Is It Truly Worth to Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
October 26, 2021 | Author: Ashley BrownPresently, there are 729,753 Magento customers (including historical) across the globe, according to builtwith.com. Magento powers 1.2% of all websites and holds 1.8% of the global CMS market share. With its out-of-the-box features and functionality, Magento has emerged as a leading eCommerce platform with more than a quarter of the total market share. However, with the release of Magento 2, the older Magento 1 version reached its end of life in June 2020. This means that the software will no more receive official support and patches. So right now, you may be wondering ‘Is it truly worth migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
As a professional Magento 2 development company, we can see that Magento 2 has great potential to enhance customer experience and increase eCommerce business growth. And, we wish that the process of Magento 2 migration could be as easy as a pie. However, it is not that simple. Migrating to the latest Magento 2 version consumes a lot of time and effort. If you’re planning to migrate to Magento 2, consider reading this article before you commence your migration journey.
This article intends to address all your questions, especially the following ones.
- Why migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
- What are the benefits of Magento 2 migration?
- What are the challenges of the Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration process?
- Which brand has experienced Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration process?
- When is the right time to migrate to Magento 2?
- What would be the final outcome of Magento 2 migration?
So, without wasting much time, let’s dive into the topics.
Why Migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
Simple answer, Magento 1 support is no longer there for you. It’s dead and gone. Hard to digest this, but yes it’s true. The Magento team has officially terminated all the support of the Magento 1 platform.
Whichever brand is still running the eCommerce store on Magento 1 platform, can no longer get Magento support from the official team. Enterprises must migrate to Magento 2 as soon as possible to get all the support from an extensive set of new features.
Apart from the dire necessity to migrate to the latest Magento 2 version, there are also some interesting facts about the platform. Take a look!
- Magento 2 is 50% much faster in terms of page loading as compared to Magento 1.
- The latest Magento version offers a 38% faster checkout speed than Magento 1.
- Magento 2 can take 117% more orders in an hour in comparison with Magento 1.
- It is capable of handling 2.1 million more page views in an hour.
- The new Magento version offers robust security features and new patches.
Furthermore, Magento 2 comes in three editions, namely:
- Magento 2 Open Source – Formerly known as Community Edition, this version is open-source and free to use. It is ideal for either startups or small-scale businesses.
- Magento 2 Enterprise Edition – It is a premium Magento version best suited for medium to large-scale businesses. The Enterprise Edition includes all the Open Source edition’s features and additional features like extensive management tools and marketing options. The pricing of the Magento edition starts from $22,000 a year, which is more expensive than most Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms.
- Enterprise Cloud Edition – It is a SaaS option that eliminates the need for self-hosting and offers the same features as the Enterprise edition. The cost of this edition is much higher than the Magento Enterprise Edition.
While the older Magento 1 edition has exceptional themes and extensions to enhance store functionality and experience, it is still really slow to load. Moreover, the backend admin user interface is also not user-friendly.
Therefore, Magento 2 is a perfect eCommerce solution as it is suitable for professionals, with advanced features and better responsiveness. Also, the admin user interface is more appealing and easy to use.
Also Read- Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration – How to Upgrade without Any Mistakes
What Are the Benefits of Magento 2 Migration?
You have every reason to believe the fact that running an eCommerce store on Magento 1 is outdated now. It cannot run perfectly and even has several disadvantages along with security risks of having no support from the Magento team.
Still, you have a choice to give a necessary shot to Magento 2 development and avail the following advantages.
1. Higher Conversion Rate and Improved Sales
Undoubtedly, Magento 2 is much faster, robust, and upgraded that offers an enriched shopping experience to customers. In a better way, the platform increases conversion rates and sales based on the following few attributes.
- Improved search results of products
- See the previews of all site changes made in the Admin Panel
- Responsive design elements are mainly for mobile users
- Improved product merchandising features
- Easily accessible PCI compliance
2. Engaging Customer Experience with Faster Performance
With the new features of Magento 2 platforms, customers get to experience a fast-loading website in less than 10 seconds. The Admin panel of the platform makes it simple to quickly manage the products and orders.
Even the conversion rate is on the higher side in Magento 2 platform and the database can be turned into a specific load level. Overall, the platform offers an enhanced level of shopping experience to customers in an upscale manner.
3. Enhanced Level of UI/UX to Attract Users
It is a well-known truth that 64% of customers will not return to an eCommerce store if they fail to receive a user-friendly store experience.
This is not something you can expect from Magento 2 platform. It helps store managers to save time on the administrative process to perform a variety of tasks and changes quickly. Various improvements have been made to this platform to offer an upscale level of UI/UX experience.
- Easy to navigate and learn Admin Panel.
