Which platform do you drive? Upgrading From Magento 1 To Magento 2

By now I’m sure you’ve heard that Adobe owned “Magento” will no longer support version 1 starting June next year. This means they won’t be providing important bug fixes, malware patches, etc so you will need to do something. Let’s talk about the options available to those who own an online store running Magento 1. First, to dispel any myths or false hopes, you cannot just click an “Upgrade” button and update your store to Magento 2. There are a number of steps to upgrading, including installing a new Magento 2 backend, migrating your catalog, redeveloping your theme and replacing extensions to those that are M2 compatible. As you can see, what you’re really doing is re-platforming. Yes. While there are visual and functional similarities between the two versions, M1 & M2 should be treated as two different platforms.

Before you bite the bullet and jump into the process of migrating to M2, you need to be aware that there are other options out there. Other options? Yes, let’s back up for a minute. Initially launched in 2009, Magento started becoming really popular in 2012 when new features and bug fixes made it quite stable and flexible for public use. Magento comes packed with just about all the functionality any vanilla eCommerce business needs and as its open source, its free for anyone to use. With that features list comes speed issues, a tough learning curve, security vulnerabilities and maintenance overhead among other challenges. At the time however there weren’t many players on the market that can match Magento’s flexibility and functionality making it the obvious choice for over 200,000 online stores.

Fast forward to 2019. While the hosted platforms never offered the same tool set as Magento, with their continued feature updates and ever growing app stores, you should now be paying them some attention. While in the past Magento may have been the “best” platform, that is definitely no longer the case. The eCommerce arena has matured to the extent that each platform now caters to its best use case. Hosted platforms such as Shopify, Lemonstand, SquareSpace & BigCommerce all offer an almost maintenance free environment. You’ll never have to deal with new versions, security patches, the need to scale up for a campaign or server crashes, as the entire infrastructure layer is all taken care of by the provider. Squarespace is best for designer stores with small catalogs, Shopify is great for any store looking for a quick launch and BigCommerce for businesses looking for a more comprehensive solution.

If we can use transportation as our metaphor, trucks & sports cars aren’t better than family cars. They’re just different methods of transportation for different needs. While matching the vehicle to the transportation need is rather easy, it takes an experienced development agency to match your eCommerce needs to the platform that will serve you best. Ever tried hauling 20 tons of goods in a Toyota Camry? How about taking a tight curve at sixty MPH while driving a tractor trailer? The results in either case aren’t fun. In summary, although you don’t have the option to stay on Magento 1 for much longer, you should explore all the platforms of 2019 to make the best decision for your online store. You know your business and we know platforms, perhaps we should talk so you don’t get taken for a ride 🙂 Contact us today!