Why you should migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2
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Why you should migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2

Why you should migrate to Magento 2

Magento 2, when announced in 2014, promised to improve website performance, security, scalability, and customizability, and be easy to migrate to from Magento 1. However, because e-commerce is so integral to today’s marketplace, it is important to understand what you are getting yourself into before migrating your site from Magento 1 to Magento 2. What follows is an overview of Magento’s updates and tips for your migration.

Magento 2: Features and improvements

Magento 2 provides many updates from Magento 1 from both client and development perspectives, such as:

  • An updated (and optimized for tablet or mobile use) content management system user interface.
  • Streamlined checkout for clients based on email recognition of registered and guest users.
  • An improved and expanded Magento module store. Every extension available is checked by the team at Magento to ensure functionality and usability.
  • Simplified CSV product import and color swatch attribute selection for the user interface.
  • Improved catalog and checkout scalability, allowing for more page views and processed sales per hour.
  • PHP 7 compatible, Magento 1 is not PHP 7 compatible, it’s PHP 5.6 is soon to be end of life

Migration tips and challenges

If you are ready to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2, here are some tips and things to avoid when making the switch:

  • Analyze your current Magento 1 store

Before migrating, take some time to examine your existing store. Is there anything you can remove? Keep what is necessary moving forward.

  • Back up your Magento 1 store

Make a copy of your Magento 1 store, including files, folders, and database, which will remain untouched during the migration process in case you run into trouble during the migration process and need to start over.

  • Theme migration

Although you will have to create a new theme to account for the updates in Magento 2, make sure to check if your Magento 1 theme is compatible with Magento 2 prior to migration. This will streamline the migration process.

  • Extension migration

Be aware that not all extensions available in Magento 1 will be available in the Magento 2 module store. Because of this, you may have compatibility issues during migration and should only install the extensions that are necessary and available.

  • Database migration

Database migration will be the last step of the migration process. Magento provides a downloadable data migration tool that makes this process fairly simple. Also note that it is a good idea to get rid of outdated tables and unnecessary information, such as Magento 1 log information, prior to your data migration to avoid transferring unnecessary information.

Why you should migrate ASAP

Although Magento originally stated they would be scaling back support of Magento 1, they decided against this change after receiving feedback from clients opposed to that decision. As such, Magento has expressed that they will not be scaling back support for Magento 1 (and will give 18-months notice before any changes to Magento 1’s support). However, Magento also stated that all Magento 1 users should migrate to the new version as soon as possible, as migration to Magento 2 will improve site performance, provide insight into business performance and enhance the overall e-commerce experience of clients.

If you have questions about Magento 2, migration or web development, contact our experts at Xumulus. Xumulus is a Chicago-based e-commerce and web development company.