Everything you need to know about a migration to Magento 2

E-commerce, especially the highest quality e-commerce, is not simple.
The biggest challenge is not only the requirements and expectations of customers: the process of creation is also influenced by the available resources, experience, and dedication of people co-creating the online store. You can believe it or not, but you will receive some of them with the latest version of Magento.

It is officially referred to as open source e-commerce software, which allows you to improve the quality of the underlying capabilities of the “old” Magento. Put simply, it’s a fully edited version of the previous Magento and every user expects a lot more from it than from its predecessor.

WHAT DOES MIGRATION MEAN FOR ONLINE SHOPS’ OWNERS?

If you are currently using the previous version of Magento, you have no reason to worry: there are at least a few ways to upgrade your software to Magento 2, including the possibility of creating your own path of action. The biggest advantage is the rich support package in case you want to stick with the earlier version of Magento: the company intends to continue its support until 2018, and the only change in this matter will be the lack of new functionalities.

WHERE DOES THAT PLACE YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS?

We are sorry to announce, but you have to say goodbye to the idea of ​​a quick and easy software update for your store. Migration to Magento 2 should be scheduled for 2017 at the latest just because there are no new improvements for the previous edition (and a really impressive amount of those for Magento 2). We all know that the strength of this software lies in its community: developers working on add-ons and extensions deal in parallel with training other people who will be able to properly work with the platform (and this is not an easy task due to the temporary lack of professional courses and training related with this subject). Simply put, the community is preparing to move towards the latest Magento.

We mentioned, however, that the update is neither fast nor simple. It’s time to explain it.

WHY IS NOT SIMPLE?

Even if you will be able to transfer to the new Magento most of the data related to products, customers, orders, store configuration and promotions, all previously saved themes will have to be changed due to their different structure. What’s more, if you decide to use external extensions, you must guarantee that they are compatible with Magento 2. The upgrade is not the easiest, but as Alan Kent has mentioned on his Twitter, Magento 2 is worth every sacrifice.
By the way, remember that the smoothness of migration will depend on several factors, such as the size of your store (as you suspect, the larger page will probably generate more problems), nevertheless, in the future your decision to change the software will result in increased system stability.

HOW WILL A MIGRATION TO MAGENTO 2 AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

You probably have been wondering what changes does Magento 2 bring. We will do our best to answer.

First of all, as we mentioned earlier, it will be possible to work with the previous release of the software for some time. Both the Community and Enterprise versions have been updated (not only for general operation but also for example payments) and will allow you to enjoy a stable system for the next few months.
What’s more, the Magento Connect platform will be replaced with an application store that will allow users to share extensions regardless of the changes taking place in the software (of course, all added files will be verified to avoid possible problems). This means reducing the number of extensions, which quality will be significantly improved. It will also allow you to search for suitable files faster.
If you still have concerns about the latest version of Magento, please contact us. Even if the thought of changing the software seems foreign to you, remember that having an unrivaled store also requires an unrivaled approach to business.