode no one can access the site but the site’s administrator.
4. After you are done with step 4, disable any old contributed templates and modules because they may interfere with the update process. When all of the modules and themes are disabled the default theme for your site should be Garland. After that, remove all of the files of contributed modules and templates from Drupal’s directory.
Download and unpack Drupal 7 to your site’s root directory. Copy the files from the old “sites” folder to the new folder that is located in your root directory, and pay special attention that you have copied settings.php. Open settings.php and check that the information is correct. There is no need to copy the old templates to the new site.
6. The update process will start when you visit http://www.yoursite.com/update.php. After the page have been loaded, you will see a warning message to backup your files and database. Click continue and and in the next page you will see the updates that will be made during the update process. Select apply and the upgrade process will start. Be sure not to interrupt the upgrade process or refresh the page while the installation is in progress. After the installation have completed you will be presented a log message displaying all of the changes that have been made with this upgrade.
If you are looking to find quality drupal templates, then visit drupallook.com to check our list of free drupal templates with live preview.