Why Magento 2 Migrations Are More Important Than Ever
Since its initial release in 2007, Magento has become one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world. Currently, it powers more than 250,000 active e-commerce sites – or, more than 12% of the global market. While these numbers reflect just how useful a tool Magento really is, they encompass two separate versions of the platform.
Magento 1 Development
Magento 1 was developed as a flexible e-commerce platform that could accommodate the needs of practically any e-commerce store. Users can build stores using one or many of the compatible, pre-developed extensions, formulating the ideal platform, every time. If a certain capability isn’t readily available, there are hosts of third-party extensions on the market, as well, ensuring the vast majority of needs are covered.
Magento 1 also lent users the ability to develop their own extensions using Magento’s own coding. Many that continue to utilize Magento 1 to this day cite its supreme flexibility as a primary reason they adopted in the first place, as well as why they have not switched from the original. However, other users and developers alike wanted a more robust platform out of the box, which led Magento to set its sights on isolating and addressing some of the core issues with the platform.
The Advent of Magento 2
Eventually, it became clear that building a new version of Magento from the ground up would allow some of the most necessary changes to the platform. While some in the Magento community highly anticipated the upgrade, others were wary that a new version of the platform could exceed the opportunities offered by the original. First entering development in 2010, Magento version 2.0 was released for both community and enterprise editions in 2015.
Magento 2 was developed to improve upon the successes of Magento 1 and remedy its difficulties. As such, it aims to provide both flexibility and out-of-the-box ease for users across the spectrum – from those who need to build very detailed and very specific stores to the majority of users, those who utilize the platform with very few extensions. Overall, users of all types will see benefits from migrating to Magento 2.
Why Perform Magento 2 Migrations?
As of the beginning of 2020, only 11,000 of the approximately 250,000 active sites that utilize Magento have made the switch to Magento 2. For the most part, this is likely due to users simply choosing not to fix what isn’t broken; Magento 1 continues to function as an excellent e-commerce platform. Why should you make the switch?
- Magento is ending support for Magento 1. Magento has announced that in June of 2020, it will officially end support for the Magento 1 platform, which includes the end of any security updates and official security patches. As a result, it will become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, bugs, and other security risks. Sticking with this version ultimately means putting your site – and your clients’ financial information – at risk, while a Magento 2 migration keeps you secure.
- Magento 2 boasts higher performance. This version of Magento averages 20% faster speeds than Magento 1, boosting your SEO and improving customer engagement. To that end, Magento has built full-page caching into the platform itself, allowing quicker load times and extended catalog pages. No matter the size of your business, Magento 2 has the speed reserves necessary to scale as your company grows.
- Magento 2 has integrated popular extensions. With Magento 1, users needed to add extensions to take payment and perform numerous other functions. After Magento 2 migrations, the most popular of these are already integrated into the platform itself, easing usability right out of the box.
- Magento 2 is more mobile friendly. One of the chief issues many users had with Magento 1 were the workarounds necessary to optimize mobile use. Magento 2 developers addressed this issue in the core development stage, prioritizing mobile responsiveness. As a result, the platform is more responsively designed and integrates video, user-friendly checkout, and this will help you on your SEO ranking.
- Magento 2 has a more intuitive admin panel. After Magento 2 migration, users can customize the admin panel for each individual, ensuring the most critical information remains up-front. This feature makes maintaining vital business activities much more streamlined. In addition, drag-and-drop store editing, faster data import, and more allows users to easily and quickly create and add to a store without the need for coding knowledge.
Let Forix Manage your Magento 2 Conversion
For all the reasons above, it’s critical to begin your Magento 2 migrations before support ends in June, 2020. You can rely on the Magento experts at Forix to manage your conversion and optimize the Magento 2 platform to fit your e-commerce enterprise. Contact Forix today to learn how our managed services and Magento solutions can help you provide your customers with the best in Magento 2 storefronts.