eCommerce migration from Magento 1 platform

The Magento 1 platform has been EOL since June 2020, so now is the right time to move your eCommerce to the new platform. 

At the end of June 2020. Adobe has stopped supporting Magento 1 and many eCommerce websites have been forced to move to the new platform to maintain the necessary level of system security and quality. In this article, we provide an overview of things to consider when deciding to migrate from Magento 1 – migration to Magento Commerce (Magento 2) or on custom eCommerce like Shape Core solutions.

Magento 1 EOL 

First of all, it should be noted that ending support for Magento 1 does not mean shutting down websites that are based on that platform. These websites still exist and function and the problem arise in the case that there are no more official patches and security updates, so even large payment providers like Visa and PayPal advised shop owners to embark on the migration process.

What does the term eCommerce migration mean?

Creating an eCommerce website can be divided into two basic cases:

  • Creating a new website – The company is starting an online store as a new sales channel
  • Migration of the website from the existing eCommerce solution to the new one

In addition to the term migration, the term transition to a new solution can also be used.

In the first case the biggest challenges of a company just starting out with web sales are designing websites and processes that will support online business. Companies often encounter for the first time a number of terms and abbreviations in eCommerce, the subject of their inquiry is The price of the web shop, and one of the bigger challenges is changing company culture and business organization.  

In other case, when it comes to website migration, the main challenge is to choose a new platform and transfer all the data from an existing website. In the case of ‘shutting down’ the Magento 1 platform the most common dilemma is the following:

  1. Switch to Magento Commerce (that is, the Magento 2 platform) or
  2. Move to a new platform (custom made like Shape Core, Woo Commerce, OpenCart or other)

Let’s look at those two options.

  1. Switch to Magento 2 (Magento Commerce)

Although Magento 1 was very popular in the world, even in Croatia, many users were disappointed with the fact that Adobe decided to upgrade its eCommerce system in a way that brings users additional cost and great effort which needs to be invested, instead of allowing an easy upgrade on an existing platform.
Therefore, the transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2 is not an upgrade, but the construction of a completely new eCommerce website. This brings a significant financial cost and time and effort spent by all involved in the online shopping process in the company.

  1. Switching to a new eCommerce solution

Switching from Magento 1 to a new eCommerce solution, whether it's another world-wide platform or a local custom solution like our Shape Core eCommerce solution, doesn't have to be a big stress.

If you have already gone through the creation of a web shop, you know what you need to pay attention to and you have the opportunity improve elements that were not ideally placed.

In the following text, we will analyze the elements important for creating a web shop, and compare them through two migration options..

Comparison of two options: transition from Magento 1 to Magento 2 or transition to another platform

Ease of use

The fact is that the Magento 1 interface is similar to Magento 2, so ease of use depends on the user's habit.

But we will be pictorial and make the following comparison. From the experience of using and designing a CMS, we can say with certainty that navigating the CMS of a website is like buying a new car - the interior and controls may be a little different, but you will surely know how to drive it.

You should definitely pay attention to the CMS of the new website, so we recommend that you ask the developers to show you how the basic actions are performed in the CMS before choosing their solution.:

  • Order administration
  • Add and edit products
  • Placing banners.

Available functionalities

Magento 1 and Magento 2, as well as many custom eCommerce solutions, come with a large number of functionalities which you may or may not use.

A few tips when defining the functionality of the eCommerce website:

  • If you are considering moving to a new platform, show developers what matters to you at the present and make sure they have it. Our software engineers have extensive experience working at Magento, therefore Shape Core eCommerce platform is a kind of Magento upgrade, with additional and more advanced functionalities.
  • Require developers to deliver to you minimum page speed, and to ensure site responsiveness and guarantee server availability and security.
  • This transition opportunity is that you improve web shop design – take advantage of it! It may not be necessary to do a complete rebranding and redesign, but a slight facelift can’t hurt, as there’s always room for a better UX.
  • Checkout flow – one of the most important things on the website is the process of completing the order and paying. Depending on the web shop and the market, a non-optimized checkout can bring up to 30% of customers who give up at this stage of the purchase. Imagine you have a store and 30% of customers who come to the checkout do not pay for the selected goods because the seller is rude. You would definitely change it. Same thing with checkout.

A checkout is an element that is customized for an individual retailer in a custom solution. The fact is that not all customers are equal and need to be adjusted depending on the age group, type of goods being sold, source of purchase (mobile or desktop) or preferred payment method.

  • Verify everything that you can manage through CMS, whether the capabilities meet the person who will use the CMS and manage the website.
  • Pay attention to system security, dynamics of issuing security patches and measures taken by developers to keep the site safe from external attacks (E.g. external audit).
  • Find out about possibilities to upgrade the webite with new functionalities – which is included in the price of regular maintenance, which is an additional cost of finishing.

Data migration

Data migration is the topic that often worries users and owners of eCommerce websites.

But don't worry, if the data exists and is at least somewhat well organized, most developers won't have a problem transferring it to the new system.

  • Migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2 – there is a Data Migration Tool for data transfer
  • Migration from Magento 1 to Shape Core eCommerce – exists Core Data Migration script for fast and easy transfer of all data.

Data transmitted:

  • Historical orders
  • User profiles (user accounts) with all data (addresses, contacts, user preferences)
  • Website URL structure (redirect all old URLs to new ones) - essential for maintaining position on search engines
  • Content (static pages, blogs, articles, guides )
  • Products (descriptions, specifications, images, videos, filters)
  • Everything else that is recorded in the old system, and you consider important for your business.

The cost of migration

Depending on choosing a new platform to which the web shop migrates from Magento 1, the company needs to consider the cost that will be incurred by the transition itself.

The price of a custom eCommerce solution in its basic form ranges from a few thousand euros, similar to the Magento 2. Request an offer for your new eCommerce website.

But for medium and larger companies that have more specific requirements and more significant turnover(over $ 1,000,000 per year) the cost of Magento Commerce solutions (Magento 2) increases by the price of the license itself which depends on the realized turnover and amounts to $ 20,000 or more. In addition to this amount, the cost of the agency or developer who will work on the website should not be neglected.

Duration of migration

Estimated duration of the migration to the new website is from 2 to 3 months, which is true for both the transition to Magento 2 and the transition to a custom solution. If there are no major functional changes, it is possible to migrate the website to the Shape Core solution in a shorter time, from 4 to 6 weeks after the final agreement. 

There are developers on the market who offer to launch a new website in just 15 or 20 days, but keep in mind that these are ready-made solutions with very few or no options for finishing and modification.

Scalability

Scalability is a term in eCommerce that refers to the possibility of expanding business on an existing platform. Expansion can have multiple meanings, and most often it is:

  • The geographical expansion (new countries) that it entails:
    • Multilingualism
    • Multiple payment currencies
  • Separation of B2C and B2B websites
  • Website with a subbrand (shop-in-shop) or a brand new brand and domain (multishop)

The Shape Core solution offers all the above possibilities through a multishop solution. This means that through one database and one CMS interface you can manage products that are displayed in several websites, in different languages ​​and sold in different currencies.

All information about customers, their orders and behavior is in one place, and if the company decides to launch a loyalty program, it can include all websites, regardless of domain.

Research, analyze and choose the best solution

If your website on the Magento 1 platform is still active, you could encounter problems such as the inability to run Flash in certain browsers, which spoils the impression you leave to site visitors.

Now is definitely the time to analyze the alternatives you have and choose the best one - according to your business plans in the field of online business.

The Shape Core eCommerce solution can certainly meet all the needs and requirements of large users with extensive projects.

 

Contact us without obligation and find out about the options.

 

Sources: Medium, Inviqa