www.wysiwygwebbuilder.com

I currently have version 14.4 installed on my PCand i have just purchased an upgrade to version 17.

could someone tell me if i have to uninstall the older version before upgrading or will version 17 install over the top of it?

You do not have the uninstall the older version (yet).
Usually, I recommended to keep it around for a few weeks, just in case something works different in the new version.
Then you can always compare the settings.