I am not on  DNN 3.7.7 and have been thinking to upgrade ever since there was DNN 4, I have read everything on how to upgrade... but the problem is I am not a programmer and all I do is use dnn  as CMS because I found it simple and easiest one of all cms I have tried...

 so when I see that I have to do something with changing database I chiken out...

I have once upgraded  flawlessly from 3.1.2 ( i think it was ) to where I am now but I was keeping my fingers crossed all the way  hoping everything will go smooth  and I  will not loose my site that I have no copy of...  now I am afraid that it will not be such a smooth ride and also sites on this dnn install  have grown with content and loads of modules that might  ( probably even WILL not work ) and I don't know how to make a back up before I start to upgrade... I used evotiva backup script on one of my sites nd fell more secure there, but I have no money that I can spend now to buy another license for my other dnn install...

so the questions probably will look like this

1/  if you have upgraded yourself from dnn3 to dnn4 current version  how many  steps it took and how bad it was ( in terms of site consistency did you loose some modules  or content? while upgrading and changing database? )

2/  what ways there are to back up my site something free or not too pricey

3/ in case everyting goes really bad and I want to return to dnn3 will I have to delete everything and install dnn3 from scratch ?

thank you all for your responce

I just upgraded from 3.3.7 to 4.7.0 using the procedure suggested above, and it was relatively painless.

Some third party modules had to be deleted first before beginning the upgrade. My web.config file has a few special httpModules and httpHandlers, so I had to pay close attention to those during the process.

I used the Install packages, and after the final upgrade to 4.7.0, some of the modules didn't work right away. I had to install the new modules on the Module Definitions page, but once that was done everything was back to normal.

I'm managing six DNN sites, and I always cross my fingers when upgrading!

If you go slowly, and double check all your work, it should be fine.

of course, you have to take care yourself for any modification you made to the DotNetNuke installation, this includes all 3rd party modules and providers. I don't see a chance for the core, to prevent from it.