- Drag and Drop functionality for customers, products, and orders.
- An intuitive way of editing the products
- Easy import and export of products for cross-selling and up-selling
4. Two-Stage Checkout Process
The new Magento 2 version comes with a new and more enhanced checkout process. Earlier, there was a six-step process that made the checkout process slower and caused higher cart abandonment rates. Online stores built on Magento 2 can provide a two-stage checkout process.
To run a successful eCommerce store, the business owner must try to break barriers to buying. The more barriers in your store, the higher will be the possibility of cart abandonment by customers. Therefore, providing an easy checkout process is crucial for your store’s success.
5. New MSI feature
The release of the Magento 2.3 version has introduced a game-changing feature known as Multi-source Inventory or MSI. Using this Magento feature, merchants can manage all inventory sources without adding any third-party extensions or platforms. The Magento MSI feature makes it easier to connect multiple inventory sources to one or more websites. This is going to be the future of eCommerce.
6. Responsive Design
With the rise of mCommerce, websites need to be mobile responsive. Unfortunately, this is not one of the features of the older Magento 1 version.
Magento 2 is highly responsive, so it will help you attract more mobile users to your eCommerce store. A mobile responsive design can make your website open consistently and perform flawlessly on devices of various types and sizes.
What Are the Challenges of the Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration Process?
So, considering the aforementioned benefits, should you migrate to Magento 2 immediately? Well, there are certain things to consider before you get started.
The process of Magento 2 migration comes with a few challenges that you need to address. Here are some common challenges related to the migration process:
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Migrating Data and Images Is Not Easy
Newbies or amateurs may struggle with the Magento 2 migration process as it is not as easy as a one-click installation. If you’re not confident or aware of the proper Magento 2 migration process, make sure to hire Magento migration experts for the right execution.
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Compatibility Issues with Custom Extension
If you’re using custom extensions in your previous Magento 1 version, these extensions might not support the new Magento 2 version. So, you will need to rewrite their existing modules to make them work with the new software.
If you’re using premium third-party extensions, make sure you contact their developers for updated Magento 2 extension versions.
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Theme and Template Compatibility Issues
To offer a unique experience, businesses invest in custom Magento 2 theme development services. So, the custom themes and templates developed for Magento 1 might not work with the new Magento 2 version. You will need a lot of design work on your store. You can always hire Magento 2 theme developers to create responsive, compatible, and feature-rich Magento theme designs.
Which Brands Have Experienced Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration Process?
According to the data, several websites belonging to different categories like Shopping, Arts, Business, etc., have migrated to Magento 2. Names of some of the renowned platforms are as follows:
- EZ Prints
- Tom Dixon
- Paul Smith
- Oliver Sweeney
- Helly Hansen
When Is the Right Time to Migrate to Magento 2?
This is the right time to get indulged in Magento 2 migration process. Because the security and community support of Magento 1 is over. If you are still running your eCommerce store on Magento 1, then migrating to Magento 2 should be at top of your mind.
So, stop thinking and start acting on the migration process to develop new functionalities along with developing Magento 2 extensions for better functionality. Considering that the Magento 2 migration process will not be an easy task, you must hire a reliable Magento 2 development company for professional Magento 2 migration services.
What Would Be the Final Outcome of Magento 2 Migration
The rising question of migrating your Magento 1 platform to Magento 2 will soon become a reality. Already the official support of Magento 1 is over and you will find it extremely hard to maintain the store functionalities and security.
The bottom line is that Magento 2 migration should be in your mind and also start thinking about finding a reliable Magento 2 support agency like us. Simply safeguard your eCommerce business with a new and improved platform to gain an enhanced level of success.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is it important to migrate to the Magento 2 platform?
Yes, it is more than just important to migrate to Magento 2 platform. It is because the official support of Magento 1 is over. And, to continue running your eCommerce store and increase sales, it is relevant to migrate to the new platform.
2. How long does the Magento 2 migration process take?
When it comes to migrating from Magento 1 to the Magento 2 platform, you can roughly estimate the timeline of six to eight weeks. However, it also depends on how big your store is, how well-planned the functionalities are, and what the expertise and strength of your migration team are.
3. What is the process of migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2?
To experience a seamless migration process, you have to follow a streamlined way of doing the task based on the following points.
- First take the backup of your Magento 1 store including products, orders, customer data, database, files, and folders.
- Create a clone of the Magento 1 platform and do not use the migration platform for live dealing.
- Analyze the store to consider the necessary functionalities and delete the rest.
- You have to check the compatibility of themes, custom code, and extensions.
- Migrate the data securely.
- Avoid adding outdated and useless data from the database.
- Install a new copy of Magento 2 on the same hosting server