As June 2020 approaches (the deadline where support for Magento 1.x will end), the more the demand for Magento 2 grows. For those who have not yet made the switch, we’ve compiled this article covering all there is to know about migrating from M1 to M2, and what you can do to optimise the process and make your online store more reliable. In a rush? Here are the top 8 reasons you should migrate to Magento 2: Site performance You’ll have security issues Magento 1 extensions will become outdated Incompatible Theme and templates You’ll suffer from an outdated Admin Interface SEO on your website will suffer Ongoing Integration Issues Lost time, lost revenue Magento 2 Explained Magento 2 is an almost completely different platform compared to previous versions. The new features Magento 2 brings represents an almost complete overhaul of the pre-existing platform. It has been redesigned top to bottom with both the user and developer in mind – making it the most intuitive and usable Magento version yet. If you are thinking of switching, now is the time: support for Magento 1 runs out in June 2020. This date has already been extended, so it is unlikely to be extended again. The sooner you migrate, the better, In a nutshell, the main benefits of Magento 2 are: Increased pages load times; 50% faster Handling for larger volumes of SKUs Optimisation for mobile phone users New drag & drop page builder Enhanced results: tracking & visibility Enhanced SEO and marketing features Reduced steps to checkout to combat card abandonment Paypal integrated into shorter and faster checkout In addition, Magento 2 has many key features which make it stand out against its competitors. Performance and Scalability As well as improving how the application interacts with the browser, Magento 2 reduces the amount of data that must be returned from the server to render web pages. These changes significantly improve page response and load times, giving you a much better starting point for developing your website. Significant reductions to indexation times (by more than 60%) to support larger sites and quicker product updates 2-Factor Authentication, Google ReCAPTCHA, ACL for Cache Management, WAF for Cloud Significant quality enhancements including over 1800 fixes Support for PHP 7.2, ElasticSearch 5 & 6, and others ensure PCI compliance and high quality/performance. Multi-Source Inventory The new inventory interface in Magento enables merchants to improve their operational efficiency. By managing inventory stored across multiple physical locations from directly within the Magento admin, it is now possible to streamline your operations all at the same point of access. Improved checkout performance with MSI, new fulfilment options from Magento Shipping, and engaging mobile experiences with PWA Studio increase conversion rates and shopper engagement. Manage stock in multiple locations to reflect physical inventory Real-time sourcing controls how locations are selected for delivery Inventory reservations for highly performing checkout API coverage for integration with 3rd party inventory systems Exceeds Shopify features with support for more locations, stock per site, and customisable algorithm Powerful Merchant Tools PageBuilder saves valuable time and puts the power of content creation in the hands of your marketer. With this brand new feature, by rapidly changing content – without writing a single line of code – you can create best-in-class shopping experiences easier than ever. Launch quicker, more reliable and compelling ecommerce websites with a variety of new features. Intuitive interface for non-technical users WYSIWYG content editing Drag & drop positioning “True” storefront preview Streamlined process Why not Read These Articles While You’re Here: Guide to Migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 Understanding Magento Cloud Architecture Here are the top 8 reasons staying on Magento 1 will cause your site to suffer 1. Site Performance There’s no doubt that Magento 2 performs superior to Magento 1 in all cases. Indexes are now run in batches rather than all at once, the new shopping cart allows for up to 300 line items, or products, in a single shopping cart at once, while Magento’s new Varnish Cache accelerates HTTP processes to speed up page load times. All of these enhancements mean that, if you are still on Magento 1, your site will be sluggish, and since Google now uses site speed as a ranking metric, this means you could potentially lose traffic as a result. 2. You’ll Have Security Issues Magento 2 has put considerable focus on security. As with all types of software releases, the latest version will protect you from hacks and security breaches far better than the previous instalment. This is not just a minor upgrade: with the latest Magento, you benefit from 75 brand-new security enhancements which, within time, will be essential to have in order to ensure your website is protected. 75 brand-new security enhancements enable: close cross-site scripting (XSS), remote code execution (RCE), sensitive data disclosure vulnerabilities and other security issues. In addition, Magento 2 features significant improvements in the PayPal Express Checkout payment method area, notably in virtual products. You can benefit from integrated Signifyd Fraud Protection. 