It has been quite some time since Magento 2.0 platform was made available for enterprise and community editions. If you are a Magento 1 store owner, you might be aware that from November 2018 there has been no support for security fixes for Magento 1. Moreover, from June 2020, there will be no support for Magento 1. In fact, the company has stopped introducing updates in its Magento 1 version.
The defining feature of Magento was that it was built as a flexible platform. Pre-made extensions and coding chops would have helped you to create stores with a wide variety of functions. However, it did not have the best user experience or high performance it was supposed to have. You would need to go to third party vendors to get essential features and certain features like mobile responsiveness, and admin features were missing.
If you are someone who does not want to take the pains of rebuilding your website and are satisfied with the performance of Magento 1, or you think there are not many Magento 2 extensions available currently, you need to know what Magento 2 can do to help your store.
Why do you need to migrate to Magento 2?
- Security patches will not be available once support for Magento 1 stops.
- Your store is at risk. You are now vulnerable to hacks.
- If your competition has migrated to Magento 2 already, you now have new features and can innovate further to scale up your sales.
- You will be at the competitive edge if you migrate to Magento 2.
Things to keep in mind
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The Process
You are going to change your database structures, themes and work with a new API, so you need to make sure that you do not lose any data, and avoid any downtime. Here is what you need to do:
- Review your existing extensions and determine the one you want to keep. You would need comparatively lesser extensions on Magento 2. It is best to remove outdated and redundant data from your existing database for easier migration.
- Replicate your Magento 1 database and use it as your source data for migration. Build and prepare a Magento 2 store.
- It is best to stop everything and do a dry run on your testing environment.
- Using the Data Migration Tool start your migration. Keep in mind that your custom data, admin rights, media files, and custom technical aspects would not be migrated seamlessly.
- Make User Interface changes after migrating to Magento 2.
- Make the necessary changes to the migrated data.
- Collect data updates from the Magento 1 store (new orders and reviews) and using the Delta mode, transfer these to Magento 2 store.
- Go live!
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Choosing the version for you
Magento Commerce is cloud-hosted and provides merchants with the benefit of a single contract and support contact for commerce and hosting. Which Magento 2 edition should you go for?
- Magento 2 Open Source (formerly Magento 2 Community) — A free open source version of Magento 2, that does not come with technical or account management support and several features related to conversion, efficiency, and scalability that are native to Magento Commerce 2. It is best suited for small businesses.
- Magento 2 Commerce Edition (previously known as Magento 2 Enterprise) —has extensive management, marketing, B2B and business intelligence options. Best suited for large businesses.
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The Timeline
If you have not migrated to Magento 2, it is high time you do so. The timeline for migrating to Magento 2 depends on the level of customization you have done on your Magento 1 site. This is a fundamental part of your operation, and we recommend a minimum of 3 months for this.
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The Cost
Depending on the level of customization on your Magento 1 store, the effort for migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 changes. This is also the right time to improve upon the User Experience, which might further affect the cost.
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Extensions and Custom Code
If you have used third-party extensions on your Magento 1 store, it is good to see if the existing extensions can be removed and replaced with Magento2 features or a Magento 2 equivalent extension available in Magento Marketplace.
The advantages of Magento 2
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Better Performance
Magento 2 will run an average of 20% faster than Magento 1. Business-wise, it means you will get more sales and helps when you are optimizing your website for search engines. They have a full-page caching built into the platform so that the pages load faster than earlier. This means it now loads in 1- 2 seconds compared to the 5-10 seconds for non-caching pages. It can now handle more catalogue pages without slowing down, this means scalability. Your website can now grow with your online business. Moreover, updates work faster, which means you, can take advantage of the new features as soon as they are released.
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Streamlined Checkout process
You would like your customers to move quickly from the cart to the payment for the completion of an order. Ask yourself. Would you like to go through a 6-step checkout process using Magento 1 or the new 2-step checkout and Instant purchase feature of Magento 2? It uses previously-stored payment credentials and shipping information to skip the steps altogether if they are a returning customer and takes them directly to a confirmation page. Again, this means an increase in sales. In addition, payment gateways like Paytm and Razor pay are easier to integrate.
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Better Admin Interface
For a non-technical person, this is the best. Magento 2 is very user-friendly and reduces the time needed to manage the store. In addition, it is easy for new team members to learn the ropes. With personalized admin panels, it is now easier to manage products, orders, customer data, and much more. Importing products is now four times faster. Even if you don’t have any experience with the extensive coding language, you can still make/edit layouts just by using the drag and drop feature.
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Mobile Friendly
If you follow the news, you might be already aware that the world has changed. People do everything on their smartphones. Even shopping. Which means you have to make sure your website is mobile responsive. For Magento 2, mobile commerce is a priority and that means optimum performance on mobile devices. Themes are now SEO friendly and responsive, video integration, easier checkout, touch screen friendly admin panel in the backend, etc. has made the look and function of Magento stores better on mobile phones, which are the basic aspects that help increase sales.
Conclusion
Magento 2.X is a flexible platform designed to provide a better user experience at the user side and admin side. It boasts of improved performance, better admin interface, better features, and scalability. It grows with your business. The streamlined checkout process and mobile responsiveness will help increase your sales and will definitely bring back your customers. You need to have a good delivery partner to help you migrate from Magento 1 to 2.
If you need a hand, feel free to get in touch with us. You can contact our team to discuss more. Let us help you build a store!
