Magento 1 End of Life by June 2020. What Are Your Options?

Magento recently announced the end of support for Magento community edition after June 2020. As expected, the news in no time disseminated like fire in the jungle. And why not, going by the figures, there are around 190, 592 stores using Magento 1 across the globe. Amidst the entire hustle, there’s one common question among the Magento 1 users; is the entire hustle worth it?

Let’s have an unbiased and in-depth analysis of the entire scope and understand the impact of Magento 1 EOL on your business and about migration.

Magento 1 end of life doesn’t necessarily mean that your store will stop functioning after the prescribed date. However, you won’t receive any direct upgrades from Magento (And that’s dangerous).

1. Migrate to another platform
2. Continue commerce with Magento 1, Or
3. Migrate to Magento 2

Let’s explore each option individually.

1. Migrating to Another Platform:

Migrating your store from Magento 1 to any other platform is like opening yourself a can of worms. The thought itself is a pipe dream, at the most. Because the process itself brings with it a pot full of challenges. Here are some…

• It’ll be time-consuming and complex
• The risk of losing your data and Search Engine Rankings is very high
• You might end up paying way too much for the migration process
• Some significant parts of your store may break while migrating
• Finding an ideal technical partner for the job is like looking for a needle in a haystack

Furthermore, other platforms may not be able to facilitate complex features such as multi-language support, a product builder, and others, which, Magento offers by default.

2. Continue Running Business on Magento 1:

To continue using Magento 1 after June 2020 can be very hazardous. It’s like inviting all kinds of vulnerabilities to your store. It may cost you the credibility and reputation that you have spent years in building. Here are some disadvantages of staying on Magento 1 – even after June 2020…

• With no upgrades or security patches, your store will start decaying eventually
• Finding the right set of extensions for your store won’t be an easy job
• Most developers/agencies work with only Magento 2 thus seeking help for further development/customization will be a major challenge for you
• As there are very few developers/agencies who work with Magento 1, their charges are pretty high and the scope for negotiation is very less
• Hackers can steal your customer’s most valuable information like payment info and other critical details.

Apart from this, there are numerous such hidden-disadvantages of staying on Magento 1. Hence, to continue using this platform after June 2020 would be like skating on thin ice.

3. Migrate to Magento 2:

This would surely be the right way to continue thriving in today’s rapidly evolving Digital commerce market. Magento 2 is today’s leading eCommerce platform empowering millions of stores online. With Magento 2, you will get maximum performance and unbreachable security to keep your store out from the reach of unethical hackers and deliver exceptional UX all round. Here are some of the advantages of Magento 2…

• Lightning-fast page loading speed
• Unmatchable performance capabilities
• Greater scalability
• Better B2B infrastructure
• Simple yet intuitive UI
• Easy navigational capabilities

Magento 2 is an ideal platform for businesses of any size and scale. Starting from security to SEO, it offers ample of features that can help you expand your business globally and reach the right audience.

Read: Why Migrate to Magento 2

Let’s have a quick look at some the significant features and enhancements Offered by Magento 2…

1. Modernized Tech Stack:

This is one of the most important reasons for the rapid adoption of Magento 2. With Magento 2, you get upgraded versions of technology stacks thus allowing you easier customization and deployment flexibility. No one would like to invest in a technology that’s outdated and not used any more. Hence, this becomes the first reason why you should think of investing in Magento 2.

2. Optimized Checkout Experience:

The checkout experience offered by Magento 2 is truly seamless. Navigation is quick, easy, and intuitive. Furthermore, admins can also enable guest checkout, allowing users to complete their purchase without creating an account. Above all this, Magento 2 offers simplified registration during checkout where customers are able to create an account on the checkout success page itself.

3. Intuitive Admin interface:

There are many significant improvements to the admin interface with Magento 2. The new interface is easy-to-get-along-with and comes with ample of customizable features to make things easier for admins. Now they get the option to personalize the admin panel to keep the important business information handy. What’s more, creating products with the new interface has become easier than ever before with 4x faster product import capabilities.

4. Responsive Design:

No one likes a shrunken shopping experience. Neither you nor your customers. This is why Magento 2 not only offers a responsive design on the front end but also a mobile-friendly admin panel. Hence with Magento 2, you can deliver exceptional CX irrespective of the device your customers are using to interact with your business.

5. Customer Management:

Managing customers and their data becomes way too easier with Magento 2. It offers advanced filters and settings to add/remove unnecessary columns from “Orders” & “All Customers” pages. This means you don’t need to contact your developer every time you wish to make such minor changes on your orders or customers management grid.

6. Technical Advancements:

Magento 2 comes with numerous technological advancements to help you deliver experience-driven digital commerce experiences. Here are some significant technical advancements:

• Modern PHP up to PHP 7.2 is supported by Magento 2. With updated PHP versions, you will get better security and improvements that will help you optimize your store for speed and performance.
• Out of the box, Magento 2 supports Varnish caching on the server side.
• Magento 2 comes with bundled and minimized JavaScript. This helps in optimizing the store’s performance by reducing unnecessary browser operations on the client’s side.

Apart from this, Magento 2 has numerous performance and security enhancements that will help you deliver boundless digital commerce experiences online. Migrating your business from Magento 1 to Magento 2 would be the right option to continue delivering the kind of user experience your customers’ needs and expectations!