Summer 2020 is outside the window, and this means that there is no time to postpone migrating your Magento 1 stores to Magento 2. The thing is that as of June 2020 the first version of the popular e-commerce platform will no longer be supported officially. And this means that those stores that run on M1 can be jeopardizing their business in general.
In this post, we’ll clarify why you shouldn’t delay the process as well as what are the challenges that you can face both when not migrating and when doing so. Finally, we’ll explain what to expect from getting Magento 2 migration services from qualified professionals (and how it should be done right).
Why Store Owners Don’t Migrate
Although practically every Magento 1 store owner has heard multiple times about the fact that the M1 support is soon to be terminated, far from everyone is actually doing something about it. Feeling uncertain about what to expect ahead is one aspect explaining their inactivity. Not knowing how much time and money will need to be invested is another reason. So they decide to leave the store as it is for some time.
The truth is that in some cases it is okay if you don’t begin your store’s migration ASAP. The website will still be up and running. But there will be roadblocks on your way if you prefer to wait.
Reasons Not to Postpone Migration to Magento 2
Dwelling upon why you shouldn’t leave migration to Magento 2 for later, you have to clearly understand that you won’t be able to stick with Magento 1 forever. If you’re still in two minds about whether it’s worth it to make the move or not, consider the following things:
1. You’re risking your website’s security
Perhaps the most weighty and powerful argument in favor of migration is that Magento 1 stores won’t be receiving security patch updates. This basically means that there’s a higher threat of possible data leaks. You have responsibility for keeping your client’s data, so external hazards that result in “spills” of credit card details or other customer information can become very costly litigation for you.
2. You’re becoming less compatible
Time is moving only forward. Yes, the store you’ve built five years ago may still seem to look fine visually, but is in step with the trends? This not only regards website speed (which matters too). Does your store boast the same broad range of convenient payment options that your competitor does? Is the user experience great? Moving to Magento 2, you can get your hands on progressive web applications (PWA), re-design your store to give it a fresher look, provide your customers with a better UX, to name a few.
3. You’re missing out on uplifting your website
Again, as mentioned above, migration is a great time for implementing change. You can rework the things that you’re not satisfied with within the admin, you can make use of new features, optimize parts that aren’t perfect (for instance, the store’s checkout or search), bottom line, you can modernize your website to perform better.
Here it’s vital to understand that mere migration to Magento 2 won’t promise you better sales, yet modernization that can go along with it will pay off.
4. It’ll become harder to find available specialists
Just as in playground games, the best “players” get picked first. By this, I mean not only that the top professionals who can handle your migration in the best possible way could be “occupied” and busy with other projects, but that the greatest offers will be “taken” too. Therefore, the longer you wait, the tougher it’ll get in all aspects.
Why is Migration to Magento 2 Not Easy?
Let’s lay all the cards on the table, the process of migration to Magento 2 is tough. In fact, it’s such a complex thing that not all Magento specialists are able to cope with it. This is related to the fact that the two platforms differ polarly from each other in terms of their architecture.
A lot of obstacles also occur with the compatibility of the modules that are used in the store, it is at times impossible to find an extension on Magento 2 that would be an analogous match to what is used on Magento 1. Plus, migrating the databases, libraries, and logs can be a very time-consuming challenge. The points above arise the question and necessity in working on custom solutions and unique coding for completing the migration. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We haven’t even counted in the “ingredients” regarding the new things that you’d want to add to the store.
Therefore, if the developer (or team of developers) that you’re considering for the job don’t have robust experience with both Magento 1 and Magento 2, if they haven’t successfully performed migration projects before, they most likely shouldn’t be your choice. You’ll end up wasting your money and fetch additional months for the migration.
What is the Standard Migration Process Like?
So what should a good migration process be like? After all, you don’t want to fall into the trap of unrealistic promises.
A proper migration starts with the evaluation phase when there’s an audit of the current store and what should be improved. Next goes the stage of planning and discussing what should be moved, what should be changed, how is the store going to look like, which new features are to be added, and etc. The process is then broken down into milestones with included wireframes and future layouts. Following that is the actual stage of development that includes conducting tests and fixing bugs too. Finally, there should be communication between the developers and the employer regularly so that everyone is on the same page. Ideally, even after the migration is complete the store owner should have the opportunity to keep in touch with the developers and even request site support.
Answering the question of how long your migration will take, it must be stated that this point varies greatly from case to case. Many factors need to be taken into account, including how big your store on Magento 1 is, how many new features do you want to implement, whether you’re redesigning the store or not, how experienced the team that you’ve hired is, among other things. To give a rough estimate, you should count on something around 2 to 4 months minimum if you’re moving the store without adding new functionality, and 4+ months if you are.
Similarly, price formation will be based on pretty much the same factors as mentioned in the previous paragraph about duration.
To conclude all the covered above, migration from Magento 1 is inevitable, and sooner or later you’ll have to do it. Yet instead of getting worried about the resources and hard work that’s ahead of you, focus on the changes that you can make to your online store along the course of migration to make it perform better and boost your revenues.