3. Magento 1 Extensions Will Become Obsolete As with themes, Magento 1 extensions will not work on Magento 2. As the whole architecture of Magento 2 is different than in the first version the steps required for making the extension compatible with the new Magento version differ a lot from extension to extension depending on the complexity and used parts of the Magento system. Within time, all the extensions on the Magento marketplace will only be compatible with Magento 2, therefore, if you want an up to date site, it’s not a question of “Should I upgrade?” as “When?” Before migrating, you will need to check and review all the extensions on your site. Whether these are integral to your store or supplementary, they will need to be replaced with equivalent Magento 2 extensions. If there are no Magento 2 versions of your existing extensions, you can explore Magento Marketplace to see if there are any others which share the same features. Most extension developers are already investing in Magento 2 development, and given how many are features on the marketplace, it is highly unlikely you’ll be unable to find one. 4. Incompatible Themes and Templates As with extensions, custom themes and templates developed for Magento 1 will soon become redundant. New themes and templates are now almost exclusively developed for Magento 2. Since these are the ones which will be desirable to clients, by staying on Magento 2, you will increasingly find you are unable to provide the kind of site designs your clients (particularly if they have their own in-house developers) ask for. As a result, you will need to find a new store theme, recreate the old one or recreate a new custom theme from scratch. Although a potentially overwhelming undertaking in the meantime, you will benefit in the long run from increased business with your on-trend, up to date design. 5. Your Admin Interface Will be out of Date Perhaps the most significant pain point of Magento 1 was their admin interface. It was much criticised by users, and this has been amended in the latest version: the admin panel in Magento 2 is more user-friendly – its dashboard shows average order, lifetime sales, last orders, last and top search terms, helping you monitor your current state of business. It is a modern admin interface that allows users to easily navigate all parts of the admin panel, find information easier and manage the store more efficiently. Now, the admin panel can be customised as per your convenience. The new interface is personalised for each admin panel user, in turn, increasing productivity when managing products, orders and customer data. As a result, you can now create products in the admin panel with 4x faster product import capabilities. 6. You’ll Have SEO Issues Magento 2 has improved SEO over Magento 1.x. The new version includes an array of new features which, stuck on the old versions, means you will miss out on traffic as a consequence. These new features include the following: Integration Schema.org Optimisation of friendly URLs Generation of XML sitemap Product page optimisation In the first instance, the integration of Schema.org in Magento 2.0 is built with a wide range of vocabulary to complete product page content and metadata and is therefore likely to greatly improve web page rankings. Meanwhile the XML Sitemap allows shop admins to customise their priority and frequency for any product, while product page optimisation enables users to keep track of Meta tags along with pre-designed templates and product attributes. 7. Integration Nightmares Most ecommerce websites aren’t just stand-alone, they are a composite of many different components – all of which must communicate with each other, quickly and smoothly. From customer relationship management (CRMs) and product databases to payment processors, everything must integrate seamlessly. But while this can be done with Magento 1.x, when things don’t go smoothly, it’s often difficult to find out what data got lost during the communication between Magento and external systems. Magento 2 addresses this issue with built-in RabbitMQ (Message Queue) framework. This function monitors the communication between Magento and other systems, ensuring that you are never left out of the loop. 8. Lost Revenue Altogether, the single greatest cost of staying on Magento is lost revenue. The more you delay, as the saying goes, the more you’ll pay. From lapses in security to lost traffic and sluggish site performance, you will have to find increasing complex ‘work arounds’ to make your site function. In addition, while it may be possible to recode some Magento 2 themes to Magento 1, this will be labour intensive and costly in itself. In the long run, you will benefit from migrating from M1 to M2. The key challenges of migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2 The move from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is not an upgrade to a newer version of an old system, but a migration to a different system entirely. Thus, moving to the latest version can prove incredibly expensive and time-consuming. Before you start your migration then, here are some of the key issues you should be aware of: Data migration issues Migration requires that the Magento 1 data is exported and formatted to correspond to the new Magento 2 database table structures. Media file migration issues All media files, including audio, images and video files, have to be moved from the old setup to the new Magento build manually. Custom extension issues For developers who use custom extensions in their Magento 1 system, these extensions will not be supported in Magento 2, so developers will need to rewrite their modules to work with the new systems. Theme and template issues Any custom themes or templates designed in Magento 1 will not work in Magento 2. This means that you should factor in the time and cost it will take for your developer to design these from scratch. Ready to Make the Switch? See our Magento 2 Migration Page for Help and Advice Have a Question or Want to Check out our Credentials? See our full list of services here. Further reading Checklist for Migrating your Shopify Website to Magento Choosing the Right Magento Agency for You
