Magento 2 Migration Guide
Throughout the past several years we’ve written a lot of content for those of you researching Magento 2 migration. With Magento 1.9 officially ending support in June a lot of folks have been reaching out to Echidna with questions. First off, yes your site will still be up and running come June even if you have not migrated to Magento 2. But also yes, we highly recommend making the move (whether that be internally or with a certified Magento 2 partner) because the growth of your eCommerce operations largely depends on it. I know that the last statement might not be what you want to hear and to some, it might be up for debate. That’s what prompted us to update our Magento 2 Migration Guide and lay it all out there in terms of future growth, Magento 2 costs, timeline, and what happens next. So here we go.
Magento 2 Features & Your Future Growth
Magento is still operating as a standalone eCommerce solution, even with Adobe’s $1.68 billion acquisition taking place almost two years ago. A lot of potentials can be seen in Magento utilizing the Adobe cloud technologies and design tools, but at this time let’s think of it as its own entity. So the question remains, does migrating to Magento 2 truly affect your future growth capabilities so much that it’s worth the effort? Let's break down what Magento 2 offers.
Magento 2 Site Performance
Magento 2 runs on average 20% faster than Magento 1. Site performance is a HUGE factor to help sites rank better. We can not stress enough how extremely important it is to have improved performance for your future growth goals. Not only will the site be running faster, but Magento 2 can also take more orders per hour by 100 to 120% compared to Magento 1.
PCI Compliance
Because M1 will cease in providing security patches, payment integrations will subsequently be vulnerable to attacks. This means that by continuing to operate on M1, your integration will be out of compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). This is why vendors like Paypal have made the decision to end Magento 1 support. Migrating to Magento 2 will ensure you are PCI compliant with full support.
Faster Checkout
Magento 2 is a streamlined 2 step checkout process compared to Magento 1’s 6 steps. Slow, lengthy, and complex checkout processes are continually stated as top reason sites lose online business. Magento 2 creates a 51% quicker checkout response time.
Admin Interface for the Business User
Gone are Magento 1’s complex admin interface that only techies can manage. When you do a Magento 1 migration to Magento 2 you will notice that non-technical users can now hop into Magento 2’s admin and find the tools they need from adding product listings to updating content. Quicker time to market, easy updates, the list goes on.
Mobile friendly :)
If you think your prospects are simply sitting behind a desktop, think again. Six in 10 internet users start shopping on one device but continue or finish on a different one, and 82% of smartphone users say they consult their phones on purchases they're about to make in a store. Magento 1 simply did not offer the performance on mobile devices. Magento 2 realized this gap and made it a priority to make mobile responsiveness on their platform.
More importantly than support for Magento 1.9 coming to a close in June, support for PHP 5.6 has already expired. PHP is the scripting software that Magento runs on. Most hosting companies will require you to stop using PHP 5.6 and soon turn it off altogether.
Magento 1.9 can run with newer PHP versions with a patch. However, it is not certain if all Magento extensions will function properly. This was an overall deciding factor for many merchants when deciding to migrate to Magento 2 (patching the PHP just isn’t worth the effort and expense). Continual patching and tinkering with your site is simply not worth the headache and will hinder your future growth. It’s time to think about Magento 2 migration if you haven’t already.
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Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration - What to Expect & Timeline
Those points are valid, but that doesn’t discount that Magento 2 migration can be a hair-pulling effort for many brands to undertake. Here is a breakdown of what to expect the migration to look like and how long the effort will realistically take.
1. Planning & Analysis
Start by reviewing custom modules, extensions, data, and site appearance of your current site. If you have ever considered an upgrade of your site, this is the time to heavily consider it. Your Magento 2 migration is a perfect moment to make serious changes to your eCommerce site. Work with experts in user experience and technology to consider whether your site needs to be designed with more hardware, more advanced topology, etc.
2. Build and prepare a Magento 2 store in a separate development environment
3. Practice your migration. Before going into the production environment, it is best practice to utilize your testing environment to go through your migration.
4. Use the Magento Data Migration Tool to start your migration. The Data Migration Tool migrates customers, catalogs, orders, shipments, and core configuration. It will not migrate custom data, admin rights, media files, and certain other custom technical aspects.
5. Migrate your theme, make UI level changes, and changes to the migrated data as needed
6. Update incremental data in Delta mode. This means after you successfully migrate data you will collect the data updates that were added to your M1 store, go into Delta mode, and transfer the updates to the M2 store.
7. Go live! Everything is up to date, integrated properly, and looking great. Time to make it live to your customers and enjoy the benefits of Magento 2.
The Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration timeline will vary depending on your site's level of customization and if you are looking to update the user experience, but a safe bet is to allow a minimum of 3 months. Much of the time is spent importing data, performing 3rd party extension migration and integrations, and building a new theme. If you are using a default Magento 1 store without any third-party extensions, integrations, and themes then you would be looking at closer to 3-4 weeks to get data migrated and the site tested.
Continue reading to get insight into Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration costs and Magento 2 edition options, but first...
Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration Costs
Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration costs vary depending on the level of customizations and requirements needed of your site. Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration costs to consider when budgeting for migration includes:
- Theme building
- 3rd party and custom extensions
- Code customizations
- Data importing
I know that is probably not the answer many were looking for when it comes to Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration costs. The truth is no two storefronts are the same so it is impossible to give a hard and fast number on the cost of migration. It largely depends on the theme, extensions, integrations, features, and functionalities you require. It’s honestly well worth your time to take that hour out of your day to sit down with a Magento 2 solutions partner and discuss your set-up to get an accurate idea of your costs and understand if Magento 2 is the right eCommerce platform for your business moving forward.
Magento 2 Editions & Costs
The Magento 2 license fees and editions are also a popular topic of discussion considering a Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration. The Magento 2 Open Source Community Edition is entirely free. The Magento Commerce Enterprise Edition is charged with an annual license fee that starts around $22,000. Magento Commerce Cloud is another option which is the hosted version of the Enterprise Edition. Magento Commerce Cloud has a license fee starting around $40,000 per year. What you choose will largely depend on your future roadmap, growth plans, and current state.
What’s Next?
We realize that making changes to your eCommerce platform is a massive decision. Deciding whether your business is a good fit to migrate to Magento 2 or perhaps moving to another eCommerce platform altogether requires a careful, considered approach. The right team is crucial to your success. Contact our eCommerce technology experts to discuss your questions and requirements around a Magento 2 migration today.
Additional Magento 2 Resources
Magento 2 Migration Downloadable Resource
How to Choose an eCommerce Technology
